Have you ever experienced a moment like this? This situation is unique to the game of chess, a game whose outcome can rest on a razor’s edge, pushed and pulled by the labors of either player, constantly threatening to topple the opponent’s carefully crafted harmony of defense and structure. In the game of chess, these things happen often.

Yet chess is not always a game that is intellectual, intense or complicated. It can be played at all levels, even at a very young age. The game can be casual, competitive or professional. Young children often understand the game relatively quickly, as all the moves are fairly simple.

On the other hand, those who want a more intense pursuit will not be disappointed; chess always offers new opportunities and exciting situations.

The game of chess presents a wonderful opportunity for learning—the basic concepts are simple, yet grow in complexity as a player progresses. Young children and adults alike benefit from discussing abstract ideas, concepts and strategies with their friends while they enjoy the simple fun of this intriguing pastime.

Throughout history, chess has been an extremely popular activity: More books have been written about it than all other games, hobbies and sports combined! It has been described as an art, a science, and as the greatest game ever created. It has been enjoyed and loved by millions!

The first book ever printed was the Bible. However, did you know that the second book printed was a book about chess?

This game is one of the most complicated games ever designed by man, yet it is created using relatively simple pieces and movements. So many possibilities can occur in a single match that it is currently impossible to create a computer that can compute them all—even if one utilized the entire known universe!

Here’s why:

• The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of Chess is 318,979,564,000—about 319 billion possibilities.

• There are 169,518,829,100,544,000,000,000,000,000 ways to play the first ten moves of a game of Chess. That is about 169 octillion possibilities.

• The number of distinct 40-move games is far greater than the number of electrons in the observable universe.

A game with so many possibilities can quickly become an obsession if left unchecked, and many in the world have done so. As with all things, we must strive to be moderate (Phil. 4:5).

With the proper attitude, chess can be a great, exciting way to learn, grow, spend time with friends, and just plain have fun!