中考英语分类阅读及讲解汇编（五）体育天地 7

中考英语分类阅读及讲解汇编（五）体育天地 7
chess
chess must be one of the oldest games in the world. an arab traveler in india in the year 900 wrote that it was played ‘long, long ago’. chess was probably invented in india, and it has been played everywhere from japan to europe since 1400. the name ‘chess’ is interesting. when one player is attacking the other’s king, he says, in english, ‘check’. when the king has been caught and cannot move anywhere, he says ‘check mate’. these words come from persian. it means ‘the king is dead’. that is when the game is over, and one player has won.
such an old game changes very slowly. the rules have not always been the same as they are now. for example, at one time the queen could only move one square at a time. now she is the strongest piece on the board. it would be int