Chessmaster

Chessmaster is a chess-playing computer game series which is now owned and developed by Ubisoft. It is the best-selling chess franchise in history, with more than five million units sold as of 2002.

Timeline

Chess title

A chess title is a title created by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The most prestigious titles are those granted by the international chess governing body FIDE; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master".

Over-the-board chess

In general, a chess master is a player of such skill that he or she can usually beat most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context.

The establishment of the world chess body, Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), saw the creation of titles superior to the "national master" titles. In 1950 FIDE created the titles "Grandmaster" and "International Master", the requirements for which were increasingly formalized over the years. In 1978 FIDE created the lesser title of "FIDE Master".

Early use of the Master title

From the beginning of recorded chess, to the establishment of the first chess organizations, the term master was applied informally, being simply a matter of popular acclaim. Strong players demonstrated their strength in play, and gained the informal reputation of being chess masters.

Jude Acers

Jude Frazier Acers (born April 6, 1944 Long Beach, California) is a chess master, showman (simultaneous exhibitor), and chess author/writer.

Chess biography

Acers is best known for playing against all comers in a New Orleans downtown gazebo while wearing a red beret. A longtime resident of Louisiana, he claims to have been the first New Orleans native chess master of comparable strength since Paul Morphy.

He is also known for being a great showman, touring the country giving simultaneous chess exhibitions. He was twice the world record holder of having played the most opponents in a simultaneous exhibition. First against 117 opponents (1974, Lloyd Center, Portland, Oregon), then against 179 opponents (1976, Mid Island Plaza, Long Island, New York). The records were certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Acers barely survived Hurricane Katrina and lived in a displaced persons camp for some time. As the city recovered, he returned to New Orleans and resumed his customary chess table in the French Quarter.

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Chess is played by millions of people worldwide, both amateurs and professionals.

Each player begins the game with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently. The most powerful piece is the queen and the least powerful piece is the pawn. The objective is to 'checkmate' the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To this end, a player's pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, while supporting their own. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by voluntary resignation by the opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may also result in a draw in several ways.

Chess is believed to have originated in India, some time before the 7th century; the Indian game of chaturanga is also the likely ancestor of xiangqi and shogi. The pieces took on their current powers in Spain in the late 15th century; the rules were finally standardized in the 19th century.