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Do You Even Chess?

Can you guess these facts about the most popular board game of all time?
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: October 27, 2021
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First submittedOctober 27, 2021
Times taken42,956
Average score60.0%
Rating4.53
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Hint
Answer
Term for when a player is in check and has no legal move
Checkmate
Term for when a player is not in check but has no legal move
Stalemate
Chess piece that can only move diagonally
Bishop
Term for when the king and a rook are moved in the same turn
Castling
Number of squares on a chess board
64
American who won the World Chess Championship in 1972
Bobby Fischer
Russian who was defeated by the above
Boris Spassky
Country where the above matches took place
Iceland
Current world #1 who has recorded the highest Elo rating of all-time
Magnus Carlsen
Russian champion who held the world title for a record 255 months
Garry Kasparov
Computer that beat that champion in 1997
Deep Blue
Famous chess-playing "machine" that actually had a person inside of it
Mechanical Turk
Shortest possible victory, which can be achieved in just two moves
Fool's Mate
Material from which the oldest known chess pieces were made
Ivory
Popular chess opening named for a Mediterranean island
Sicilian Defence
Highest title awarded to chess players, requiring an Elo rating of 2500
Grandmaster
Country that currently has the most players of that rank
Russia
Country which the ancestor of chess, chaturanga, originally came from
India
Country in which former champion José Raúl Capablanca was born
Cuba
Z word that refers to a situation where any move a player makes will worsen their position
Zugzwang
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61 Comments
camus
+4
Level 80
Oct 27, 2021
Stefan Zweig novella about a convict of the Nazis whose only pastime is to learn by heart an entire chess book: Chess novella (Schachnovelle).
Quizmaste238che
+1
Level 36
Dec 7, 2024
Liren is the champion
sumguy
+12
Level 87
Oct 27, 2021
I do actually chess, so this was a very easy quiz. Looking forward to what the average score ends up being.
SirIndia
+1
Level 49
Dec 5, 2024
It's only 12/20...
ruftytufty
+35
Level 77
Oct 28, 2021
Doesn't Jeff Lynne have the highest elo rating?
1ProximaCentauri
+3
Level 53
Oct 28, 2021
Wikipedia says that this guy is an English singer and songwriter.........
Arp2600
+22
Level 89
Oct 29, 2021
Of which band ? :)
1ProximaCentauri
+13
Level 53
Oct 29, 2021
Ohhhhhhh
SherAA
+3
Level 49
Dec 5, 2024
r/woooosh
cinekhak
+7
Level 49
Nov 2, 2021
Interesting how only 40% knew Carlsen but 67% knew Fischer. Both are legends but you usually remember the current ones more.
duckwantbread
+11
Level 66
Nov 2, 2021
Suspect it's down to a lot of users of the website being American. I'm not American but I'm guessing their media made a big deal about Fischer so that even people with no interest in chess in America will have heard of him. Meanwhile Carlsen is Norwegian so he's only a name people will be familiar with if they play or watch chess.
jmellor13
+5
Level 68
Nov 2, 2021
As an American, I suspect this is right. Plus Fischer vs. Spassky was during the Cold War, when anything USA vs. USSR was a major news story.
EcceHomo
+4
Level 86
Nov 2, 2022
Fischer was world news in many ways. He is part of history. He is known by non-chess enthusiasts, whereas Carlsen probably not as much. I'm not American and I'm not Norwegian.
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 91
Nov 2, 2021
I could only think of Magnus, his last name escaped me.
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 91
Dec 19, 2024
Got it this time!
rabble
+2
Level 68
Jul 15, 2024
There's a movie with his name in the title, "Searching for Bobby Fischer", and it's easy to remember
elcampeador
+1
Level 77
Dec 5, 2024
Because Fisher is the best known chess player of all-time, and his notoriety goes beyond chess. Unless you play online chess or go on Chess Youtube, where would you hear about Magnus?
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 91
Dec 19, 2024
I'm not a chess enthusiast but I remember reading/hearing about him on "mainstream" news during the Niemann cheating controversy a couple years back.
TWM03
+1
Level 72
Nov 2, 2021
Fool's mate can't be achieved in two moves, it takes four (or seven if you count the opponent's moves as well).
kiwigodx
+16
Level 75
Nov 2, 2021
1. f3 e5

2. g4 Qh4#

You may be thinking of Scholar's Mate.

TWM03
+2
Level 72
Nov 2, 2021
Ah yes, you're right!
Nicholas1303
+2
Level 44
Nov 3, 2021
That is for black but for white is 3 moves
MinecraftFan
+1
Level 19
Dec 3, 2021
I think it means two moves each
plattitude
+1
Level 94
Dec 10, 2021
What he means is that the fool's mate can also be achieved by the white side, but it takes 3 moves, as follows:

1. e3 f6

2. c3 g5

3. Qh5#

Of the 29 possible moves white can make on move 2, 6 would prevent the fool's mate option from being available (f3, g4, Nf3, Qh5+, Ke2, Be2), so c3 could be 22 other moves as well, but white's fastest possible checkmate is on move 3, after black's moves of f6 and g5.

Scythebrine
+1
Level 55
Oct 15, 2024
I think you're thinking of a scholar's mate.
MrMack
+1
Level 56
Feb 26, 2025
a 'move' in chess is when white and black both move, so the answer is two
ctleng76
+1
Level 65
Nov 2, 2021
Something doesn't seem right with the way this clue is worded, "Current world #1 who has recorded the highest Elo rating of all-time"
Mikasuomi
+7
Level 55
Nov 2, 2021
Elo rating indicates how strong you are compared to your opponents. It is not absolute, but relative measure, because you gain or lose rating points by wins or losses. If marathon would have same rating system, you wouldn't record times but wins or losses against other runners.

World ranking is based on Elo ratings of current players. Magnus Carlsen is number 1 in that ranking. He has also achieved the highest Elo rating of all time. It means that he has succeeded among his peers better than anyone else before him (but there is also inflation among Elo ratings over time). So, both statements are true about Carlsen.

julie22222
+2
Level 66
Nov 2, 2021
Great quiz! I'd love if you made some more chess-themed quizzes, maybe about top players throughout history or openings or something like that. Great start though!
AlBysmal
+1
Level 56
Nov 2, 2021
cool quiz! it's always nice to see some more chess trivia on here
BigLaing
+1
Level 69
Nov 3, 2021
Watching the Queen's Gambit helped me get two answers... Still only got 13/20
KingLW
+5
Level 63
Nov 3, 2021
Accept other spellings of Zugzwang cos it's a difficult spelling
FMFrazzle
+3
Level 66
Dec 20, 2021
Garry Kasparov was World Champion for 15 years meaning the number of months he was champion for would be around 180. Emanuel Lasker was World Champion for 27 years (although that included WW1)- around 324 months.
Evenultrapawn
+1
Level 65
Sep 22, 2025
Exactly. Just because you are the highest rated player doesn't mean you are the World Champion. I know it's confusing to non-chessers, but, as you said, Lasker was WC for longer than 255 months, and Kasparov was for less than that. Lasker was 1894-1921, and Kasparov was 1985-2000. Though, partly due to WW1, there was no World Championship from 1910-1921. However, if there had been one in 1911/12/13, he still might have won, and still, even had he lost, would have been WC for longer than Kasparov. This obviously helped extend the reign significantly, but he still would hold the crown. The fact is that Lasker was the World Champion for just over 323 months and Kasparov was for just under 180 months.
fraddante
+11
Level 49
Aug 10, 2022
En passant is forced
Fianchetto
+3
Level 78
Apr 29, 2023
You clearly do not chess.
SirPhilippines
+6
Level 73
Jun 29, 2023
You clearly do not anarchychess.
ItzIngenious
+2
Level 66
Jan 3, 2024
I’d take en passant over checkmate any day
Fianchetto
+1
Level 78
Dec 5, 2024
oh wait you right it is forced
Denouement
+3
Level 71
Sep 4, 2022
7/20 and only got zugzwang because of Criminal Minds. Maybe I need to switch up my priorities.
nesthocker97
+2
Level 40
Jul 17, 2023
i´m diapointed that 10% don´t know that a chessbord has 8x8 squares
VacTheNut
+1
Level 35
Aug 15, 2023
i can never for the life of me spell zugzwang correctly
DomsWay
+1
Level 20
Feb 21, 2024
8/20. I didn't know how to spell zugswang, and I really don't care about the history or players of chess. This is true even for other games I play
LeonardoLCD
+6
Level 39
Apr 8, 2024
would accept "GM" for grandmaster
KiloNova
+1
Level 61
Aug 13, 2024
My elo is only 534 at the moment...gotta work on that.
Sebbel
+3
Level 20
Sep 28, 2024
my dog has more
LuckyCat
+1
Level 72
Dec 5, 2024
Be nice to my KiloNova
Evenultrapawn
+1
Level 65
Sep 22, 2025
Tbh, even though I am above 500, I think if you're not serious about chess, 500 is a pretty decent rating, all things considered
Dollyfroggy
+2
Level 63
Nov 13, 2024
Please accept GM for Grandmaster.
Triazzia
+2
Level 23
Dec 5, 2024
Pretty good quiz! I play chess a lot and my elo’s 1600. The hardest parts in this quiz were trying to spell “Zugzwang” and guessing every large Latin country I can think of cus I didn’t know where Capablanca was from lol
SonyVondern
+2
Level 76
Dec 5, 2024
I chess because I'm in the chess club!
LuckyCat
+1
Level 72
Dec 5, 2024
+1
DomsWay
+1
Level 20
Dec 5, 2024
I got 12/20. I knew the Mechanical Turk one, just didn't know how to spell "Turk"
SteveTheEagle
+1
Level 54
Dec 5, 2024
Help, I cant spell zugswang :(. Other than that, 14/20
LuckyCat
+1
Level 72
Dec 5, 2024
I chess often yes
CardinalSin
+1
Level 82
Dec 6, 2024
Is "chess" a verb?
ooftownroad
+1
Level 70
Dec 5, 2024
me when I chess:
KaMa3
+2
Level 30
Dec 6, 2024
I think I've tried every russian world champion before spassky
shrekcena
+1
Level 60
Dec 8, 2024
I don't chess but I at least got the Mechanical Turk
Nathaniel
+1
Level 77
Jan 9, 2026
Carlsen isn't the World Champion anymore. He was beaten by Ding Liren in 2023, how was beaten by Gukesh Dommaraju in 2024 and is the current #1
twojtata123
+1
Level 38
Jan 17, 2026
15/20, great quiz!
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