The History of Chess, Part II:
Lionel Kochan describes how ‘the game of kings’ found its apotheosis in the Soviet Union; the country of the proletariat.
Chess, at the end of the fifteenth century, assumed its modern form, when the queen and bishop received increased power. This had immediate and revolutionary consequences. First and foremost, it encouraged a far more analytical approach to the game. This followed from the fact that, in marked contrast to the slow medieval game, the two sides could now exert pressure on each other from almost the very beginning of play.
Neither player could henceforward develop his pieces at leisure, without paying much attention to the moves of his opponent, This meant that more thought must be given to opening play and hence the analysis of the opening came into being. Secondly, since the conversion of pawn to queen gave such increased power to its successful practitioner, pawn play also become more important than hitherto—and hence another theme for analysis.
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