International Chess Day

The History of International Chess Day 
Invented in India in the fifth century, it was named “Chaturanga” and this is likely one of the oldest games of our era. the game then spread to Persia. When the Arabs conquered Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to Southern Europe. In Europe, chess evolved into roughly its current form in the 15th century. The game was developed extensively in Europe. By the late 15th century, it had survived a series of prohibitions and Christian Church sanctions to almost take the shape of the modern game.

Modern history saw reliable reference works, competitive chess tournaments, and exciting new variations. These factors added to the game’s popularity, further liked by reliable timing mechanisms (first introduced in 1861), effective rules, and charismatic players. Chess remains a highly popular pastime among the general populace. A 2012 survey found that “chess players now make up one of the largest communities in the world: 605 million adults play chess regularly”

On July 20, 1924 at the eighth summer Olympic games in Paris, France, the FIDE (World Chess Federation) was Founded. Thus in 1966, on the same day as the founding of the FIDE, International Chess Day begun. Today there are chess tournaments all over the world. The first modern chess tournament having been held in London in 1851 and won by German Adolf Anderssen

How To Celebrate International Chess Day
Most cities have one or more chess clubs, we see them in high schools and even high winning competitions. Take a look around your city and locate your local chess group. Go play a game and maybe pick up some new chess moves.
Maybe you can go find a chess mate to try your hand at it, and if you’ve never played, try going out and learning how to play and know how to play a new game!

You could always call friends and family over for a picnic and organizing a human chess game at the park! You can use colored tee shirts with game piece names on them to identify who is playing what piece.
You can make chess piece shaped cookies for the chess lover in your life, go watch people play, get caught up in the wonders of the sport!

Nelson Mandela International Day

Nelson Mandela International Day, also known as Mandela Day, is held on July 18 each year. The day remembers Mandela’s achievements in working towards conflict resolution, democracy, human rights, peace, and reconciliation.

What Do People Do?

Nelson Mandela Day not only celebrates Nelson Mandela’s life, but it is also a global call to action for people to recognize their ability to have a positive effect on others around them. The day hopes to inspire people to embrace the values that Mandela shared. These values include democracy, freedom, equality, diversity, reconciliation, and respect.

Many people and organizations around the world take part in many activities to promote Nelson Mandela Day. These activities include volunteering, sport, art, education, music and culture. Various events are also held on or around July 18 to honor Nelson Mandela’s works and to promote the different projects that were inspired by Mandela’s achievements.

Mandela Day also celebrates a campaign known as “46664”, in reference to Nelson Mandela’s Robben Island prison number. The campaign was originally launched to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. However, its focus expanded to broader humanitarian work. The efforts from Mandela Day support the campaign’s ongoing work and other Nelson Mandela charitable organizations.

Background

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa, on July 18, 1918. He is one of the most well-known anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. He was jailed in 1963 for leading the liberation movement against apartheid and for his stance on the human right to live in freedom.

Mandela’s prisoner number was 466 and the year was 1963 when he was imprisoned on Robben Island, off Cape Town in South Africa. The Robben Island prisoners were never referred to by their names, but rather by their numbers and year of imprisonment – hence 46664 was Nelson Mandela’s number. His release from prison in 1990 fed political debates in the country and contributed to South Africa’s transition towards a multi-racial democracy.

After his release, Nelson Mandela continued addressing racial issues in his country and supported reconciliation initiatives. His efforts resulted in him becoming elected as South Africa’s president in 1994. He remained in office as president until 1999. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize, together with another former South African president Frederik Willem de Klerk, in 1993. In 2007 Mandela formed the Elders, an independent group of global leaders who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major human suffering causes and promote shared interests of humanity.

The first Mandela Day was launched in New York on July 18, 2009, but the UN’s resolution to declare the day occurred later that year. On November 10, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring July 18 as “Nelson Mandela International Day”. The day marks Nelson Mandela’s contribution to peace through his active involvement in resolving conflicts, promoting human rights, international democracy and reconciliation, and in addressing racial issues.

Symbols

Various statues and civic tributes have been made to honor Nelson Mandela. For example, a statue in Mandela’s image stands at Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg, South Africa. A bridge, known as the Nelson Mandela Bridge, is also found in Johannesburg. Postage stamps have also been dedicated to Mandela, as well as various musical tributes, in previous times.