How it works
Four rounds on chess: the board and the pieces, draws, clocks and notation, the game's road from Persia to the first champion, and titles, champions and computers.
Read the full guide
Chess trivia questions and answers, round by round
The board and the pieces suits anyone who knows the moves: who goes first, which piece leaps, what the columns are called. Draws, clocks and notation is for club players: stalemate, the fifty-move rule, bullet and rapid. From Persia to the first champion is the history round, and Titles, champions and computers runs from the first Olympiad to the first computer championship.
No living players
Champions who are still alive are not answers, so nothing here goes out of date when a title changes hands.
Tips
- Mixed table? Play The board and the pieces first; Draws, clocks and notation is the hard round.
Questions and answers
What are some easy chess trivia questions?
How many pawns does each player start with? Which piece can leap over others? Which side moves first? The answers are eight, the knight and White.
Who was the first world chess champion?
Wilhelm Steinitz. He claimed the title in 1886, when he beat the German master Johannes Zukertort in what is regarded as the first official World Chess Championship.
Where does the word checkmate come from?
From the Persian phrase shah mat, which the article on chess translates as "the king is dead". The game reached Persia around 600, where it was called chatrang.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article Chess, which every question links. Living players, rating records and named computers are left out as answers.