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The current version played worldwide was developed about 400 years ago, with small changes made over time to improve playability. China and Japan have there own versions, just as old and becoming a worldwide sensation as well. Chess became so popular that other games took second place during the middle ages, and present day popularity isn’t waning. No one knows if chess was invented by one or several people, but the most popular answer is it was developed from similar games merged together; although, (as you will learn in the next section) warfare was a more likely reason for its development. There are many collectors about over a large area. Many of their collections end up in Museums such as London, Paris, Florence, etc. In America there are public and private collections. These sets assembled after patient research going back 400 yearsare priceless. Chess sets can and have been made from Wood, Ivory, (Walrus included) Silver, Gold, Porcelain, Bronze, Iron, etc. These days’ Internet versions are appearing as well as versions for mobile phones, (iphone) etc as well. And even though variations have been developed, like using wooden pieces to build a town instead of raging a battle, and variations to the board game itself, etc, the most popular version, (or original version) still remains the most popular. A game that will probably never lose its popularity!
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