Chess and backgammon online

Chess

In Armenia, chess is learned in primary school: since the 2011 school year, it has been a compulsory subject there.

Armenia's team won the Chess Olympiad in 2006, 2008 and 2012.

Tigran Petrosian was world chess champion from 1963 to 1969.

Play

The rules
  1. White moves first, then the players take turns, one move each.
  2. Each piece has its own move: the bishop diagonally, the rook in straight lines, the queen both ways, the knight in an L.
  3. You capture an opponent's piece by moving onto its square.
  4. A king under attack is in check, and its player must get it to safety on the next move.
  5. The game is won by checkmate: the opposing king is in check and has no way out.

Backgammon

In Armenia, backgammon is called nardi. It is played in the courtyards and parks of Yerevan.

Long nardi, with different rules, is also played in Armenia. The game offered here is Western backgammon, with the doubling cube.

Play

The rules
  1. Each player moves fifteen checkers in a fixed direction, towards the last quarter of the board.
  2. You roll two dice and move that many points; a double is played four times.
  3. A checker cannot land on a point held by two or more opposing checkers.
  4. A lone checker can be hit: it goes to the bar and must re-enter before any other move.
  5. Once all your checkers are in the last quarter, you can bear them off; the first to bear them all off wins.
  6. The doubling cube doubles the stakes: the opponent accepts or concedes the game.