{"id":2812,"date":"2023-01-11T07:38:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T06:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chessily.com\/?p=2812"},"modified":"2023-01-11T14:55:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T13:55:43","slug":"10-mind-blowing-chess-facts-and-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chessily.com\/blog\/10-mind-blowing-chess-facts-and-statistics\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Mind-Blowing Chess Facts and Statistics"},"content":{"rendered":"
In this article, we’ll look at some astounding chess trivia, statistics and facts that will amaze both seasoned expert as well as chess beginners<\/a> alike. From the longest tournament game to the earliest known chess manuscripts, these chess facts be sure to give you a new appreciation for the royal game and its players. Let’s dive right in!<\/p>\n Do you know how many possible legal positions can occur on White’s first move? That is pretty easy to calculate. You have eight pawns<\/a>, which can each move up one or two squares as well as two knights<\/a>, which can each move to two different squares. That gives us 8 + 8 + 2 +2 = 20 possible first moves for White.\u00a0<\/strong>After we complete the first move (i. e. Black makes their first move) there are already 400 distinct chess positions that can occur. This exponential growth just keeps going: After just five moves 69,352,859,712,417 possible games could have been played.<\/strong><\/p>\n Now for the fastinating part: We don’t actually know the exact number of possible chess games that can be played, since the number is simply too big to calculate exactly. Of course, scientists have tried to estimate the number of potential positions in chess, but even they came up with varying numbers.<\/p>\n Most famously, Claude Shannon looked at both possible games as well as possible unique positions. He calculated that the amount of possible chess games is about 10120 <\/sup> \u2013 for comparison: The observable universe “only” has 1083 <\/sup> atoms. The amount of possible unique positions Shannon came up with are 1043<\/sup>, although this does include some illegal positions.<\/p>\n Quite incredible to think that we are unable to calculate the exact number of chess games and unique positions today, despite our advancements since Shannon’s early calculations in ~1950. The closest we have come is a calculation by John Tromp and Peter \u00d6sterlund, which puts estimated the amount of legal chess positions at about 4.59(+\/- 0.38)x1044<\/sup> \u2013 pretty close to Shannon’s calculation!<\/p>\n If you want to learn more check out the Wikipedia article on the Shannon Number<\/a>.<\/p>\n Okay, that is enough mathematics for today. Let’s now look at the longest winning streak in a chess tournament.<\/p>\n This record is held by legendary Grandmaster<\/a> Bobby Fisher, who managed to win 20 consecutive games, before being beaten by Tigran Petrosian. This is not to be confused with an unbeaten streak! Bobby Fisher actually managed to checkmate (or win otherwise) against 20 opponents in a row \u2013 what an achievement!<\/p>\n Important to note however, that some chess commentators only grant Fisher a 19 win streak, because of Fischer’s game against Oscar Panno, who resigned in protest<\/a> after Fischer’s first move. No matter what, this record is definitely impressive.<\/p>\n The first ever written work entirely devoted to chess theory is the G\u00f6ttingen Manuskript, which is dated to 1500 \u2013 1505 or 1471. It is exactly 33 pages long and features twelve chess openings<\/a> as well as 30 chess problems. It was discovered at the University of G\u00f6ttingen in the late stages of the 19th century and is still there today. The fascinating part: We don’t know who wrote it and when exactly!<\/strong><\/p>\n Here is a chess problem from the G\u00f6ttingen Manuskript; White to mate in 2:<\/p>\n1. We Don’t Know How Many Possible Positions There Are In Chess<\/h1>\n
2. The Longest Winning Streak In Professional Chess is 20 Games<\/h1>\n
3. The Earliest Known Chess Manuscript is (Probably) From 1471<\/h1>\n