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Big Audio Dynamite II (1991–1993).
For 1991's "The Globe", only Jones remained from the original incarnation of Big Audio Dynamite, and the band was now called "Big Audio Dynamite II". This new line-up featured two guitarists. The album sleeve was designed by Shawn Stussy. "The Globe" (1991) featured the band's most commercially successful single, "Rush", which hit No. 1 on both the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Australian National ARIA Chart. "Rush" was also released in the United Kingdom with the 1991 re-release of the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go". The sleeve art for the 7-inch and CD singles displayed the Clash on the front, and BAD II on the rear with the record label displaying "Should I Stay or Should I Go" as side "A" and "Rush" as side "AA". Even though it was effectively a double A-side release, the Chart Information Network/Gallup decided that only the Clash would be credited with a number one hit. "Innocent Child" and "The Globe" were also released as singles.
BAD supported U2 on their Zoo TV Tour, headlined the MTV 120 Minutes tour which also featured Public Image Ltd, Live, and Blind Melon, and released the live EP "On the Road Live '92".
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In 1991, while Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite II, the rest of the original line-up briefly formed a band called Screaming Target. They released one studio album "Hometown Hi-Fi" and two singles "Who Killed King Tubby?" and "Knowledge N Numbers" before disbanding. The title and album cover art were purposely meant as a tribute to Jamaican reggae deejay Big Youth's debut studio album "Screaming Target" (1972).
In 1993, Greg Roberts formed the electronic band Dreadzone with Tim Bran, with the name suggested to them by Don Letts. Bassist Leo Williams and keyboardist Dan Donovan joined the band before their second studio album "Second Light" and the single "Little Britain" in 1995. Dreadzone is still active, with Roberts and Williams remaining members.
Big Audio (1994).
The band later recruited keyboardist Andre Shapps (co-producer of "The Globe", brother of MP Grant Shapps and Mick Jones's cousin) and DJ Michael "Lord Zonka" Custance as DJ and vocalist. Both appeared on the band's seventh studio album "Higher Power" (1994), which was released under the shortened name "Big Audio".
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Final years and subsequent activities (1995–2010).
After signing a recording contract with Gary Kurfirst's Radioactive Records in 1995, the band reverted to the original "Big Audio Dynamite" moniker and released their least successful studio album to date, "F-Punk" (1995).
Radioactive Records refused to release the next proposed BAD studio album, "Entering a New Ride". The line-up contained MC vocals by Joe Attard of Punks Jump Up, Ranking Roger of the Beat and General Public and drummer Bob Wond of Under Two Flags. In 1998, the band launched a new website, primarily intended as a means to distribute songs from the "Entering a New Ride" album. In 2001, after having only released 6 songs from the album, the website went down and Big Audio Dynamite disbanded. Their final studio album was never properly released in its entirety, but it has been heavily leaked online for fans who wished to hear it.
Since 2005, Jones has been working on a project with Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik) called Carbon/Silicon.
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In early 2007, a live, eight-song DVD from BAD II was released; it is entitled "Big Audio Dynamite Live: E=MC²".
2011 reunion.
In 2010, Don Letts revealed to Billboard.com that he and Mick Jones broached the idea of a Big Audio Dynamite reunion in 2011. He explained, "I could lie to you and say 'Not in a million years', but... if Mick wasn't tied up with Gorillaz it might happen this year. (Jones) has looked at me and said, 'Maybe next year', but who knows. I've got to admit that in the past I'm not a great one for reformations; I always think if you're lucky in life, you get a window of opportunity, use it to the best of your ability and then fuck off and let someone else have their turn. But here I am 25 years down the line considering the thing". Besides a Big Audio Dynamite reunion, Letts said he was also hopeful for more Legacy Editions of the band's studio albums after finding more unreleased material—including live recordings—in the vaults. "There's definitely more stuff; whether Sony thinks it's worthwhile, that's another matter. But there seems to be a lot of respect for Big Audio Dynamite. Time has shown that a lot of the things we were dabbling in back then have come to manifest themselves today...so hopefully we'll get to do some more".
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The reformation of the original line-up of BAD was confirmed on 25 January 2011 with the announcement of a UK tour. The 9-date tour was a commercial and critical success. The first of their two sold out Shepherd's Bush Empire shows received a 4-star review in "The Times" ('Not just a reformation - this is "their" time'), "The Observer" welcomed BAD's return with a glowing review declaring, 'they remain a joy'. Their headline slot at Beautiful Days festival was favourably reviewed on the Louder Than War music website.
Big Audio Dynamite played sets at the 2011 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Glastonbury Festival 2011, Rock en Seine and Lollapalooza.
Members.
Timeline.
Big Audio Dynamite (1984–1990, 2011)
Big Audio Dynamite II (1990–1993)
Big Audio (1994–1995)
Big Audio Dynamite (1996–1998) |
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London, and became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 2003. Bentley has been a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 and consolidated under VW's premium brand arm Audi since 2022.
Prominent models extend from the historic sports-racing Bentley 4½ Litre and Bentley Speed Six; the more recent Bentley R Type Continental, Bentley Turbo R, and Bentley Arnage; to its current model line, including the Flying Spur, Continental GT and Bentayga which are marketed worldwide, with China as its largest market as of November 2012.
Today most Bentley models are assembled at the company's Crewe factory, with a small number assembled at Volkswagen's Dresden factory, Germany, and with bodies for the Continental manufactured in Zwickau and for the Bentayga manufactured at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.
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The joining and eventual separation of Bentley and Rolls-Royce followed a series of mergers and acquisitions, beginning with the 1931 purchase by Rolls-Royce of Bentley, then in receivership. In 1971, Rolls-Royce itself was forced into receivership and the UK government nationalised the company—splitting it into an aerospace company (Rolls-Royce Plc) and an automotive company (Rolls-Royce Motors Limited, including Bentley). Rolls-Royce Motors was subsequently sold to engineering conglomerate Vickers, and in 1998 Vickers sold Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen AG, including Bentley with its name and logos (but not the name "Rolls Royce").
History.
Cricklewood (1919–1931).
Before World War I, Walter Owen Bentley and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, sold French DFP cars in Cricklewood, North London, but W.O, as Walter was known, always wanted to design and build his own cars. At the DFP factory, in 1913, he noticed an aluminium paperweight and thought that aluminium might be a suitable replacement for cast iron to fabricate lighter pistons. The first Bentley aluminium pistons were fitted to Sopwith Camel aero engines during the First World War.
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The same day that the Paris Peace Conference to end World War I started, Walter Owen ("W.O.") Bentley founded Bentley Motors Limited, on 18 January 1919 and registered Bentley Motors Ltd. in August 1919. In October he exhibited a car chassis (with a dummy engine) at the London Motor Show. Ex–Royal Flying Corps officer Clive Gallop designed an innovative four-valves-per-cylinder engine for the chassis. By December the engine was built and running. Delivery of the first cars was scheduled for June 1920, but development took longer than estimated so the date was extended to September 1921. The durability of the first Bentley cars earned widespread acclaim, and they competed in hill climbs and raced at Brooklands.
Bentley's first major event was the 1922 Indianapolis 500, a race dominated by specialized cars with Duesenberg racing chassis. They entered a modified road car driven by works driver Douglas Hawkes, accompanied by riding mechanic H. S. "Bertie" Browning. Hawkes completed the full and finished 13th with an average speed of after starting in 19th position. The team was then rushed back to England to compete in the 1922 RAC Tourist Trophy.
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Captain Woolf Barnato.
In an ironic reference to his heavyweight boxer's stature, Captain Woolf Barnato was nicknamed "Babe". In 1925, he acquired his first Bentley, a 3-litre. With this car, he won numerous Brooklands races. Just a year later, he acquired the Bentley business itself.
The Bentley enterprise was always underfunded, but inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by John Duff and Frank Clement, Barnato agreed to finance Bentley's business. Barnato had incorporated Baromans Ltd in 1922, which existed as his finance and investment vehicle. Via Baromans, Barnato initially invested in excess of £100,000, saving the business and its workforce. A financial reorganisation of the original Bentley company was carried out and all existing creditors paid off for £75,000. Existing shares were devalued from £1 each to just 1 shilling, or 5% of their original value. Barnato held 149,500 of the new shares giving him control of the company and he became chairman. Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 secured by debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929. With renewed financial input, W. O. Bentley was able to design another generation of cars.
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The Bentley Boys.
The Bentley Boys were a group of British motoring enthusiasts that included Barnato, Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, steeple chaser George Duller, aviator Glen Kidston, automotive journalist S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis, and Dudley Benjafield. The Bentley Boys favoured Bentley cars. Many were independently wealthy and many had a military background. They kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive; Bentley was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 1927 to 1930.
Birkin developed the 4½-litre, lightweight Blower Bentley at Welwyn Garden City in 1929 and produced five racing specials, starting with Bentley Blower No.1 which was optimised for the Brooklands racing circuit. Birkin overruled Bentley and put the model on the market before it was fully developed. As a result, it was unreliable.
During the March 1930 Blue Train Races, Barnato raised the stakes on Rover and its Rover Light Six, having raced and beaten "Le Train Bleu" for the first time, to better that record with his 6½-litre Bentley Speed Six on a bet of £100. He drove against the train from Cannes to Calais, then by ferry to Dover, and finally London, travelling on public highways, and won.
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Barnato drove his H.J. Mulliner–bodied formal saloon in the race against the Blue Train. Two months later, on 21 May 1930, he took delivery of a Speed Six with streamlined fastback "sportsman coupé" by Gurney Nutting. Both cars became known as the "Blue Train Bentleys"; the latter is regularly mistaken for, or erroneously referred to as being, the car that raced the Blue Train, while in fact Barnato named it in memory of his race. A painting by Terence Cuneo depicts the Gurney Nutting coupé racing along a road parallel to the Blue Train, which scenario never occurred as the road and railway did not follow the same route.
Cricklewood Bentleys.
The original model was the three-litre, but as customers put heavier bodies on the chassis, a larger 4½-litre model followed. Perhaps the most iconic model of the period is the 4½-litre "Blower Bentley", with its distinctive supercharger projecting forward from the bottom of the grille. Uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley it was not the racing workhorse the 6½-litre was, though in 1930 Birkin remarkably finished second in the French Grand Prix at Pau in a stripped-down racing version of the Blower Bentley, behind Philippe Etancelin in a Bugatti Type 35.
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The 4½-litre model later became famous in popular media as the vehicle of choice of James Bond in the original novels, but this has been seen only briefly in the films. John Steed in the television series "The Avengers" also drove a Bentley.
The new eight-litre was such a success that when Barnato's money seemed to run out in 1931 and Napier was planning to buy Bentley's business, Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley Motors to prevent it from competing with their most expensive model, the Phantom II.
24 hours of Le Mans Grand Prix d'Endurance.
Bentley withdrew from motor racing just after winning at Le Mans in 1930, claiming that they had learned enough about speed and reliability.
Liquidation.
The Wall Street crash of 1929 and the resulting Great Depression throttled the demand for Bentley's expensive motor cars. In July 1931 two mortgage payments were due which neither the company nor Barnato, the guarantor, were able to meet. On 10 July 1931 a receiver was appointed.
Napier offered to buy Bentley with the purchase to be final in November 1931. Instead, British Central Equitable Trust made a winning sealed bid of £125,000. British Central Equitable Trust later proved to be a front for Rolls-Royce Limited. Not even Bentley himself knew the identity of the purchaser until the deal was completed.
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Barnato received £42,000 for his shares in Bentley Motors. In 1934 he was appointed to the board of the new Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. In the same year Bentley confirmed that it would continue racing.
Rolls-Royce (1931–1970).
Derby.
Rolls-Royce took over the assets of Bentley Motors (1919) Ltd and formed a subsidiary, Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. Rolls-Royce had acquired the Bentley showrooms in Cork Street, the service station at Kingsbury, the complex at Cricklewood and the services of Bentley himself. This last was disputed by Napier in court without success. Bentley had neglected to register their trademark so Rolls-Royce immediately did so. They also sold the Cricklewood factory in 1932. Production stopped for two years, before resuming at the Rolls-Royce works in Derby. Unhappy with his role at Rolls-Royce, when his contract expired at the end of April 1935 W. O. Bentley left to join Lagonda.
When the new Bentley 3½ litre appeared in 1933, it was a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25, which disappointed some traditional customers yet was well received by many others. W. O. Bentley was reported as saying, "Taking all things into consideration, I would rather own this Bentley than any other car produced under that name". Rolls-Royce's advertisements for the Litre called it "the silent sports car", a slogan Rolls-Royce continued to use for Bentley cars until the 1950s.
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All Bentleys produced from 1931 to 2004 used inherited or shared Rolls-Royce chassis, and adapted Rolls-Royce engines, and are described by critics as badge-engineered Rolls-Royces.
Crewe.
In preparation for war, Rolls-Royce and the British Government searched for a location for a shadow factory to ensure production of aero-engines. Crewe, with its excellent road and rail links, as well as being located in the northwest away from the aerial bombing starting in mainland Europe, was a logical choice. Crewe also had extensive open farming land. Construction of the factory started on a 60-acre area on the potato fields of Merrill's Farm in July 1938, with the first Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine rolling off the production line five months later. 25,000 Merlin engines were produced and at its peak, in 1943 during World War II, the factory employed 10,000 people. With the war in Europe over and the general move towards the then new jet engines, Rolls-Royce concentrated its aero-engine operations at Derby and moved motor car operations to Crewe.
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Standard Steel saloons.
Until some time after World War II, most high-end motorcar manufacturers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce did not supply complete cars. They sold rolling chassis, near-complete from the instrument panel forward. Each chassis was delivered to the coachbuilder of the buyer's choice. The biggest specialist car dealerships had coachbuilders build standard designs for them which were held in stock awaiting potential buyers.
To meet post-war demand, particularly UK Government pressure to export and earn overseas currency, Rolls-Royce developed an all-steel body using pressings made by Pressed Steel to create a "standard" ready-to-drive complete saloon car. The first steel-bodied model produced was the Bentley Mark VI: these started to emerge from the newly reconfigured Crewe factory early in 1946. Some years later, initially only for export, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn was introduced, a standard steel Bentley but with a Rolls-Royce radiator grille for a small extra charge, and this convention continued.
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Chassis remained available to coachbuilders until the end of production of the Bentley S3, which was replaced for October 1965 by the chassis-less monocoque construction T series.
Bentley Continental.
The Continental fastback coupé was aimed at the UK market, most cars, 164 plus a prototype, being right-hand drive. The chassis was produced at the Crewe factory and shared many components with the standard R type. Other than the R-Type standard steel saloon, R-Type Continentals were delivered as rolling chassis to the coachbuilder of choice. Coachwork for most of these cars was completed by H. J. Mulliner & Co. who mainly built them in fastback coupe form. Other coachwork came from Park Ward (London) who built six, later including a drophead coupe version. Franay (Paris) built five, Graber (Wichtrach, Switzerland) built three, one of them later altered by Köng (Basel, Switzerland), and Pininfarina made one. James Young (London) built in 1954 a Sports Saloon for the owner of James Young's, James Barclay.
The early R Type Continental has essentially the same engine as the standard R Type, but with modified carburation, induction and exhaust manifolds along with higher gear ratios. After July 1954 the car was fitted with an engine, having now a larger bore of with a total displacement of . The compression ratio was raised to 7.25:1.
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Vickers (1970–1998).
The problems of Bentley's owner with Rolls-Royce aero engine development, the RB211, brought about the financial collapse of its business in 1970.
The motorcar division was made a separate business, Rolls-Royce Motors Limited, which remained independent until bought by Vickers plc in August 1980. By the 1970s and early 1980s Bentley sales had fallen badly; at one point less than 5% of combined production carried the Bentley badge. Under Vickers, Bentley set about regaining its high-performance heritage, typified by the 1980 Mulsanne. Bentley's restored sporting image created a renewed interest in the name and Bentley sales as a proportion of output began to rise. By 1986 the Bentley:Rolls-Royce ratio had reached 40:60; by 1991 it achieved parity.
Volkswagen (1998–present).
In October 1997, Vickers announced that it had decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. BMW AG seemed to be a logical purchaser because BMW already supplied engines and other components for Bentley and Rolls-Royce branded cars and because of BMW and Vickers joint efforts in building aircraft engines. BMW made a final offer of £340m, but was outbid by Volkswagen AG, which offered £430m. Volkswagen AG acquired the vehicle designs, model nameplates, production and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks, but not the rights to the use of the Rolls-Royce name or logo, which are owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. In 1998, BMW started supplying components for the new range of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars—notably V8 engines for the Bentley Arnage and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, however, the supply contract allowed BMW to terminate its supply deal with Rolls-Royce with 12 months' notice, which would not be enough time for Volkswagen to re-engineer the cars.
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BMW paid Rolls-Royce plc £40m to license the Rolls-Royce name and logo. After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen AG agreed that, from 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines and components and would allow Volkswagen temporary use of the Rolls-Royce name and logo. All BMW engine supply ended in 2003 with the end of Silver Seraph production.
From 1 January 2003 forward, Volkswagen AG would be the sole provider of cars with the "Bentley" marque. BMW established a new legal entity, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, and built a new administrative headquarters and production facility for Rolls-Royce branded vehicles in Goodwood, West Sussex, England.
Investment and company development.
After acquiring the business, Volkswagen spent £500 million (about US$845 million) to modernise the Crewe factory and increase production capacity.
As of early 2010, there are about 3,500 working at Crewe, compared with about 1,500 in 1998 before being taken over by Volkswagen. It was reported that Volkswagen invested a total of nearly US$2 billion in Bentley and its revival. As a result of upgrading facilities at Crewe the bodywork now arrives fully painted at the Crewe facility for final assembly, with the parts coming from Germany—similarly Rolls-Royce body shells are painted and shipped to the UK for assembly only.
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Demand had been so great that the factory at Crewe was unable to meet orders despite an installed capacity of approximately 9,500 vehicles per year; there was a waiting list of over a year for new cars to be delivered. Consequently, part of the production of the new Flying Spur, a four-door version of the Continental GT, was assigned to the Transparent Factory (Germany), where the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury car was also assembled. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2006 after around 1,000 cars, with all car production reverting to the Crewe plant.
Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine in 2002 to celebrate her Golden Jubilee. Production of the two-door convertible Bentley Azure finished in 2003. It was replaced by a large luxury coupé powered by a W12 engine built in Crewe and named Bentley Continental GT.
It was confirmed in April 2005 a four-seat convertible Azure derived from the Arnage Drophead Coupé prototype would begin at Crewe in 2006. By the autumn of 2005, a convertible version of the successful Continental GT, the Continental GTC, was also presented in the autumn of 2005. These two models were launched in late 2006.
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A limited run of a Zagato modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed "GTZ".
A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show: The Continental Supersports. This new Bentley is a supercar combining extreme power with environmentally friendly FlexFuel technology, capable of using petrol (gasoline) and biofuel (E85 ethanol).
Bentley sales continued to increase, and in 2005 8,627 were sold worldwide, 3,654 in the United States. In 2007, the 10,000 cars-per-year threshold was broken for the first time with sales of 10,014. For 2007, a record profit of €155 million was also announced. Bentley reported a sale of about 7,600 units in 2008. However, its global sales plunged 50 percent to 4,616 vehicles in 2009 (with the U.S. deliveries dropped 49% to 1,433 vehicles) and it suffered an operating loss of €194 million, compared with an operating profit of €10 million in 2008. As a result of the slump in sales, production at Crewe was shut down during March and April 2009. Though vehicle sales increased by 11% to 5,117 in 2010, operating loss grew by 26% to €245 million. In Autumn 2010, workers at Crewe staged a series of protests over proposal of compulsory work on Fridays and mandatory overtime during the week.
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Vehicle sales in 2011 rose 37% to 7,003 vehicles, with the new Continental GT accounting for over one-third of total sales. The current workforce is about 4,000 people.
The business earned a profit in 2011 after two years of losses as a result of the following sales results:
On 23 March 2020, Bentley announced to halt production due to COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, Bentley announced that it will cut around 1,000 (one quarter of 4,200) job places in the UK as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 3 November 2020, Bentley announced that all new cars sold will be electric by 2030. This announcement also follows after the United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in February 2020 that he approved legislation that will ban and phase out non-electric vehicles (including Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid vehicles) from the UK by 2030 with hybrids being banned by 2035.
Deliveries, profits and staff.
Sources
Bentley recorded a 31% rise in global sales in FY21 despite shutdowns caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Production.
Sources
List of Bentley vehicles.
Motorsport.
A Bentley Continental GT3 entered by the M-Sport factory team won the Silverstone round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series. This was Bentley's first official entry in a British race since the 1930 RAC Tourist Trophy. |
Chordate
A chordate ( ) is a bilaterian animal belonging to the phylum Chordata ( ). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five distinctive physical characteristics (synapomorphies) that distinguish them from other taxa. These five synapomorphies are a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, an endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail.
In addition to the morphological characteristics used to define chordates, analysis of genome sequences has identified two conserved signature indels (CSIs) in their proteins: cyclophilin-like protein and inner mitochondrial membrane protease ATP23, which are exclusively shared by all vertebrates, tunicates and cephalochordates. These CSIs provide molecular means to reliably distinguish chordates from all other animals.
Chordates are divided into three subphyla: Vertebrata (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), whose notochords are replaced by a cartilaginous/bony axial endoskeleton (spine) and are cladistically and phylogenetically a subgroup of the clade Craniata (i.e. chordates with a skull); Tunicata or Urochordata (sea squirts, salps, and larvaceans), which only retain the synapomorphies during their larval stage; and Cephalochordata (lancelets), which resemble jawless fish but have no gills or a distinct head. The vertebrates and tunicates compose the clade Olfactores, which is sister to Cephalochordata (see diagram under Phylogeny). Extinct taxa such as the conodonts are chordates, but their internal placement is less certain. Hemichordata (which includes the acorn worms) was previously considered a fourth chordate subphylum, but now is treated as a separate phylum which are now thought to be closer to the echinoderms, and together they form the clade Ambulacraria, the sister phylum of the chordates. Chordata, Ambulacraria, and possibly Xenacoelomorpha are believed to form the superphylum Deuterostomia, although this has recently been called into doubt.
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Chordata is the third-largest phylum of the animal kingdom (behind only the protostomal phyla Arthropoda and Mollusca) and is also one of the most ancient animal taxons. Chordate fossils have been found from as early as the Cambrian explosion over 539 million years ago. Of the more than 81,000 living species of chordates, about half are ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii) and the vast majority of the rest are tetrapods, a terrestrial clade of lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii) who evolved air-breathing using lungs.
Etymology.
The name "chordate" comes from the first of these synapomorphies, the notochord, which plays a significant role in chordate body plan structuring and movements. Chordates are also bilaterally symmetric, have a coelom, possess a closed circulatory system, and exhibit metameric segmentation. Although the name Chordata is attributed to William Bateson (1885), it was already in prevalent use by 1880. Ernst Haeckel described a taxon comprising tunicates, cephalochordates, and vertebrates in 1866. Though he used the German vernacular form, it is allowed under the ICZN code because of its subsequent latinization.
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Anatomy.
Chordates form a phylum of animals that are defined by having at some stage in their lives all of the following anatomical features:
There are soft constraints that separate chordates from other biological lineages, but are not part of the formal definition:
Classification.
The following schema is from the 2015 edition of "Vertebrate Palaeontology". The invertebrate chordate classes are from "Fishes of the World". While it is generally structured so as to reflect evolutionary relationships (similar to a cladogram), it also retains the traditional ranks used in Linnaean taxonomy.
Subphyla.
Cephalochordata: Lancelets.
Cephalochordates, one of the three subdivisions of chordates, are small, "vaguely fish-shaped" animals that lack brains, clearly defined heads and specialized sense organs. These burrowing filter-feeders compose the earliest-branching chordate subphylum.
Tunicata (Urochordata).
The tunicates have three distinct adult shapes. Each is a member of one of three monophylitic clades. All tunicate larvae have the standard chordate features, including long, tadpole-like tails. Their larva also have rudimentary brains, light sensors and tilt sensors.
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The smallest of the three groups of tunicates is the Appendicularia. They retain tadpole-like shapes and active swimming all their lives, and were for a long time regarded as larvae of the other two groups.
The other two groups, the sea squirts and the salps, metamorphize into adult forms which lose the notochord, nerve cord, and post anal tail. Both are soft-bodied filter feeders with multiple gill slits. They feed on plankton which they collect in their mucus.
Sea squirts are sessile and consist mainly of water pumps and filter-feeding apparatus. Most attach firmly to the sea floor, where they remain in one place for life, feeding on plankton.
The salps float in mid-water, feeding on plankton, and have a two-generation cycle in which one generation is solitary and the next forms chain-like colonies.
The etymology of the term Urochordata (Balfour 1881) is from the ancient Greek οὐρά (oura, "tail") + Latin chorda ("cord"), because the notochord is only found in the tail. The term Tunicata (Lamarck 1816) is recognised as having precedence and is now more commonly used.
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Craniata (Vertebrata).
Craniates all have distinct skulls. They include the hagfish, which have no vertebrae. Michael J. Benton commented that "craniates are characterized by their heads, just as chordates, or possibly all deuterostomes, are by their tails".
Most craniates are vertebrates, in which the notochord is replaced by the vertebral column. It consists of a series of bony or cartilaginous cylindrical vertebrae, generally with neural arches that protect the spinal cord, and with projections that link the vertebrae. Hagfishes have incomplete braincases and no vertebrae, and are therefore not regarded as vertebrates, but they are members of the craniates, the group within which vertebrates are thought to have evolved. However the cladistic exclusion of hagfish from the vertebrates is controversial, as they may instead be degenerate vertebrates who have secondarily lost their vertebral columns.
Before molecular phylogenetics, the position of lampreys was ambiguous. They have complete braincases and rudimentary vertebrae, and therefore may be regarded as vertebrates and true fish. However, molecular phylogenetics, which uses DNA to classify organisms, has produced both results that group them with vertebrates and others that group them with hagfish. If lampreys are more closely related to the hagfish than the other vertebrates, this would suggest that they form a clade, which has been named the Cyclostomata.
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Phylogeny.
Overview.
There is still much ongoing differential (DNA sequence based) comparison research that is trying to separate out the simplest forms of chordates. As some lineages of the 90% of species that lack a backbone or notochord might have lost these structures over time, this complicates the classification of chordates. Some chordate lineages may only be found by DNA analysis, when there is no physical trace of any chordate-like structures.
Attempts to work out the evolutionary relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses. The current consensus is that chordates are monophyletic, meaning that the Chordata include all and only the descendants of a single common ancestor, which is itself a chordate, and that the vertebrates' nearest relatives are tunicates. Recent identification of two conserved signature indels (CSIs) in the proteins cyclophilin-like protein and mitochondrial inner membrane protease ATP23, which are exclusively shared by all vertebrates, tunicates and cephalochordates also provide strong evidence of the monophyly of Chordata.
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All of the earliest chordate fossils have been found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna, and include two species that are regarded as fish, which implies that they are vertebrates. Because the fossil record of early chordates is poor, only molecular phylogenetics offers a reasonable prospect of dating their emergence. However, the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial. It has proven difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce evolutionary "family trees" shows that many of the traditional classes are paraphyletic.
Diagram of the evolutionary relationships of chordates
While this has been well known since the 19th century, an insistence on only monophyletic taxa has resulted in vertebrate classification being in a state of flux.
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Fossils of one major deuterostome group, the echinoderms (whose modern members include starfish, sea urchins and crinoids), are quite common from the start of the Cambrian, . The Mid Cambrian fossil "Rhabdotubus johanssoni" has been interpreted as a pterobranch hemichordate. Opinions differ about whether the Chengjiang fauna fossil "Yunnanozoon", from the earlier Cambrian, was a hemichordate or chordate. Another fossil, "Haikouella lanceolata", also from the Chengjiang fauna, is interpreted as a chordate and possibly a craniate, as it shows signs of a heart, arteries, gill filaments, a tail, a neural chord with a brain at the front end, and possibly eyes—although it also had short tentacles round its mouth. "Haikouichthys" and "Myllokunmingia", also from the Chengjiang fauna, are regarded as fish. "Pikaia", discovered much earlier (1911) but from the Mid Cambrian Burgess Shale (505 Ma), is also regarded as a primitive chordate. On the other hand, fossils of early chordates are very rare, since invertebrate chordates have no bones or teeth, and only one has been reported for the rest of the Cambrian. The best known and earliest unequivocally identified Tunicate is "Shankouclava shankouense" from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan Shale at Shankou village, Anning, near Kunming (South China).
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The evolutionary relationships between the chordate groups and between chordates as a whole and their closest deuterostome relatives have been debated since 1890. Studies based on anatomical, embryological, and paleontological data have produced different "family trees". Some closely linked chordates and hemichordates, but that idea is now rejected. Combining such analyses with data from a small set of ribosome RNA genes eliminated some older ideas, but opened up the possibility that tunicates (urochordates) are "basal deuterostomes", surviving members of the group from which echinoderms, hemichordates and chordates evolved. Some researchers believe that, within the chordates, craniates are most closely related to cephalochordates, but there are also reasons for regarding tunicates (urochordates) as craniates' closest relatives.
Since early chordates have left a poor fossil record, attempts have been made to calculate the key dates in their evolution by molecular phylogenetics techniques—by analyzing biochemical differences, mainly in RNA. One such study suggested that deuterostomes arose before and the earliest chordates around . However, molecular estimates of dates often disagree with each other and with the fossil record, and their assumption that the molecular clock runs at a known constant rate has been challenged.
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Traditionally, Cephalochordata and Craniata were grouped into the proposed clade "Euchordata", which would have been the sister group to Tunicata/Urochordata. More recently, Cephalochordata has been thought of as a sister group to the "Olfactores", which includes the craniates and tunicates. The matter is not yet settled.
A specific relationship between vertebrates and tunicates is also strongly supported by two CSIs found in the proteins predicted exosome complex RRP44 and serine palmitoyltransferase, that are exclusively shared by species from these two subphyla but not cephalochordates, indicating vertebrates are more closely related to tunicates than cephalochordates.
Cladogram.
Below is a phylogenetic tree of the phylum. Lines of the cladogram show probable evolutionary relationships between both extinct taxa, which are denoted with a dagger (†), and extant taxa.
Closest non-chordate relatives.
The closest relatives of the chordates are believed to be the hemichordates and Echinodermata, which together form the Ambulacraria.
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The Chordata and Ambulacraria together form the superphylum Deuterostomia.
Hemichordates.
Hemichordates ("half chordates") have some features similar to those of chordates: branchial openings that open into the pharynx and look rather like gill slits; stomochords, similar in composition to notochords, but running in a circle round the "collar", which is ahead of the mouth; and a dorsal nerve cord—but also a smaller ventral nerve cord.
There are two living groups of hemichordates. The solitary enteropneusts, commonly known as "acorn worms", have long proboscises and worm-like bodies with up to 200 branchial slits, are up to long, and burrow though seafloor sediments. Pterobranchs are colonial animals, often less than long individually, whose dwellings are interconnected. Each filter feeds by means of a pair of branched tentacles, and has a short, shield-shaped proboscis. The extinct graptolites, colonial animals whose fossils look like tiny hacksaw blades, lived in tubes similar to those of pterobranchs.
Echinoderms.
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Echinoderms differ from chordates and their other relatives in three conspicuous ways: they possess bilateral symmetry only as larvae – in adulthood they have radial symmetry, meaning that their body pattern is shaped like a wheel; they have tube feet; and their bodies are supported by dermal skeletons made of calcite, a material not used by chordates. Their hard, calcified shells keep their bodies well protected from the environment, and these skeletons enclose their bodies, but are also covered by thin skins. The feet are powered by another unique feature of echinoderms, a water vascular system of canals that also functions as a "lung" and surrounded by muscles that act as pumps. Crinoids are typically sessile and look rather like flowers (hence the common name "sea lilies"), and use their feather-like arms to filter food particles out of the water; most live anchored to rocks, but a few species can move very slowly. Other echinoderms are mobile and take a variety of body shapes, for example starfish and brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. |
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron ( ; ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, "Time" named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Theron came to international prominence in the 1990s by playing the leading lady in the Hollywood films "The Devil's Advocate" (1997), "Mighty Joe Young" (1998), and "The Cider House Rules" (1999). She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" (2003), for which she won the Silver Bear and Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first South African to win an acting Oscar. She received another Academy Award nomination for playing a sexually abused woman seeking justice in the drama "North Country" (2005).
Theron has starred in several commercially successful action films, including "The Italian Job" (2003), "Hancock" (2008), "Prometheus" (2012), "" (2015), "Atomic Blonde" (2017), and "The Old Guard" (2020), as well as several "Fast & Furious" installments: "The Fate of the Furious" (2017), "F9" (2021), and "Fast X" (2023). She received praise for playing troubled women in Jason Reitman's comedy-dramas "Young Adult" (2011) and "Tully" (2018), and for portraying Megyn Kelly in the biographical drama "Bombshell" (2019) she received her third Academy Award nomination.
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Since the early 2000s, Theron has ventured into film production with her company Denver and Delilah Productions. She has produced numerous films, many in which she had a starring role, including "The Burning Plain" (2008), "Dark Places" (2015), and "Long Shot" (2019). Theron became an American citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship.
Early life.
Theron was born in Benoni, in Transvaal Province (Gauteng Province since 1994) of South Africa on 7 August 1975. She is the only child of road constructionists Gerda (née Maritz) and Charles Theron (27 November 1947 – 21 June 1991). The Second Boer War military leader Danie Theron was her great-granduncle. She is from an Afrikaner family, and her ancestry includes Dutch as well as French and German. Her French forebears were early Huguenots in South Africa. Although Theron is fluent in English, her first language is Afrikaans.
She grew up on her parents' farm in Benoni, near Johannesburg. On 21 June 1991, Theron's father, an alcoholic, threatened both Charlize and her mother while drunk, physically attacking her mother and firing a gun at both of them. Theron's mother retrieved her own handgun, shot back and killed him. The shooting was legally adjudged to have been self-defense, and her mother faced no charges.
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Theron attended Putfontein Primary School (Laerskool Putfontein), a period during which she has said she was not "fitting in". She was frequently unwell with jaundice throughout childhood and the antibiotics she was administered made her upper incisor milk teeth rot; they had to be surgically removed. Theron's permanent teeth did not grow until she was roughly ten years old. At 13, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. About her early life in her home country, Theron has said: “I grew up as an only child in South Africa, and there was turmoil in my family, but the surroundings were so great. I was usually barefoot in the dirt: no Game Boys, no computers, and we had sanctions, so there were no concerts. This meant you had to entertain yourself.”
Career.
1991–2002: Early work and breakthrough.
Although she saw herself as a dancer, Theron won a one-year modelling contract at age 16 at a local competition in Salerno, Italy and moved with her mother to Milan, Italy. After Theron spent a year modelling throughout Europe, she and her mother moved to the United States; they resided in New York City and Miami. In New York, she attended the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer until a knee injury closed this career path. As Theron recalled in 2008:
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In 1994, Theron flew to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket her mother bought for her; she intended to work in the film industry. During her initial months there, she lived in a motel with the $300 budget that her mother had given her; she continued receiving cheques from New York and lived "from paycheck to paycheck". Theron stole bread from a basket in a restaurant to survive. One day, she went to a Hollywood Boulevard bank to cash a few cheques, including one her mother had sent to help with the rent; however; the check from her mother was rejected because it was out-of-state and she was not an American citizen. Theron argued and pleaded with the bank teller until talent agent John Crosby, who was the next customer behind her, cashed it for her and gave her his business card.
Crosby introduced Theron to an acting school. In 1995, she played her first non-speaking film role in the horror film "". In Theron's first speaking role, she portrayed hitwoman Helga Svelgen in "2 Days in the Valley" (1996). Despite the film's mixed reviews, Theron drew attention due to her beauty and to a scene in which she fought Teri Hatcher's character. Theron feared being typecast as characters similar to Helga and recalled being asked to repeat her performance in the film during auditions: "A lot of people were saying, 'You should just hit while the iron's hot' [...] But playing the same part over and over doesn't leave you with any longevity. And I knew it was going to be harder for me, because of what I look like, to branch out to different kinds of roles".
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When auditioning for "Showgirls", Theron was introduced to talent agent J. J. Harris by co-casting director Johanna Ray. She recalled being surprised at how much faith Harris had in her potential. Theron has referred to Harris as her mentor. Harris found scripts and films for Theron in a variety of genres and encouraged her to become a producer. She served as Theron's agent for over 15 years.
Theron's career expanded by the end of the 1990s. In the horror drama "The Devil's Advocate" (1997), which is credited as her break-out film, Theron starred alongside Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino as the haunted wife of an unusually successful lawyer. She subsequently starred in the adventure film "Mighty Joe Young" (1998) as the friend and protector of a giant mountain gorilla, and in the drama "The Cider House Rules" (1999), as a woman who seeks an abortion in World War II-era Maine. While "Mighty Joe Young" flopped at the box office, "The Devil's Advocate" and "The Cider House Rules" were commercially successful. She appeared on the cover of the January 1999 issue of "Vanity Fair" as the "White Hot Venus". The May 1999 issue of "Playboy" magazine also featured Theron on its cover; the photos of Theron used by "Playboy" had been taken several years earlier when she was an unknown model, and Theron unsuccessfully sued the magazine for publishing them without her consent.
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By the early 2000s, Theron continued to steadily take on roles in films such as "Reindeer Games" (2000), "The Yards" (2000), "The Legend of Bagger Vance" (2000), "Men of Honor" (2000), "Sweet November" (2001), "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" (2001), and "Trapped" (2002), all of which, despite achieving only limited commercial success, helped to establish her as an actress. On this period in her career, Theron remarked: "I kept finding myself in a place where directors would back me but studios didn't. [I began] a love affair with directors, the ones I really, truly admired. I found myself making really bad movies, too. "Reindeer Games" was not a good movie, but I did it because I loved [director] John Frankenheimer".
2003–2010: Rise to prominence.
Theron starred as a safe and vault technician in the 2003 heist film "The Italian Job", an American homage/remake of the 1969 British film of the same name, directed by F. Gary Gray and opposite Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Seth Green, and Donald Sutherland. The film was a box office success, grossing US$176 million worldwide.
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In "Monster" (2003), Theron portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in Florida in 2002 for killing six men (she was not tried for a seventh murder) in the late 1980s and early 1990s; film critic Roger Ebert felt that Theron gave "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema". For her portrayal, she was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award. She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress. The Oscar win pushed her to "The Hollywood Reporter"s 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning up to US$10 million for a film; she ranked seventh. "AskMen" named her the number one most desirable woman of 2003.
For her role as Swedish actress and singer Britt Ekland in the 2004 HBO film "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers", Theron garnered Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award nominations. In 2005, she portrayed Rita, the mentally challenged love interest of Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), on the third season of Fox's television series "Arrested Development", and starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller "Æon Flux"; for her voice-over work in the "Aeon Flux" video game, she received a Spike Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Human Female.
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In the critically acclaimed drama "North Country" (2005), Theron played a single mother and an iron mine worker experiencing sexual harassment. David Rooney of "Variety" wrote: "The film represents a confident next step for lead Charlize Theron. Though the challenges of following a career-redefining Oscar role have stymied actresses, Theron segues from "Monster" to a performance in many ways more accomplished [...] The strength of both the performance and character anchor the film firmly in the tradition of other dramas about working-class women leading the fight over industrial workplace issues, such as "Norma Rae" or "Silkwood"." Roger Ebert echoed the same sentiment, calling her "an actress who has the beauty of a fashion model but has found resources within herself for these powerful roles about unglamorous women in the world of men." For her performance, she received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress. "Ms." magazine honoured her for this performance with a feature article in its Fall 2005 issue. On 30 September 2005, Theron received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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In 2007, Theron played a police detective in the critically acclaimed crime film "In the Valley of Elah", and produced and starred as a reckless, slatternly mother in the drama film "Sleepwalking", alongside Nick Stahl and AnnaSophia Robb. "The Christian Science Monitor" praised the latter film, commenting that "Despite its deficiencies, and the inadequate screen time allotted to Theron (who's quite good), "Sleepwalking" has a core of feeling". In 2008, Theron starred as a woman who faced a traumatic childhood in the drama "The Burning Plain", directed by Guillermo Arriaga and opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Kim Basinger, and played the ex-wife of an alcoholic superhero alongside Will Smith in the superhero film "Hancock". "The Burning Plain" found a limited release in US theatres, but grossed $5,267,917 outside the US. "Hancock" made US$624.3 million worldwide. Also in 2008, Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year, and was asked to be a UN Messenger of Peace by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
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Her film releases in 2009 were the post-apocalyptic drama "The Road", in which she briefly appears in flashbacks, and the animated film "Astro Boy", providing her voice for a character. On 4 December 2009, Theron co-presented the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, accompanied by several other celebrities of South African nationality or ancestry. During rehearsals she drew an Ireland ball instead of France as a joke at the expense of FIFA, referring to Thierry Henry's handball controversy in the play-off match between France and Ireland. The stunt alarmed FIFA enough for it to fear she might do it again in front of a live global audience.
2011–2019: Established actress.
Following a two-year hiatus from films, Theron returned to the spotlight in 2011 with the black comedy "Young Adult". Directed by Jason Reitman, the film earned critical acclaim, particularly for her performance as a depressed, divorced, alcoholic 37-year-old ghostwriter. Richard Roeper awarded the film an A grade, stating "Charlize Theron delivers one of the most impressive performances of the year". She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and several other awards. Roger Ebert called her one of the best actors working today.
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In 2012, Theron took on the role of villain in two big-budgeted films. She played Evil Queen Ravenna, Snow White's evil stepmother, in "Snow White and the Huntsman", opposite Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth, and appeared as a crew member with a hidden agenda in Ridley Scott's "Prometheus". Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" found "Snow White and the Huntsman" to be "[a] slow, boring film that has no charm and is highlighted only by a handful of special effects and Charlize Theron's truly evil queen", while "The Hollywood Reporter" writer Todd McCarthy, describing her role in "Prometheus", asserted: "Theron is in ice goddess mode here, with the emphasis on ice [...] but perfect for the role all the same". Both films were major box office hits, grossing around US$400 million internationally each. The following year, "Vulture"/"NYMag" named her the 68th Most Valuable Star in Hollywood saying: "We're just happy that Theron can stay on the list in a year when she didn't come out with anything [...] any actress who's got that kind of skill, beauty, and ferocity ought to have a permanent place in Hollywood". On 10 May 2014, Theron hosted "Saturday Night Live" on NBC. In 2014, Theron took on the role of the wife of an infamous outlaw in the western comedy film "A Million Ways to Die in the West", directed by Seth MacFarlane, which was met with mediocre reviews and moderate box office returns.
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In 2015, Theron played the sole survivor of the massacre of her family in the film adaptation of the Gillian Flynn novel "Dark Places", directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, in which she had a producer credit, and starred as Imperator Furiosa in ' (2015), opposite Tom Hardy. "Mad Max" received widespread critical acclaim, with praise going towards Theron for the dominant nature taken by her character. The film made US$378.4 million worldwide. She next reprised her role as Queen Ravenna in the 2016 film ', a sequel to "Snow White and the Huntsman", which was a critical and commercial failure. In 2016, Theron starred as a physician and activist working in West Africa in the little-seen romantic drama "The Last Face", with Sean Penn, provided her voice for the 3D stop-motion fantasy film "Kubo and the Two Strings", and produced the independent drama "Brain on Fire". That year, "Time" named her in the "Time" 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
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In 2019, Theron produced and starred in the romantic comedy film "Long Shot", opposite Seth Rogen and directed by Jonathan Levine, portraying a U.S. Secretary of State who reconnects with a journalist she used to babysit. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest in March, and was released on 3 May to positive reviews from film critics. Theron next starred as Megyn Kelly in the drama "Bombshell", which she co-produced. Directed by Jay Roach, the film revolves around the sexual harassment allegations made against Fox News CEO Roger Ailes by former female employees. For her work in the film, Theron was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. That year, "Forbes" ranked her as the ninth highest-paid actress in the world, with an annual income of $23 million.
2020–present: Continued success.
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In 2020, she produced and starred opposite KiKi Layne in the superhero film "The Old Guard", directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The following year, she reprised her role as Cipher in "F9", originally set for release on 22 May 2020, before its delay to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, Theron appeared in several projects. Upon the film's release in May, it was revealed that Theron would portray the character Clea in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with her debut in the mid-credits scene of the superhero film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". She played Lady Lesso in the fantasy Netflix film "The School for Good and Evil" and filmed a cameo in the third season opener of "The Boys" as an actress playing Stormfront.
In 2023, Theron reprised her role as Cipher in "Fast X" and executive produced the HBO documentary series "" about a serial killer preying on gay men. In 2024, she was cast in Christopher Nolan upcoming epic film "The Odyssey" (2026).
Other ventures.
Activism.
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The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) was created in 2007 by Theron, in an effort to support African youth in the fight against HIV/AIDS. By November 2017, CTAOP had raised more than $6.3 million to support African organizations working on the ground.
In 2008, Theron was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In his citation, Ban Ki-moon said of Theron: "You have consistently dedicated yourself to improving the lives of women and children in South Africa, and to preventing and stopping violence against women and girls." She recorded a public service announcement in 2014 as part of the UN's "Stop Rape Now" program.
In December 2009, CTAOP and Toms Shoes partnered to create a limited edition unisex shoe. The shoe was made from vegan materials and inspired by the African baobab tree, the silhouette of which was embroidered on blue and orange canvas. Ten thousand pairs were given to destitute children, and a portion of the proceeds went to CTAOP.
In 2020, CTAOP partnered with Parfums Christian Dior to create Dior Stands With Women, an initiative that includes Cara Delevingne, Yalitza Aparicio, Paloma Elsesser, and others, to encourage women to be assertive by documenting their journey, challenges and accomplishments.
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Theron is involved in women's rights organizations and has marched in pro-choice rallies.
Theron is a supporter of same-sex marriage and attended a march and rally to support that in Fresno, California, on 30 May 2009. She publicly stated that she refused to get married until same sex marriage became legal in the United States, saying: "I don't want to get married because right now the institution of marriage feels very one-sided, and I want to live in a country where we all have equal rights. I think it would be exactly the same if we were married, but for me to go through that kind of ceremony, because I have so many friends who are gays and lesbians who would so badly want to get married, that I wouldn't be able to sleep with myself". Theron further elaborated on her stance in a June 2011 interview on "Piers Morgan Tonight". She stated: "I do have a problem with the fact that our government hasn't stepped up enough to make this federal, to make [gay marriage] legal. I think everybody has that right".
In March 2014, CTAOP was among the charities that benefited from the annual Fame and Philanthropy fundraising event on the night of the 86th Academy Awards. Theron was an honoured guest along with Halle Berry and keynote speaker James Cameron.
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In 2015, Theron signed an open letter which One Campaign had been collecting signatures for; the letter was addressed to Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urging them to focus on women as they serve as the head of the G7 in Germany and the AU in South Africa respectively, which will start to set the priorities in development funding before a main UN summit in September 2015 that will establish new development goals for the generation. In August 2017, she visited South Africa with Trevor Noah and made a donation to the South African charity Life Choices. In 2018, she gave a speech about AIDS prevention at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, organized by the International AIDS Society.
On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Theron and Sheryl Lee Ralph would receive the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award for their commitment to raising awareness of HIV at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS fundraising gala.
Endorsements.
Having signed a deal with John Galliano in 2004, Theron replaced Estonian model Tiiu Kuik as the spokeswoman in the J'Adore advertisements by Christian Dior. In June 2024, Dior announced Theron will no longer be the face of J'Adore and be replaced by Barbadian singer and businesswoman Rihanna. In 2018, she appeared in a new advertisement for Dior J'adore. From October 2005 to December 2006, Theron earned US$3 million for the use of her image in a worldwide print media advertising campaign for Raymond Weil watches. In February 2006, she and her production company were sued by Weil for breach of contract. The lawsuit was settled on 4 November 2008. In 2018, Theron joined Brad Pitt, Daniel Wu and Adam Driver as brand ambassadors for Breitling, dubbed the Breitling Cinema Squad.
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Personal life.
In 2007, Theron became a naturalised citizen of the United States, while retaining her South African citizenship.
Theron has adopted two children: a daughter in March 2012 and another daughter in July 2015. She has been interested in adoption since childhood, when she became aware of orphanages and the overflowing numbers of children in them. In April 2019, Theron revealed that Jackson, then seven years old, is a transgender girl. She said of her daughters, "They were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be, is not for me to decide".
She is inspired by actresses Susan Sarandon and Sigourney Weaver. She has described her admiration for Tom Hanks as a "love affair" and watched many of his films throughout her youth. Hollywood actors were not featured in magazines in South Africa so she did not know how famous he was until she moved to the United States, which has been inferred as a factor of her "down-to-earth" attitude to fame. After filming for "That Thing You Do!" finished, Theron got Hanks' autograph on her script. She later presented him his Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2020, in which Hanks revealed that he had a mutual admiration for Theron's career since the day he met her.
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Theron said in 2018 that she went to therapy in her thirties because of anger, discovering that it was due to her frustration growing up during South Africa's apartheid, which ended when she was 15.
In 2019, Theron spoke about her method of working on roles. Creating a physical identity together with the emotional part of the character, she said, is "a great tool set that adds on to everything else you were already doing as an actor. It's a case-by-case thing, but there is, to me, this beautiful thing that happens when you can get both sides: the exterior and interior. It's a really powerful dynamic". When preparing for a role, "I almost treat it like studying. I will find space where I am alone, where I can be focused, where there's nobody in my house, and I can really just sit down and study and play and look at my face and hear my voice and walk around and be a fucking idiot and my dogs are the only ones who are seeing that".
Theron is a longtime fan of the English band Depeche Mode and was the presenter for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2020.
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Relationships.
Theron's first public relationship was with actor Craig Bierko, whom she dated from 1995 to 1997.
Theron was in a three-year relationship with singer Stephan Jenkins until October 2001. Some of Third Eye Blind's third album, "Out of the Vein", explores the emotions Jenkins experienced as a result of their breakup.
Theron began a relationship with Irish actor Stuart Townsend in 2001 after meeting him on the set of "Trapped". The couple lived together in Los Angeles and Ireland. The couple split up in late 2009.
In December 2013, Theron began dating American actor Sean Penn. The relationship ended in June 2015. There were reports they were engaged, which Theron strongly denied, adding that the relationship had ended before it ever became serious. Theron starred in Penn's film "The Last Face" (2016), which they filmed while still a couple.
Health concerns.
Theron often quips that she has more injuries on sets that are not action films; however, while filming "Æon Flux" in Berlin, Theron suffered a herniated disc in her neck, caused by a fall while filming a series of back handsprings. It required her to wear a neck brace for a month. Her thumb ligament tore during filming of "The Old Guard" when her thumb caught in another actor's jacket during a fight scene, which required three operations and six months in a thumb brace. During the filming of "Atomic Blonde" she broke teeth from clenching her jaw, and had dental surgery to remove them: "I had the removal and I had to put a donor bone in there to heal until I came back, and then I had another surgery to put a metal screw in there."
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Outside of action films, she had a herniated disk in her lower back as she filmed "Tully" and suffered from a depression-like state, which she theorized was the result of the processed food she had to eat for her character's post-natal body. In July 2009, she was diagnosed with a serious stomach virus, thought to be contracted while overseas. While filming "The Road", Theron injured her vocal cords while screaming during the labour scenes. When promoting "Long Shot", she revealed that she laughed so hard at "Borat" that her neck locked for five days. She added that on the set of "Long Shot" she "ended up in the ER" after knocking her head against a bench behind her when she was putting on knee pads.
Filmography and accolades.
Theron has appeared in over 50 films. She has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and an Emmy Award. |
Chess
Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players which involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square game board called a chessboard containing 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to as "White" and "Black", each control sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns; each type of piece has a different pattern of movement. An enemy piece may be "captured" (removed from the board) by moving one's own piece onto the square it occupies; the object of the game is to "checkmate" (threaten with inescapable capture) the enemy king. There are also several ways a game can end in a draw.
The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of chaturanga—also thought to be an ancestor to similar games like and —in seventh-century India. After its introduction in Persia, it spread to the Arab world and then to Europe. The modern rules of chess emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, with millions of players worldwide.
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Organized chess arose in the 19th century. Chess competition today is governed internationally by FIDE ("Fédération Internationale des Échecs"; the International Chess Federation). The first universally recognized World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; Gukesh Dommaraju is the current World Champion, having won the title in 2024.
A huge body of chess theory has developed since the game's inception. Aspects of art are found in chess composition, and chess in its turn influenced Western culture and the arts, and has connections with other fields such as mathematics, computer science, and psychology. One of the goals of early computer scientists was to create a chess-playing machine. In 1997, Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a reigning World Champion in a match when it defeated Garry Kasparov. Today's chess engines are significantly stronger than the best human players and have deeply influenced the development of chess theory; however, chess is not a solved game.
Rules.
The rules of chess are published by FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs; "International Chess Federation"), chess's world governing body, in its "Handbook". Rules published by national governing bodies, or by unaffiliated chess organizations, commercial publishers, etc., may differ in some details. FIDE's rules were most recently revised in 2023.
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Setup.
Chess sets come in a wide variety of styles. The Staunton pattern is the most common, and is usually required for competition. Chess sets come with pieces in two colors, referred to as "white" and "black", regardless of their actual color; the players controlling the color sets are referred to as "White" and "Black", respectively. Each set comes with at least the following 16 pieces in both colors: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.
The game is played on a square board of eight rows (called ') and eight columns (called '). Although it does not affect gameplay, by convention the 64 squares alternate in color and are referred to as and squares.
To start the game, White's pieces are placed on the first rank in the following order, from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. Pawns are placed on each square of the second rank. Black's position mirrors White's, with equivalent pieces on every file. The board is oriented so that the right-hand corner nearest each player is a light square; as a result the white queen always starts on a light square, while the black queen starts on a dark square. This may be remembered by the phrases "white on the right" and "queen on her color".
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In competition, the piece colors are allocated to players by the organizers. In informal games, colors may be decided either by mutual agreement, or randomly, for example by a coin toss, or by one player concealing a white pawn in one hand and a black pawn in the other and having the opponent choose.
Movement.
White moves first, after which players alternate turns. One piece is moved per turn (except when castling, during which two pieces are moved). In the diagrams, dots mark the squares to which each type of piece can move if unoccupied by friendly pieces and there are no intervening piece(s) of either color (except the knight, which leaps over any intervening pieces). With the sole exception of "en passant", a piece captures an enemy piece by moving to the square it occupies, removing it from play and taking its place. The pawn is the only piece that does not capture the way it moves, and it is the only piece that moves and captures in only one direction (forwards from the player's perspective). A piece is said to "control" empty squares on which it could capture, "attack" squares with enemy pieces it could capture, and "defend" squares with pieces of the same color on which it could recapture. Moving is compulsory; a player may not skip a turn, even when having to move is detrimental.
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Check and checkmate.
When a king is under immediate attack, it is "in check". A move in response to a check is legal only if it results in a position in which the king is no longer in check. There are three ways to counter a check:
The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent; this occurs when the opponent's king is in check, and there is no legal way to get it out of check. In casual games, it is common to announce "check" when putting the opponent's king in check, but this is not required by the rules of chess and is usually not done in tournaments.
Castling.
Kings can "castle" once per game. Castling consists of moving the king two squares toward either rook of the same color, and then placing the rook on the square that the king crossed.
Castling is possible only if the following conditions are met:
Castling is still permitted if the rook is under attack, or if the rook crosses an attacked square.
Special pawn moves.
Pawns have two special moves:
End of the game.
Win.
A game can be won in the following ways:
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Draw.
There are several ways a game can end in a draw:
Time control.
In competition, chess games are played with a time control. Methods and bounds vary, but time controls are generally divided into categories based on the amount of time given to each player (FIDE adds sixty turns worth of increment to the starting time when measuring), which range from classical time controls, which allot an hour or more to each player and which can take upwards of seven hours (even longer if adjournments are permitted), to bullet chess, in which players receive less than three minutes each. Between these are rapid chess (ten to sixty minutes per player), popular in amateur tournaments, and blitz chess (three to ten minutes), popular online. Non-classical chess is sometimes referred to as fast chess.
Time is controlled using a chess clock with two displays, one for each player's remaining time. Analog chess clocks have been largely replaced by digital clocks, which allow for time controls with increments.
There are some aspects unique to online chess. A premove allows a player to submit a move on the opponent's turn, which gets played automatically if possible using little to no time. Premoves, alongside the relative ease of digital inputs, make faster time controls feasible online.
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Time controls are also enforced in correspondence chess competitions. A typical time control is 50 days for every 10 moves. Time is usually allotted per move in online correspondence chess.
Notation.
Historically, many different notation systems have been used to record chess moves; the standard system today is short-form algebraic notation. In this system, files are labeled "a" through "h" and ranks are labeled "1" through "8". Squares are identified by the file and rank they occur on; g3 is the square on the g file and the third rank. In English, the piece notations are: "K" (king), "Q" (queen), "R" (rook), "B" (bishop), and "N" (knight; N is used to avoid confusion with king). Different initials are used in other languages. Moves are recorded as follows:
For example, Qg5 means "queen moves to g5". No letter initial is used for pawns, so e4 means "pawn moves to e4". When multiple moves could be rendered the same way, the file or rank from which the piece moved is added to resolve ambiguity (e.g. Ngf3 means "knight from the g-file moves to the square f3"; R1e2 means "rook on the first rank moves to e2"). If a move may be disambiguated by rank or file, it is done by file, and in the rare case that both are needed, squares are listed normally (e.g. Qh4xe1).
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If the move is a capture, "x" is usually inserted before the destination square, thus Bxf3 means "bishop captures on f3". When a pawn makes a capture, the file from which the pawn departed is often listed even when no disambiguation is necessary; for example, exd5.
If a pawn moves to its last rank, achieving promotion, the piece chosen is indicated after the move (for example, e1=Q or e1Q). Castling is indicated by the special notations 0-0 for castling and 0-0-0 for castling. A move that places the opponent's king in check usually has the notation "+" suffixed. Checkmate can be indicated by suffixing "#". At the end of the game, "1–0" means White won, "0–1" means Black won, and "½–½" indicates a draw. Chess moves can be annotated with punctuation marks and other symbols. For example: "!" indicates a good move; "!!" an excellent move; "?" a mistake; "??" a blunder; "!?" an interesting move that may not be best; or "?!" a dubious move not easily refuted.
Moves are written as white/black pairs, preceded by the move number and a period. Individual white moves are also recorded this way, while black moves are rendered with an ellipsis after the move number. For example, one variation of a simple trap known as the Scholar's mate (see animated diagram) can be recorded:
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The move 3... Nf6?? is recorded as a blunder, as it allows 4. Qxf7# checkmate.
Games or sequences may be recorded in Portable Game Notation (PGN), a text-based file format with support for annotative symbols, commentary, and background information, such as player names. It is based on short form English algebraic notation incorporating markup language. PGN transcripts, stored digitally as PGN (.pgn) files can be processed by most chess software and are easily readable by humans.
Variants of algebraic notation include "long algebraic", in which both the departure and destination square are indicated; "abbreviated algebraic", in which capture signs, check signs, and ranks of pawn captures may be omitted; and "figurine algebraic notation", used in chess books and magazines, which uses graphic symbols instead of initials to indicate pieces for readability regardless of language.
Until about 1980, the majority of English language chess publications used descriptive notation, in which files are identified by the initial letter of the piece that occupies the first rank at the beginning of the game. In descriptive notation, the common opening move 1.e4 is rendered as "1.P-K4" ("pawn to king four"). Another system is ICCF numeric notation, recognized by the International Correspondence Chess Federation though its use is in decline.
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In tournament games, players are normally required to keep a "" (written record of the game). This is a requirement in all FIDE-sanctioned games played at classical time controls. For this purpose, only algebraic notation is recognized by FIDE, though variants such as long algebraic are acceptable; game scores recorded in a different notation system may not be used as evidence in the event of a dispute.
Gameplay.
Theory.
Chess has an extensive literature. In 1913, the chess historian H.J.R. Murray estimated the total number of books, magazines, and chess columns in newspapers to be about 5,000. B.H. Wood estimated the number, as of 1949, to be about 20,000. David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld write that, "Since then there has been a steady increase year by year of the number of new chess publications. No one knows how many have been printed." Significant public chess libraries include the John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection at Cleveland Public Library, with over 32,000 chess books and over 6,000 bound volumes of chess periodicals; and the Chess & Draughts collection at the National Library of the Netherlands, with about 30,000 books.
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Strategy.
Chess strategy is concerned with the evaluation of chess positions and with setting up goals and long-term plans for future play. During the evaluation, players must take into account numerous factors such as the value of the pieces on the board, control of the center and centralization, the pawn structure, king safety, and the control of key squares or groups of squares (for example, diagonals, open files, and dark or light squares).
The most basic step in evaluating a position is to count the total value of pieces of both sides. The point values used for this purpose are based on experience; usually, pawns are considered worth one point, knights and bishops about three points each, rooks about five points (the value difference between a rook and a bishop or knight being known as the exchange), and queens about nine points. The king is more valuable than all of the other pieces combined, since its checkmate loses the game, but is still capable as a fighting piece; in the endgame, the king is generally more powerful than a bishop or knight but less powerful than a rook. These basic values are then modified by other factors like position of the piece (e.g. advanced pawns are usually more valuable than those on their initial squares), coordination between pieces (e.g. a pair of bishops usually coordinate better than a bishop and a knight), or the type of position (e.g. knights are generally better in with many pawns while bishops are more powerful in ).
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Another important factor in the evaluation of chess positions is "pawn structure" (sometimes known as the "pawn skeleton"): the configuration of pawns on the chessboard. Since pawns are the least mobile of the pieces, pawn structure is relatively static and largely determines the strategic nature of the position. Weaknesses in pawn structure include isolated, doubled, or backward pawns and ; once created, they are often permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid these weaknesses unless they are compensated by another valuable asset (for example, by the possibility of developing an attack).
Tactics.
In chess, tactics generally refer to short-term maneuvers – so short-term that they can be calculated in advance by a human player. The possible depth of calculation depends on the player's ability. In positions with many possibilities on both sides, a deep calculation is more difficult and may not be practical, while in positions with a limited number of variations, strong players can calculate long sequences of moves.
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Theoreticians describe many elementary tactical methods and typical maneuvers, for example: pins, forks, skewers, batteries, discovered attacks (especially discovered checks), zwischenzugs, deflections, decoys, sacrifices, underminings, overloadings, and interferences. Simple one-move or two-move tactical actions – threats, exchanges of , and double attacks – can be combined into longer sequences of tactical maneuvers that are often forced from the point of view of one or both players. A forced variation that involves a sacrifice and usually results in a tangible gain is called a "combination". Brilliant combinations – such as those in the Immortal Game – are considered beautiful and are admired by chess lovers.
A common type of chess exercise, aimed at developing players' tactical skills, is a position where a combination is available and the challenge is to find it. Such positions are usually taken from actual games or from analysis of actual games. Solutions usually result in checkmate, decisive advantage, or successful defense. Tactical exercises are commonly found in instructional books, chess magazines, newspaper chess columns, and internet chess sites.
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Phases.
Chess theory divides chess games into three phases with different sets of strategies: the opening, the middlegame, and lastly the endgame. There is no universally accepted way to delineate the three phases of the game; the middlegame is typically considered to have begun after 10–20 moves, and the endgame when only a few pieces remain.
Opening.
Competitive players typically learn, memorize, and play well-documented sequences of opening moves. The most common starting moves for White are 1.e4 and 1.d4, which usually lead to substantially different types of positions, and Black has multiple viable responses to both.
Sequences of opening moves are referred to as "openings" and are catalogued in reference works, such as the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings". There are thousands of openings, though only a small fraction of them are commonly played; variations of openings may also be given names. Openings vary widely in character from quiet (for example, the Réti Opening) to aggressive play (like the Latvian Gambit). In some opening lines, the exact sequence considered best for both sides has been worked out to more than 30 moves.
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The fundamental strategic aims of most openings are similar:
Most players and theoreticians consider that White, by virtue of the initiative granted from moving first, begins the game with a small advantage. Black usually strives to neutralize White's advantage and achieve , or to develop in an unbalanced position.
Middlegame.
The middlegame is the part of the game that starts after the opening. Because the opening theory has ended, players have to form plans based on the features of the position, and at the same time take into account the tactical possibilities of the position. The middlegame is the phase in which most combinations occur. Combinations are a series of tactical moves executed to achieve some gain. Middlegame combinations are often connected with an attack against the opponent's king. Some typical patterns have their own names; for example, the Boden's Mate or the Lasker–Bauer combination.
Specific plans or strategic themes will often arise from particular groups of openings that result in a specific type of pawn structure. An example is the , which is the attack of queenside pawns against an opponent who has more pawns on the queenside. The study of openings is therefore connected to the preparation of plans that are typical of the resulting middlegames.
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Another important strategic question in the middlegame is whether and how to reduce material and transition into an endgame (i.e. ). Minor material advantages can generally be transformed into victory only in an endgame, and therefore the stronger side must choose an appropriate way to achieve an ending. Not every reduction of material is good for this purpose; for example, if one side keeps a light-squared bishop and the opponent has a dark-squared one, the transformation into a bishops and pawns ending is usually advantageous for the weaker side only, because an endgame with bishops on opposite colors is likely to be a draw, even with an advantage of a pawn, or sometimes even with a two-pawn advantage.
Endgame.
The endgame (also "end game" or "ending") is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. There are three main strategic differences between earlier stages of the game and the endgame:
Endgames can be classified according to the type of pieces remaining on the board. Basic checkmates are positions in which one side has only a king and the other side has one or two pieces and can checkmate the opposing king, with the pieces working together with their king. For example, king and pawn endgames involve only kings and pawns on one or both sides, and the task of the stronger side is to promote one of the pawns. Other more complicated endings are classified according to pieces on the board other than kings, such as "rook and pawn versus rook" endgames.
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Problems and studies.
Chess problems (also called chess compositions) are composed positions, usually created for artistic effect rather than practical application. The creator is known as a chess composer.
There are many types of chess problems, the most common being , in which White is required to move and checkmate Black within a specified number of moves, usually two or three, against any defense.
These are commonly referred to as "two-movers", "three-movers", or "more-movers". "Many-movers" (also known as "long-range problems") of over 100 moves have been composed, the current record standing at over 200; these usually require repetitions of the same manoeuvre in order to produce a repeated zugzwang and force detrimental pawn advances.
Directmates usually consist of positions unlikely to occur in an actual game, and are intended to illustrate a particular ', usually requiring a surprising or counterintuitive ' move. Themes associated with chess problems occasionally appear in actual games, when they are referred to as "problem-like" moves.
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Other common types of problems include:
The above type of problems are usually considered orthodox, in the sense that the standard rules of chess are observed.
Fairy chess problems, also called heterodox problems, involve altered rules, such as the use of unconventional pieces or boards, or stipulations that contradict the standard rules of chess such as reflexmates or seriesmovers.
Studies are usually considered distinct from problems, although there is some overlap. In a study, the stipulation is that White to play must win or draw, without specifying any particular number of moves. The majority of studies are endgame positions, with varying degrees of realism or practical application.
Tournaments for composition and solving of chess problems and studies are organized by the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), which works cooperatively with but independent of FIDE. The WFCC awards titles for composing and solving chess problems.
Chess in public spaces.
Chess is often played in public spaces such as parks and town squares. Although the nature of these games is often , the chess hustling scene has seen growth in urban areas such as New York City.
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Organized competition.
Tournaments and matches.
Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments, and congresses. Thousands of chess tournaments, matches, and festivals are held around the world every year catering to players of all levels.
Tournaments with a small number of players may use the round-robin format, in which every player plays one game against every other player. For a large number of players, the Swiss system may be used, in which each player is paired against an opponent who has the same (or as similar as possible) score in each round. In either case, a player's score is usually calculated as 1 point for each game won and one-half point for each game drawn. Variations such as "football scoring" (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw) may be used by tournament organizers, but ratings are always calculated on the basis of standard scoring. A player's score may be reported as total score out of games played (e.g. 5½/8), points for versus points against (e.g. 5½–2½), or by number of wins, losses and draws (e.g. +4−1=3).
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The term "match" refers not to an individual game, but to either a series of games between two players, or a team competition in which each player of one team plays one game against a player of the other team.
Governance.
Chess's international governing body is usually known by its French acronym FIDE (pronounced FEE-day) (French: Fédération Internationale des Échecs), or International Chess Federation. FIDE's membership consists of the national chess organizations of over 180 countries; there are also several associate members, including various supra-national organizations, the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD), and the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA). FIDE is recognized as a sports governing body by the International Olympic Committee, but chess has never been part of the Olympic Games.
FIDE's most visible activity is organizing the World Chess Championship, a role it assumed in 1948. The current World Champion is Gukesh Dommaraju of India. The reigning Women's World Champion is Ju Wenjun from China.
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Other competitions for individuals include the World Junior Chess Championship, the European Individual Chess Championship, the tournaments for the World Championship qualification cycle, and the various national championships. Invitation-only tournaments regularly attract the world's strongest players. Examples include Spain's Linares event, Monte Carlo's Melody Amber tournament, the Dortmund Sparkassen meeting, Sofia's M-tel Masters, and Wijk aan Zee's Tata Steel tournament.
Regular team chess events include the Chess Olympiad and the European Team Chess Championship.
The World Chess Solving Championship and World Correspondence Chess Championship include both team and individual events. These are held independently of FIDE by, respectively, the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), and the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF).
Titles and rankings.
In order to rank players, FIDE, ICCF, and most national chess organizations use the Elo rating system developed by Arpad Elo. An average club player has a rating of about 1500; the highest FIDE rating of all time, 2882, was achieved by Magnus Carlsen on the March 2014 FIDE rating list.
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Players may be awarded lifetime titles by FIDE:
The above titles are known as "open" titles, obtainable by both men and women. There are also separate women-only titles; Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM), Woman FIDE Master (WFM) and Woman Candidate Master (WCM). These require a performance level approximately 200 rating points below their respective open titles, and their continued existence has sometimes been controversial. Beginning with Nona Gaprindashvili in 1978, a number of women have earned the open GM title: 40 .
FIDE also awards titles for arbiters and trainers. International titles are also awarded to composers and solvers of chess problems and to correspondence chess players (by the International Correspondence Chess Federation). National chess organizations may also award titles.
History.
Origins.
Texts referring to the origins of chess date from the beginning of the seventh century. Three are written in "Pahlavi" (Middle Persian) and one, the "Harshacharita", is in Sanskrit. One of these texts, the "Chatrang-namak", represents one of the earliest written accounts of chess. The narrator Bozorgmehr explains that "Chatrang", "Chess" in Pahlavi, was introduced to Persia by 'Dewasarm, a great ruler of India' during the reign of Khosrow I:
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The oldest known chess manual was in Arabic and dates to about 840, written by al-Adli ar-Rumi (800–870), a renowned Arab chess player, titled "Kitab ash-shatranj" (The Book of Chess). This is a lost manuscript, but is referenced in later works. Here also, al-Adli attributes the origins of Persian chess to India, along with the eighth-century collection of fables Kalīla wa-Dimna. By the 20th century, a substantial consensus developed regarding chess's origins in northwest India in the early seventh century. More recently, this consensus has been the subject of further scrutiny.
The early forms of chess in India were known as "chaturaṅga" (), literally "four divisions" [of the military] – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry – represented by pieces that would later evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Chaturanga was played on an 8×8 uncheckered board, called "ashtāpada". Thence it spread eastward and westward along the Silk Road. The earliest evidence of chess is found in nearby Sasanian Persia around 600 A.D., where the game came to be known by the name "chatrang" (). Chatrang was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia (633–51), where it was then named "shatranj" (; ), with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish, "shatranj" was rendered as "ajedrez" ("al-shatranj"), in Portuguese as "xadrez", and in Greek as ζατρίκιον ("zatrikion", which comes directly from the Persian "chatrang"), but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian "shāh" ("king"), from which the English words "check" and "chess" descend. The word "checkmate" is derived from the Persian "shāh māt" ("the king is dead").
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Xiangqi is the form of chess best known in China. The eastern migration of chess, into China and Southeast Asia, has even less documentation than its migration west, making it largely conjectured. The word "xiàngqí" () was used in China to refer to a game from 569 A.D. at the latest, but it has not been proven that this game was directly related to chess.
The first reference to Chinese chess appears in a book entitled "Xuánguaì Lù" (; "Record of the Mysterious and Strange"), dating to about 800. A minority view holds that Western chess arose from xiàngqí or one of its predecessors. Chess historians Jean-Louis Cazaux and Rick Knowlton contend that xiangqi's intrinsic characteristics make it easier to construct an evolutionary path from China to India/Persia than the opposite direction.
The oldest archaeological chess artifacts – ivory pieces – were excavated in ancient Afrasiab, today's Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, and date to about 760, with some of them possibly being older. Remarkably, almost all findings of the oldest pieces come from along the Silk Road, from the former regions of the Tarim Basin (today's Xinjiang in China), Transoxiana, Sogdiana, Bactria, Gandhara, to Iran on one end and to India through Kashmir on the other.
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The game reached Western Europe and Russia via at least three routes, the earliest being in the ninth century. By the year 1000, it had spread throughout both the Muslim Iberia and Latin Europe. A Latin poem called "Versus de scachis" ("Verses on Chess") dated to the late 10th century, has been preserved at Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland.
1200–1700: Origins of the modern game.
The game of chess was then played and known in all European countries. A famous 13th-century Spanish manuscript covering chess, backgammon, and dice is known as the , which is the earliest European treatise on chess as well as being the oldest document on European tables games. The rules were fundamentally similar to those of the Arabic shatranj. The differences were mostly in the use of a checkered board instead of a plain monochrome board used by Arabs and the habit of allowing some or all pawns to make an initial double step. In some regions, the queen, which had replaced the wazir, or the king could also make an initial two-square leap under some conditions.
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Around 1200, the rules of shatranj started to be modified in Europe, culminating, several major changes later, in the emergence of modern chess practically as it is known today. A major change was the modern piece movement rules, which began to appear in intellectual circles in Valencia, Spain, around 1475, which established the foundations and brought it very close to current chess. These new rules then were quickly adopted in Italy and Southern France before diffusing into the rest of Europe. Pawns gained the ability to advance two squares on their first move, while bishops and queens acquired their modern movement powers. The queen replaced the earlier vizier chess piece toward the end of the 10th century and by the 15th century had become the most powerful piece; in light of that, modern chess was often referred to at the time as "Queen's Chess" or "Mad Queen Chess". Castling, derived from the "king's leap", usually in combination with a pawn or rook move to bring the king to safety, was introduced. These new rules quickly spread throughout Western Europe.
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Writings about chess theory began to appear in the late 15th century. An anonymous treatise on chess of 1490 with the first part containing some openings and the second 30 endgames is deposited in the library of the University of Göttingen. The book "El Libro dels jochs partitis dels schachs en nombre de 100" was written by Francesc Vicent in Segorbe in 1495, but no copy of this work has survived. The "Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez" ("Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess") by Spanish churchman Luis Ramírez de Lucena was published in Salamanca in 1497. Lucena and later masters like Portuguese Pedro Damiano, Italians Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona, Giulio Cesare Polerio and Gioachino Greco, and Spanish bishop Ruy López de Segura developed elements of opening theory and started to analyze simple endgames.
1700–1873: Romantic era.
In the 18th century, the center of European chess life moved from Southern Europe to mainland France. The two most important French masters were François-André Danican Philidor, a musician by profession, who discovered the importance of pawns for chess strategy, and later Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, who won a famous series of matches against Irish master Alexander McDonnell in 1834. Centers of chess activity in this period were coffee houses in major European cities like "Café de la Régence" in Paris and "Simpson's Divan" in London.
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At the same time, the Romantic intellectual movement had had a far-reaching impact on chess, with aesthetics and tactical beauty being held in higher regard than objective soundness and strategic planning. As a result, virtually all games began with the Open Game, and it was considered unsportsmanlike to decline gambits that invited tactical play such as the King's Gambit and the Evans Gambit. This chess philosophy is known as Romantic chess, and its sharp, tactical style of play was predominant until the late 19th century.
The rules concerning stalemate were finalized in the early 19th century. Also in the 19th century, the convention that White moves first was established (formerly either White or Black could move first). Finally, the rules around castling and en passant captures were standardized – variations in these rules persisted in Italy until the late 19th century. The resulting standard game is sometimes referred to as "Western chess" or "international chess", particularly in Asia where other games of the chess family such as xiangqi are prevalent. Since the 19th century, the only rule changes, such as the establishment of the correct procedure for claiming a draw by repetition, have been technical in nature.
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As the 19th century progressed, chess organization developed quickly. Many chess clubs, chess books, and chess journals appeared. There were correspondence matches between cities; for example, the London Chess Club played against the Edinburgh Chess Club in 1824. Chess problems became a regular part of 19th-century newspapers; Bernhard Horwitz, Josef Kling, and Samuel Loyd composed some of the most influential problems. In 1843, von der Lasa published his and Bilguer's "Handbuch des Schachspiels" ("Handbook of Chess"), the first comprehensive manual of chess theory.
The first modern chess tournament was organized by Howard Staunton, a leading English chess player, and was held in London in 1851. It was won by the German Adolf Anderssen, who was hailed as the leading chess master. His brilliant, energetic attacking style was typical for the time. Sparkling games like Anderssen's Immortal Game and Evergreen Game or Morphy's "Opera Game" were regarded as the highest possible summit of the art of chess.
Deeper insight into the nature of chess came with the American Paul Morphy, an extraordinary chess prodigy. Morphy won against all important competitors (except Staunton, who refused to play), including Anderssen, during his short chess career between 1857 and 1863. Morphy's success stemmed from a combination of brilliant attacks and sound strategy; he intuitively knew how to prepare attacks.
1873–1945: Birth of a sport.
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Prague-born Wilhelm Steinitz laid the foundations for a scientific approach to the game, the art of breaking a position down into components and preparing correct plans. In addition to his theoretical achievements, Steinitz founded an important tradition: his triumph over the leading German master Johannes Zukertort in 1886 is regarded as the first official World Chess Championship. This win marked a stylistic transition at the highest levels of chess from an attacking, tactical style predominant in the Romantic era to a more positional, strategic style introduced to the chess world by Steinitz. Steinitz lost his crown in 1894 to a much younger player, the German mathematician Emanuel Lasker, who maintained this title for 27 years, the longest tenure of any world champion.
After the end of the 19th century, the number of master tournaments and matches held annually quickly grew. The first Olympiad was held in Paris in 1924, and FIDE was founded initially for the purpose of organizing that event. In 1927, the Women's World Chess Championship was established; the first to hold the title was Czech-English master Vera Menchik.
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A prodigy from Cuba, José Raúl Capablanca, known for his skill in endgames, won the World Championship from Lasker in 1921. Capablanca was undefeated in tournament play for eight years, from 1916 to 1924. His successor (1927) was the Russian-French Alexander Alekhine, a strong attacking player who died as the world champion in 1946. Alekhine briefly lost the title to Dutch player Max Euwe in 1935 and regained it two years later.
In the interwar period, chess was revolutionized by the new theoretical school of so-called hypermodernists like Aron Nimzowitsch and Richard Réti. They advocated controlling the of the board with distant pieces rather than with pawns, thus inviting opponents to occupy the center with pawns, which become objects of attack. Among the innovations popularized by hypermodernists was the fianchetto: the development of bishops away from, rather than towards, the center, onto the b- and g-files.
1945–1990: Post-World War II era.
After the death of Alekhine, a new World Champion was sought. FIDE, which has controlled the title since then, ran a tournament of elite players. The winner of the 1948 tournament was Russian Mikhail Botvinnik. In 1950, FIDE established a system of titles, conferring the title of Grandmaster on 27 players. (Some sources state that, in 1914, the title of chess Grandmaster was first formally conferred by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch, and Marshall, but this is a disputed claim.)
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Botvinnik started an era of Soviet dominance in the chess world, which mainly through the Soviet government's politically inspired efforts to demonstrate intellectual superiority over the West stood almost uninterrupted for more than a half-century. Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there was only one non-Soviet champion, American Bobby Fischer (champion 1972–1975). Botvinnik also revolutionized opening theory. Previously, Black strove for equality, attempting to neutralize White's first-move advantage. As Black, Botvinnik strove for the initiative from the beginning. In the previous informal system of World Championships, the current champion decided which challenger he would play for the title and the challenger was forced to seek sponsors for the match. FIDE set up a new system of qualifying tournaments and matches. The world's strongest players were seeded into Interzonal tournaments, where they were joined by players who had qualified from Zonal tournaments. The leading finishers in these Interzonals would go through the "Candidates" stage, which was initially a tournament, and later a series of knockout matches. The winner of the Candidates would then play the reigning champion for the title. A champion defeated in a match had a right to play a rematch a year later. This system operated on a three-year cycle. Botvinnik participated in championship matches over a period of fifteen years. He won the world championship tournament in 1948 and retained the title in tied matches in 1951 and 1954. In 1957, he lost to Vasily Smyslov, but regained the title in a rematch in 1958. In 1960, he lost the title to the 23-year-old Latvian prodigy Mikhail Tal, an accomplished tactician and attacking player who is widely regarded as one of the most creative players ever, hence his nickname "the magician from Riga". Botvinnik again regained the title in a rematch in 1961.
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Following the 1961 event, FIDE abolished the automatic right of a deposed champion to a rematch, and the next champion, Armenian Tigran Petrosian, a player renowned for his defensive and positional skills, held the title for two cycles, 1963–1969. His successor, Boris Spassky from Russia (champion 1969–1972), won games in both positional and sharp tactical style. The next championship, the so-called Match of the Century, saw the first non-Soviet challenger since World War II, American Bobby Fischer. Fischer defeated his opponents in the Candidates matches by unheard-of margins, and convincingly defeated Spassky for the world championship. The match was followed closely by news media of the day, leading to a surge in popularity for chess; it also held significant political importance at the height of the Cold War, with the match being seen by both sides as a microcosm of the conflict between East and West. In 1975, however, Fischer refused to defend his title against Soviet Anatoly Karpov when he was unable to reach agreement on conditions with FIDE, and Karpov obtained the title by default. Fischer modernized many aspects of chess, especially by extensively preparing openings.
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Karpov defended his title twice against Viktor Korchnoi and dominated the 1970s and early 1980s with a string of tournament successes. In the 1984 World Chess Championship, Karpov faced his toughest challenge to date, the young Garry Kasparov from Baku, Soviet Azerbaijan. The match was aborted in controversial circumstances after 5 months and 48 games with Karpov leading by 5 wins to 3, but evidently exhausted; many commentators believed Kasparov, who had won the last two games, would have won the match had it continued. Kasparov won the 1985 rematch. Kasparov and Karpov contested three further closely fought matches in 1986, 1987 and 1990, Kasparov winning them all. Kasparov became the dominant figure of world chess from the mid-1980s until his retirement from competition in 2005.
Beginnings of chess technology.
Chess-playing computer programs (later known as chess engines) began to appear in the 1960s. In 1970, the first major computer chess tournament, the North American Computer Chess Championship, was held, followed in 1974 by the first World Computer Chess Championship. In the late 1970s, dedicated home chess computers such as Fidelity Electronics' "Chess Challenger" became commercially available, as well as software to run on home computers. The overall standard of computer chess was low, however, until the 1990s.
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The first endgame tablebases, which provided perfect play for relatively simple endgames such as king and rook versus king and bishop, appeared in the late 1970s. This set a precedent to the complete six- and seven-piece tablebases that became available in the 2000s and 2010s respectively.
The first commercial chess database, a collection of chess games searchable by move and position, was introduced by the German company ChessBase in 1987. Databases containing millions of chess games have since had a profound effect on opening theory and other areas of chess research.
Digital chess clocks were invented in 1973, though they did not become commonplace until the 1990s. Digital clocks allow for time controls involving increments and delays.
1990–present: Rise of computers and online chess.
Technology.
The Internet enabled online chess as a new medium of playing, with chess servers allowing users to play other people from different parts of the world in real time. The first such server, known as Internet Chess Server (ICS), was developed at the University of Utah in 1992. ICS formed the basis for the first commercial chess server, the Internet Chess Club, which was launched in 1995, and for other early chess servers such as Free Internet Chess Server (FICS). Since then, many other platforms have appeared, and online chess began to rival over-the-board chess in popularity. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the isolation ensuing from quarantines imposed in many places around the world, combined with the success of the popular Netflix show "The Queen's Gambit" and other factors such as the popularity of online tournaments (notably PogChamps) and chess Twitch streamers, resulted in a surge of popularity not only for online chess, but for the game of chess in general; this phenomenon has been referred to in the media as the 2020 online chess boom.
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Computer chess has also seen major advances. By the 1990s, chess engines could consistently defeat most amateurs, and in 1997 Deep Blue defeated World Champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match, starting an era of computer dominance at the highest level of chess. In the 2010s, engines significantly stronger than even the best human players became accessible for free on a number of PC and mobile platforms, and free engine analysis became a commonplace feature on internet chess servers. An adverse effect of the easy availability of engine analysis on hand-held devices and personal computers has been the rise of computer cheating, which has grown to be a major concern in both over-the-board and online chess. In 2017, AlphaZero – a neural network also capable of playing shogi and Go – was introduced. Since then, many chess engines based on neural network evaluation have been written, the best of which have surpassed the traditional "brute-force" engines. AlphaZero also introduced many novel ideas and ways of playing the game, which affected the style of play at the top level.
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As endgame tablebases developed, they began to provide perfect play in endgame positions in which the game-theoretical outcome was previously unknown, such as positions with king, queen and pawn against king and queen. In 1991, Lewis Stiller published a tablebase for select six-piece endgames, and by 2005, following the publication of Nalimov tablebases, all six-piece endgame positions were solved. In 2012, Lomonosov tablebases were published which solved all seven-piece endgame positions. Use of tablebases enhances the performance of chess engines by providing definitive results in some branches of analysis.
Technological progress made in the 1990s and the 21st century has influenced the way that chess is studied at all levels, as well as the state of chess as a spectator sport.
Previously, preparation at the professional level required an extensive chess library and several subscriptions to publications such as "Chess Informant" to keep up with opening developments and study opponents' games. Today, preparation at the professional level involves the use of databases containing millions of games, and engines to analyze different opening variations and prepare novelties. A number of online learning resources are also available for players of all levels, such as online courses, tactics trainers, and video lessons.
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Since the late 1990s, it has been possible to follow major international chess events online, the players' moves being relayed in real time. Sensory boards have been developed to enable automatic transmission of moves. Chess players will frequently run engines while watching these games, allowing them to quickly identify mistakes by the players and spot tactical opportunities. While in the past the moves have been relayed live, today chess organizers will often impose a half-hour delay as an anti-cheating measure. In the mid-to-late 2010s – and especially following the 2020 online boom – it became commonplace for supergrandmasters, such as Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen, to livestream chess content on platforms such as Twitch. Also following the boom, online chess started being viewed as an esport, with esport teams signing chess players for the first time in 2020. The number of esport teams signing chess players rose considerably in 2025, after chess was added to Saudi Arabia's Esports World Cup.
Growth.
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Organized chess even for young children has become common. FIDE holds world championships for age levels down to 8 years old. The largest tournaments, in number of players, are those held for children.
The number of grandmasters and other chess professionals has also grown in the modern era. Kenneth Regan and Guy Haworth conducted research involving comparison of move choices by players of different levels and from different periods with the analysis of strong chess engines. They concluded that the increase in the number of grandmasters and higher Elo ratings of the top players reflect an actual increase in the average standard of play, rather than "rating inflation" or "title inflation".
Professional chess.
In 1993, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short broke ties with FIDE to organize their own match for the World Championship and formed a competing Professional Chess Association (PCA). From then until 2006, there were two simultaneous World Championships and respective World Champions: the PCA or "classical" champions extending the Steinitzian tradition in which the current champion plays a challenger in a series of games, and the other following FIDE's new format of many players competing in a large knockout tournament to determine the champion. Kasparov lost his PCA title in 2000 to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. Due to the complicated state of world chess politics and difficulties obtaining commercial sponsorships, Kasparov was never able to challenge for the title again. Despite this, he continued to dominate in top level tournaments and remained the world's highest rated player until his retirement from competitive chess in 2005.
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The World Chess Championship 2006, in which Kramnik beat the FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov, reunified the titles and made Kramnik the undisputed World Chess Champion. In September 2007, he lost the title to Viswanathan Anand of India. Anand defended his title in the revenge match of 2008, 2010 and 2012. Magnus Carlsen defeated Anand in 2013, defending his title in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021, whereafter he announced that he would not defend his title a fifth time. The 2023 championship was played between the winner and runner-up of the Candidates Tournament 2022: Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and Ding Liren of China. Ding beat Nepomniachtchi, making him the world champion. In 2024, Indian Gukesh Dommaraju beat Ding.
Connections to other fields.
Arts and humanities.
In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, chess was a part of noble culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the "King's Game". Gentlemen are "to be meanly seene in the play at Chestes", says the overview at the beginning of Baldassare Castiglione's "The Book of the Courtier" (1528, English 1561 by Sir Thomas Hoby), but chess should not be a gentleman's main passion. Castiglione explains it further:
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Some of the elaborate chess sets used by the aristocracy at least partially survive, such as the Lewis chessmen.
Chess was often used as a basis of sermons on morality. An example is "Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium sive super ludo scacchorum" ('Book of the customs of men and the duties of nobles or the Book of Chess'), written by an Italian Dominican friar Jacobus de Cessolis . This book was one of the most popular of the Middle Ages. The work was translated into many other languages (the first printed edition was published at Utrecht in 1473) and was the basis for William Caxton's "The Game and Playe of the Chesse" (1474), one of the first books printed in English. Different chess pieces were used as metaphors for different classes of people, and human duties were derived from the rules of the game or from visual properties of the chess pieces:
Known in the circles of clerics, students, and merchants, chess entered into the popular culture of the Middle Ages. An example is the 209th song of Carmina Burana from the 13th century, which starts with the names of chess pieces, "Roch, pedites, regina..." The game of chess, at times, has been discouraged by various religious authorities in Middle Ages: Jewish, Catholic and Orthodox. Some Muslim authorities prohibited it even recently, for example Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 and Abdul-Aziz ash-Sheikh even later.
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During the Age of Enlightenment, chess was viewed as a means of self-improvement. Benjamin Franklin, in his article "The Morals of Chess" (1786), wrote:
Chess was occasionally criticized in the 19th century as a waste of time.
Chess is taught to children in schools around the world today. Many schools host chess clubs, and there are many scholastic tournaments specifically for children. Tournaments are held regularly in many countries, hosted by organizations such as the United States Chess Federation and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation.
Chess is many times depicted in the arts; significant works where chess plays a key role range from Thomas Middleton's "A Game at Chess" to "Through the Looking-Glass" by Lewis Carroll, to Vladimir Nabokov's "The Defense", to "The Royal Game" by Stefan Zweig. Chess has also featured in film classics such as Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal", Satyajit Ray's "The Chess Players", and Powell and Pressburger's "A Matter of Life and Death".
Chess is also present in contemporary popular culture. For example, the characters in "Star Trek" play a futuristic version of the game called "Federation Tri-Dimensional Chess", and "Wizard's Chess" is played in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter".
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Mathematics.
The game structure and nature of chess are related to several branches of mathematics. Many combinatorical and topological problems connected to chess, such as the knight's tour and the eight queens puzzle, have been known for hundreds of years.
The number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be with a 95% confidence level, with a game-tree complexity of approximately 10123. The game-tree complexity of chess was first calculated by Claude Shannon as 10120, a number known as the Shannon number. An average position typically has thirty to forty possible moves, but there may be as few as zero (in the case of checkmate or stalemate) or (in a constructed position) as many as 218.
In 1913, Ernst Zermelo used chess as a basis for his theory of game strategies, which is considered one of the predecessors of game theory. Zermelo's theorem states that it is possible to solve chess, i.e. to determine with certainty the outcome of a perfectly played game (either White can force a win, or Black can force a win, or both sides can force at least a draw). With 1043 legal positions in chess, however, it will take an impossibly long time to compute a perfect strategy with any feasible technology.
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Applied mathematics.
A novel methodology in steganography explores the use of chess-based covers (such as puzzles, chess problems, game reports, training documents, news articles, etc.) for concealing data within a selection of , each hiding some bits. Several proof-of-concept projects have been developed that convert text or files into binary code, which is then converted into a series of legal chess moves, that can then be decrypted and downloaded.
Correspondence chess has been historically suspected of being a potential steganographic medium. Melville Davisson Post documented a chess problem that was used to create a pictorial cipher during World War I. During World War II, extensive postal censorship was imposed on military personnel from the United States and Canada that made playing correspondence chess impossible, arising from suspicion that chess could be used to send secret messages to the enemies.
Psychology.
There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology. Alfred Binet and others showed that knowledge and verbal, rather than visuospatial, ability lies at the core of expertise. In his doctoral thesis, Adriaan de Groot showed that chess masters can rapidly perceive the key features of a position. According to de Groot, this perception, made possible by years of practice and study, is more important than the sheer ability to anticipate moves. De Groot showed that chess masters can memorize positions shown for a few seconds almost perfectly. The ability to memorize does not alone account for chess-playing skill, since masters and novices, when faced with random arrangements of chess pieces, had equivalent recall (about six positions in each case). Rather, it is the ability to recognize patterns, which are then memorized, which distinguished the skilled players from the novices. When the positions of the pieces were taken from an actual game, the masters had almost total positional recall.
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More recent research has focused on chess as mental training; the respective roles of knowledge and look-ahead search; brain imaging studies of chess masters and novices; blindfold chess; the role of personality and intelligence in chess skill; gender differences; and computational models of chess expertise. The role of practice and talent in the development of chess and other domains of expertise has led to much empirical investigation. Ericsson and colleagues have argued that deliberate practice is sufficient for reaching high levels of expertise in chess. Recent research, however, fails to replicate their results and indicates that factors other than practice are also important.
For example, Fernand Gobet and colleagues have shown that stronger players started playing chess at a young age and that experts born in the Northern Hemisphere are more likely to have been born in late winter and early spring. Compared to the general population, chess players are more likely to be non-right-handed, though they found no correlation between handedness and skill.
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A relationship between chess skill and intelligence has long been discussed in scientific literature as well as in popular culture. Academic studies that investigate the relationship date back at least to 1927. Although one meta-analysis and most children studies find a positive correlation between general cognitive ability and chess skill, adult studies show mixed results.
Online chess.
Online chess is chess played over the internet. This is done through the use of internet chess platforms, which use Elo ratings or similar systems to pair up individual players. Online chess saw a spike in growth during the quarantines of the COVID-19 pandemic. This can be attributed to both isolation and the popularity of Netflix miniseries "The Queen's Gambit", which was released in October 2020. Chess app downloads on the App Store and Google Play Store rose by 63% after the show debuted. Chess.com saw more than twice as many account registrations in November as it had in previous months, and the number of games played monthly on Lichess doubled as well. There was also a demographic shift in players, with female registration on Chess.com shifting from 22% to 27% of new players. GM Maurice Ashley said "A boom is taking place in chess like we have never seen maybe since the Bobby Fischer days", attributing the growth to an increased desire to do something constructive during the pandemic. USCF Women's Program Director Jennifer Shahade stated that chess works well on the internet, since pieces do not need to be reset and matchmaking is virtually instant.
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