Chess might popularly seem like a game played by royalty ages ago or one in which eggheads and computers specialize today. But millions of people enjoy the game and learning to play does not take a grandmaster. Delve inside for the rules to chess and you can become a player in minutes.
Some Grandmasters Play in Their Heads; You'll need a board.
The first thing you need to play chess is a way in which to play the game. The game is composed of 32 pieces played on a black and white (or any other set of colors) board, exactly like a checkers board. If you do not have a board and pieces, you can purchase one at basically any department store for several dollars. One of the greatest things about chess is that the combinations are limitless, but the equipment needed to play is a one-time, nominal fee. Few games exist that can offer as much repeated game play for such a small price.
In the above heading I noted some grandmasters execute games only in their heads, visualizing the pieces, and that you would need a board. But I lied (somewhat)! Chess is such a simple game that you can play online at dozens of websites. If you own a computer and have a connection to the Internet (which I assume since you are reading these words) then a game is only a website away. Search for chess-specific sites or hop onto one of several all-purpose game sites (like yahoo.com) and you can play for free.