A novel means of ritualized intellectual competition of Human origin. This board game can be traced back to about 2000 BxY, but the current rules were not adopted until about the 9th century BxY. Though it originated from a symbolic representation of martial activity with considerable random input, the current version is a finite game that is a contest of pure skill. Perfect play is beyond the capacity of unaided Main Sequence Organic species, but Elder races can play near perfectly; as can any sapient Machine with plans in the Library.
A desire for intellectual activity is introduced into nearly all species by uplift, and intellectual competition is common for a significant proportion of them. Chess has been adopted as a useful sublimation of these desires by a few minor species with no ideological bar to such adoption. Though the total number of Chess players is still under 2-20 of the Galactic O-2 population, it is yet another example of successful reproduction by a meme of Terragen origin. Many (including some Terragens) find the game aesthetically displeasing because perfect play is trivial for most Main Sequence Machine and Virtual species, while Retired Machines have produced a solution set for Chess. (by Robert Shaw)
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