page_title: History of games
section_title: Professional board games
hierarchical_section_title: History of games / Modern games / Professional board games
context_page_description: The history of games dates to the ancient human past. Games are an integral part of all cultures and are one of the oldest forms of human social interaction. Games are formalized expressions of play which allow people to go beyond immediate imagination and direct physical activity. Common features of games include uncertainty of outcome, agreed upon rules, competition, separate place and time, elements of fiction, elements of chance, prescribed goals and personal enjoyment.
  Games capture the ideas and worldviews of their cultures and pass them on to the future generation. Games were important as cultural and social bonding events, as teaching tools and as markers of social status. As pastimes of royalty and the elite, some games became common features of court culture and were also given as gifts. Games such as Senet and the Mesoamerican ball game were often imbued with mythic and ritual religious significance. Games like Gyan chauper and The Mansion of Happiness were used to teach spiritual and ethical lessons while Shatranj and Wéiqí were seen as a way to develop strategic thinking and mental skill by the political and military elite.
context_section_description: Modern chess rules began taking shape in Spain and Italy during the 15th century with the adoption of the standard Queen and Bishop movements (initially called "Mad Queen chess"). Writings on chess theory also began to appear in the 15th century with the first text being the Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez (Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess, 1497) by Spanish churchman Luis Ramirez de Lucena. Chess books by authors such as Ruy López de Segura and Gioachino Greco became widely studied. Chess was the favored game of Voltaire, Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon.
  In 1851, the first international chess tournament was held in London and won by Adolf Anderssen. Soon after modern time control rules were adopted for competitive play. The first Official World Chess Championship was held in 1886 in the United States and won by Wilhelm Steinitz. By the 20th century, the game of Chess had developed into a professional sport with chess clubs, publications, player ratings and chess tournaments. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded in 1924 in Paris.
  A large number of Chess variants were also developed, with varying pieces, rules, boards and scoring. Among them are Kriegspiel, Capablanca Chess, Alice Chess, Circular chess, Three-dimensional chess, Hexagonal Chess, Chess with different armies, and Bobby Fischer's Chess960.
  In Japan, Go and Shogi became the major board games played at a professional level. Both games were promoted in Japan by the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century, and top players (Meijin) received government endowments. During the 20th century the Japan Shogi Association and the Japan Go Association were founded and began organizing professional tournaments. During the Qing dynasty, many Xiangqi clubs were formed and books published. The Chinese Xiangqi Association was formed in 1962, and Xiangqi tournaments are held worldwide by national Xiangqi associations.
  In 1997 the first Mind Sports Olympiad was held in London and included traditional as well as modern board games. Other board games such as Backgammon, Scrabble and Risk are also played professionally with dedicated world championships.
caption: Emanuel Lasker (right) playing Steinitz for the World Chess Championship, New York 1894
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