The number of unique possible chess games is estimated at 10¹²⁰, which is greater than the total number of atoms in the observable universe.
1. More games than atoms
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2. "The King is dead"
The word checkmate comes from the Persian phrase Shah Mat, which translates to "the King is dead".
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3. Second book in English
The second book ever printed in the English language was about chess, published in the 1470s.
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4. Priest's trick
The folding chessboard was invented in 1125 by a priest who folded the board to make it look like two books and bypass church bans.
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5. A timid princess
Originally, the queen was the weakest piece, only moving one square diagonally. She wasn't made powerful until the late 1400s in Spain.
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6. Two-move checkmate
The shortest possible checkmate is achieved in just two moves, known as Fool's Mate.
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7. Playing in zero gravity
The first chess game in space was played in 1970 aboard the Soyuz-9 spacecraft using a magnetic board.
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8. The mechanical Turk
In the 1770s, a "chess-playing" robot defeated figures like Napoleon Bonaparte, but it was later revealed to be an elaborate human-operated hoax.
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9. Marathon match
The longest official tournament game lasted 269 moves, clocking in at 20 hours and 15 minutes, ending in a draw.
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10. Blindfold masters
Players with evolved memory and focus can play multiple games blindfolded. The record is held by Janos Flesch, who played 52 blindfolded games at once.