Yes, in 1966 the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (commonly known as FIDE or World Chess Federation) designated July 20 as a day of international celebration for the Royal Game.

Last week, I was flipping through an old chess book of mine when I found a handwritten paper containing some general thoughts on chess.

I had no memory of writing the words on this paper, but it was in my handwriting.

The piece of paper was simply titled: When I Play A Game of Chess.

I have transcribed it below:

When I Play A Game of Chess

(handwritten — possibly 2010)

When I play a chess match, I see more than sixty-four squares and thirty-two pieces. A good match is like reading a book of poetry. There is a mathematical beauty in the game. It contains all the elements of Einstein’s physics – gravity, force, time, and space.

A single match can also fill me with a sense of history. How many armies have marched into position and trembled in anticipation of advancing to their final end?

Lastly, there is a heartbreaking melancholy in chess, that — like life — it is so beautiful, and yes, it has to end.

I can spend days calculating a position, imagining different outcomes. I can ponder over the what-ifs, what-ifs, what-ifs?

But at last, it is your turn, and you can only make one move at a time.

Better make this one count.