Harish Palaniappan's

If you know the game of 'Chess', probably you should have imagined yourself playing and learning great chess, and trying your game with players from around the world.

Have you tried playing chess online with a total stranger or very often with players from different countries?

My place for online chess is 'worldchessnetwork.com'
All you have to do is,
Register free on the website,
Download an application,
and, Play.

The download application will enable you to connect as a registered user to the website, find players who are also connected, and challenge them for a game. You win, you gain points...You lose, you lose points. By default, a new registrant is given around 1500 points to allow him play. All games are timed.

There are also subscribed players, who get free merchandise from the network, and probably purchase gifts with points, or things like that.. you can check them on the website (worldchessnetwork.com)

Also, the good thing about worldchessnetwork is, they organize tournaments, and if you are not playing, you could still use the application and watch a game being played. To invite competitiveness, the network also has 20 min, 5 min, and 1 min games.

You might like the experience of playing online chess on this network, since its anonymous especially for learners who shy the feeling of losing to a friend or foe.

Why am I promoting this website? I have played on this as a free registrant... for about 4 years, and its very organized gaming environment. I have had great games, those i won or lost, but i definitely had opportunities to learn chess by playing or watching games and tournaments.
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Did you know?
Chess was first formulated and played in India. How else did you think the idea of elephants, horses used in battle field came into the game.

This doesn't mean India controls or owns the game. The game as it is today is a result of various changes, standards, and playing styles being implemented into the game by various Chess Federations around the world.

The India version of it in the beginnings didn't have a few pieces that are there in today's chess, and, the moves, the goals of the game where also little different. Of course, it wasn't called Chess then.

If you wanted to learn / research about the origins of chess, you should start probably from the great Indian epic 'Mahabharatha', because that's the first book of proof where many of us have known that chess was played in India very long ago...and that it was played putting huge wealth, assets, and sometimes even whole armies and countries ruled by kings as challenge bait.

There are stories of rulers capturing armies, territories, assets and sometimes even the queen of another ruler by winning a game. It never was played by people lesser than the order of the kings, and was never played informally because the game pointed that only when stakes are high it can be played.
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Related Links:
World Chess Federation
worldchessnetwork.com

Chess Kids Academy online
How to play chess

The Mahabharata
Stories for Children from Mahabharata