Once called The Dance Of Death by a long ago forgotten author, the game of Chess continues to waltz its way in and out of the lives and minds of the creatively inquisitive among us. Not content with merely occupying space in our heads and on our coffee tables it is now on our computers and on the internet.

Volumes have been written about the origins of modern Chess. In the 6th century an unnamed Indian philosopher invented Chaturanga, the earliest clear ancestor of the game of strategy we know today. Under Hindu law gambling became forbidden. Seeing how Chaturanga was played with dice this presented a problem. Thus to avoid the gambling laws, Chaturanga players dispensed with the dice. After this modification and a number of others the name of the game eventually became Shatranj and found its way to Europe.
This much is generally agreed upon by Chess scholars worldwide. How Shatranj arrived in Europe is a bit of a mystery. The most agreed upon theory is that during the Crusades the Knights of the Cross obtained the game from Arab lands and brought it back with them, along with medical secrets from enlightened Arab physicians. As shady as the origins of Chess may be, this much is clear, no other game has had such a profound effect on the imaginations of game players or demonstrated the ability to endure as Chess has.

From the days of watching the old geezers in the sun-drenched parks to sitting in a darkened theater and being in awe of the giant chess board in a James Bond movie my friends and I became intrigued with the dance from a very young age. At 16, if we weren't out playing baseball, working on cars or chasing girls, chances were, you could have found us sitting in a coffee house someplace, playing chess. My infatuation with the game faded over time, primarily due to lack of opponents and opportunity to play. Friends from our youth move on, people and times change.

My interest in the game was rekindled in the late 1960's, when chess computer programs and stand alone chess games began to appear. Despite the fact that the majority of these games could be easily beaten by an accomplished amateur, there was something so intriguing about the concept of the thinking chess machine that research and development continued. In 1997 even the stanchest doubter in the ability of a computer to beat a Grand Master became a believer. A machine named Deep Blue 2 managed to beat Kasparov, the undisputed best player in the world at the time.

From the IBM Deep Blue website: "By his own admission, the pressure got to Garry Kasparov today. It was not the $300,000 difference between first and second prize, nor the massive media attention this match has received. It was Deep Blue's astonishing play the world champion could not come to terms with."

John Hurt in the movie "1984"

While I have always enjoyed computer chess, there is nothing like engaging a live human opponent. Lack of the opportunity to find such opponents ended my chess playing for the most part. This has all changed due to the internet. Chess resources and real live Chess opponents abound thanks to our broadband connections. A quick look at the links provided here will demonstrate the point.

Now if I only had the time...