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Chess: The Ultimate Brain Game 西洋棋：脑力激荡的终极挑战

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In the southwest corner of Washington Square Park, two elderly gentlemen sit across from each other, playing a game. Although it’s a clear and sunny day, they’ve blocked out the beautiful scenery and the sound of birds chirping – the board in front of them is all that ___1___. They’re playing a game that’s been called the sport of kings: chess.

在华盛顿广场公园的西南一隅，两名年长的绅士正面对面坐着玩游戏。虽然今天是个晴朗无云的日子，他们却毫不关心周遭美景和啁啾鸟声，他们在乎的只有面前那块板子。他们正在玩一种被称为「王者运动」的游戏：西洋棋。

Chess is a board game that pits two players against each other in a ___2___ of wits. Chess and xianggi share the same roots, ___3___ they are both derived from chaturanga, a 6th-century Indian game. But as chess and xianggi evolved, they adopted ___4___ rules. In chess, both sides, white and black, start the game with sixteen pieces: eight pawns, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, one queen, and one king. Each type of piece has its own ___5___ way that it can move across the board. For example, bishops move diagonally, rooks traverse the board in straight lines, and knights travel in an L-shape. The ___6___ of the game is to capture your opponent’s pieces and trap his king.

西洋棋是一种由两名玩家互相斗智的桌上游戏。西洋棋和象棋有相同的起源，它们皆从公元6世纪的印度游戏──恰图兰卡──演变而来。可是当西洋棋和象棋开始发展，它们各自采用不同的规则。在西洋棋中，黑白双方在游戏开始时都有16枚棋子：8枚士兵、两枚主教、两枚骑士、两枚城堡、一枚皇后和一枚国王。每一种棋子在棋盘上有各自不同的移动方法。例如：主教是斜线移动，城堡则沿着直线横越棋盘，而骑士则以L字型移动。这个游戏的目标在于吃掉对手的棋子并且擒住他的国王。

The former Soviet Union dominated the sport and produced some of the finest players ___7___. For years, Anatoly Karpov and his archrival Garry Kasparov dominated the international chess scene with aggressive styles that capitalized on the opponent’s ___8___. An American child prodigy, Josh Waitzkin, also made a big splash ___9___ he defeated his first grandmasters at the tender age of ten! No one knows where the next great champ will come from, but someone will undoubtedly make all the right ___10__ to become the next king, or queen, of chess.

前苏联曾称霸这个运动并且孕育了一些史上最顶尖的棋士。阿纳托利．卡波夫和他的死对头盖瑞．卡斯珀洛夫以善用对手失误的侵略攻击性风格在全球西洋棋界称霸多年。而美国神童乔许．维兹金也曾以10岁稚龄即首度击败西洋棋特级大师而轰动一时！无人知道下一位伟大的冠军会来自何方，不过可以确定的是，总会有人下对了每一步棋而成为西洋棋的下一个棋王或棋后。

－by Jamie Blackler

Vocabulary

单词发音

chirp [tʃɝp] v.（小鸟）发啁啾声

pit [pɪt] 使竞争 [（+against）]to set (a person or thing) against another in a fight, competition etc

wit [wɪt] n. 清醒的判断力，理智

derive [dɪˋraɪv] v. 衍生出，导出[（+from）]

pawn [pɔn] n.（國際象棋中的）兵，卒

rook [rʊk] n.〔國際象棋中的〕車

diagonally [daɪˋægənəlɪ] adv. 对角的

archrival [͵ɑrtʃˋraɪv!] n. 主要竞争对手 a principal rival

scene [sin] n.【口】活动领域  a sphere of activity

prodigy [ˋprɑdədʒɪ] n. 奇才，天才

Idiom

片语发音

block out 不去想 to ignore

capitalize [ˋkæpət!͵aɪz]  on 趁…,利用…,

make a splash 引起轰动; 惹人注目 to get a lot of public attention

tender age of 年幼而未成熟的 the young age of...

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