500 1st known form of chess, Chaturanga, originating in Northwest India.
590 1st written evidence of chess found in Sanskrit romance, 'Vasavadatta.'
600 1st Persian writing of chess (chatrang) in the Persian romance, 'Karnamuk.'
620 1st introduction of chess into Egypt, by Khusrau II.
720 1st literary references of chess in Arabic occur in romantic poems.
735 1st living chess played with people, in the Court of Charles Martel.
786 1st caliph of Islam, ar-Rashid, to play chess and grant pensions to players.
790 1st known chess piece of a carved King with Arabic inscription.
802 1st reference of a woman chess player, from an Islamic correspondence.
810 1st reference of chess among the Greeks, introduced to Nicephorus.
820 1st introduction of chess in Russia.
840 1st composed chess problem by the Caliph Billah of Baghdad.
910 1st analysis and published works of chess openings by al-Lajlaj.
1008 1st European reference to chess in the will of Count Uregel.
1030 1st reference to chess in German literature in the latin poem, 'Ruodlieb.'
1066 1st introduction of chess in Britian during the Norman conquest.
1090 1st chessboard of alternating light and dark squares.
1119 1st correspondence game, by Henry I of England and Louis VI of France.
1120 1st complete chess set still in existance, made in Iceland by the Vikings.
1150 1st use of the Queen leap, the first modification of earlier chess laws.
1160 1st chess poems written in Hebrew, by Ezra.
1061 1st edict issued forbidding the clergy to play chess, by Cardinal Damiani.
1173 1st use of algebraic notation, used in a French manuscript.
1180 1st British reference to chess, a Latin poem written by a Winchester monk.
1190 1st European reference to chess problems.
1262 1st use of the Russian word for chess (shakmatny) found in literature.
1265 1st blindfold play of chess in Europe, by the Muslim Buzecca in Florence.
1280 1st new pawn move, advancing 2 squares, is introduced.
1283 1st historical source of information on chess, the Alfonso manuscript.
1422 1st reference that stalemate is a draw, in the Cracow manuscript.
1425 1st reference to chess as 'the Royal Game,' by John Lydgate.
1467 1st known chess tournament, in Heidelburg, Germany.
1471 1st known work entirely devoted to modern chess, the Gottingen manuscript.
1472 1st hardback chess book, 'Dass Goldin Spil,' published in Augsburg.
1474 1st chess book published in English, 'the Game and Playe of Chesse.'
1485 1st known game of modern chess, recorded by Catalan players in Barcelona.
1490 1st use of the en passant rule.
1497 1st European work on chess openings, by Lucena.
1512 1st chess book published in Italy, by Damiano.
1517 1st publication of analysis on the Sicilian Defense, by Sarratt.
1550 1st chess club, organized in Italy.
1561 1st use of the word gambit for chess sacrifices, by Ruy Lopez.
1574 1st chess tournament, held at the Royal Court in Madrid.
1616 1st German instruction book for chess players, by Selenus.
1641 1st mention of chess in America, from a history of Dutch settlers.
1683 1st time the word fianchetto is used for flank openings.
1690 1st orderly classification of openings, in the 'Traite de Luasanne.'
1706 1st book on the King's Gambit, published by M Caze.
1715 1st chess club in England, formed at Slaughter's in London.
1735 1st worthwhile English textbook on chess published, 'Noble Game of chess.'
1744 1st blindfold play against 2 opponents (Philidor in Paris).
1759 1st recorded chess activity in Canada.
1763 1st use of Caissa, the Muse of Chess, in a poem by William Jones.
1769 1st automation, the Turk, unveiled as a machine that played chess.
1783 1st displays by Philidor, playing 3 chess games simultaneously without site of the board.
1786 1st chess article in America, Benjamin Franklin's 'Morals of Chess.'
1791 1st chess book published in Russia.
1795 1st systematic treatice of chess in the German language, by Allgaier.
1802 1st chess book published in America, 'Chess Made Easy' by J. Humphreys.
1804 1st recorede correspondence match (3 games), between F. de Mauvillon of Breda vs a friend in the Hague.
1811 1st time openings were printed in tabular form in a book by Allgaier.
1813 1st newspaper column on chess, appearing in the Liverpool Mercury (July 8).
1819 1st book published with a diagram following every move.
1821 1st Russian chess book published, by Ivan Butrimov.
1824 1st English club correspondence match, between London and Edinburgh.
1830 1st chess club in Germany - the Hamburger Schachklub.
1830 1st published chess game by an American woman, from Philadelphia.
1832 1st recorded chess playing in Tasmania.
1834 1st over-the-board match of consequence, McDonnell-Labourdonnais (Jun-Oct)
1835 1st appearance of George Walker's chess column in Bell's Life in London. Ran until 1873.
1836 1st chess magazine, La Palamade, edited by Labourdonnais of Paris.
1837 1st book containing all the collection of opening variations then known.
1838 1st use of the term 'grand master' in connection with chess.
1840 1st chess magazine in the English language, 'Chess Player's Chronicle.'
1840 1st penny postage stamp; postal chess became more popular
1841 1st chess association formed, the Yorkshire Chess Association.
1842 1st correspondnce chess game in the USA; between New York and Norfolk.
1844 1st chess match by telegraph, between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
1844 1st formation of the Montreal Chess Club.
1845 1st chess match by telegraph in England, played between London and Portsmouth
1845 1st chess pocket set, designed by Peter Roget.
1845 1st American chess column, appearing in the 'New York Spirit of the Times.'
1845 1st chess column by Howard Staunton appeared in the Illustrated London News. Columinst for 29 years.
1846 1st German chess magazine, Deutsche Schachzeitung, by Ludwig Bledow.
1848 1st board and chessmen made especially for the blind.
1849 1st time the word tournament applied to a chess tournament, in England.
1849 1st tournament on record - Ries' Cigar Divan knock-out, won by Henry Buckle.
1849 1st Staunton chess set, designed by Nathaniel Cook.
1851 1st international chess tournament, held in London (May 7 - July 15). Won by Anderssen
1851 1st Dutch national tournament, held in Amsterdam.
1852 1st use of sandglasses as time devices for chess tournaments.
1854 1st problem-solving contest, held in London.
1854 1st chess club in Tasmania.
1855 1st Black American chessplayer of distinction, Theophilus Thompson, born.
1856 1st game by telegraph between chess clubs - Liverpool vs Manchester.
1857 1st U.S. chess periodical, 'The Chess Monthly,' published by Daniel Fiske. (Jan 1)
1857 1st chess demonstration board, designed by Lowenthal.
1857 1st American Chess Congress and 1st national tournament in the USA, held in New York and won by Morphy (Oct 6)
1857 1st national chess body in the UK formed, The Chess Association.
1858 1st time Morphy visited England (Liverpool), on June 21.
1859 1st intercollegiate chess tournament, between Williams and Anherst.
1859 1st Russian chess magazine, Shakhmatny Listok.
1860 1st chess book by a woman, H Cooke, who wrote The ABC of Chess.
1861 1st timed match (with sandglasses) - Anderssen vs Kolisch.
1861 1st German Chess Congress, held in Dusseldorf and won by Vitzthum (Sep 22)
1861 1st cable chess match, between Dublin and Liverpool.
1862 1st round robin, the 1862 London International.
1862 1st study-composing chess tournament. Won by Bernard Horwitz.
1863 1st issue of The Chess Player's Magazine by Falkbeer and Lowenthal.
1864 1st idea of a chess-playing computer, conceived by Charles Babbage.
1865 1st Irish Championship. Won by Rynd.
1866 1st official British Championship, won by Cecil de Vere.
1866 1st chess by telegraph in New Zealand.
1866 1st use of a mechanical chess clok, Anderssen-Steinitz.
1867 1st use of mechanical chess clocks in a tournament, in Paris (June 4).
1867 1st time draws counted as a half a point, at the Dundee International.
1868 1st appearance of Ajeeb the Chess Automaton.
1869 1st documented proposal for deciding tournament placings.
1969 1st time Oxford University Chess Club is organized.
1870 1st correspondence chess club, The Caissa Correspondence Club, founded.
1870 1st international tournament in Germany - Baden Baden; won by Anderssen
1870 1st time an international tournament interrupted by War - Baden Baden.
1870 1st time chess clocks were used - Baden Baden.
1871 1st book published devoted only to the endgame, by Durand.
1871 1st county match in England - Yorkshire vs Lancashire.
1872 1st formation of the Canadian Chess Association.
1872 1st Canadian chess championship; the tournament was not completed
1873 1st tie-breaking system used, the Sonnenborn-Berger system in Vienna.
1873 1st sport to have a world champion - billiards. 2nd sport was chess in 1886.
1873 1st official Oxford-Cambridge chess match. Won by Oxford. (March 28)
1873 1st Dutch Chess Federation formed.
1873 1st Netherlands Championship. Won by Gifford.
1873 1st completed Canadian championship; won by Albert Ensor.
1874 1st formation of the Harvard Chess Club.
1875 1st Italian Championship. Won by Seni.
1876 1st brilliancy prize offered, a silver cup, Bird defeating Mason in New York.
1876 1st appearance of the Mephisto automaton.
1877 1st opening of the Manhattan Chess Club.
1877 1st German national chess body formed, the DSB.
1878 1st chess game to be played by telephone in England, between F. Thompson and F. Cooper.
1878 1st automation to play by electro-mechanical means (Mephisto).
1878 1st use of the sealed move, introduced in Paris.
1878 1st New York State Championship. Won by Cox.
1879 1st German Championship. Won by Englisch.
1879 1st New Zealand Championship. Won by Hookham.
1880 1st time the en passant rule is universally accepted by all countries.
1880 1st recorded chess game in Malta.
1881 1st appearance of the British Chess Magazine. (Jan 1)
1882 1st time a woman won a prize for a chess composition - Frideswide Beechey.
1883 1st use of the mechanical double-faced chess clock, in London (April 26).
1883 1st use of the Forsyth notation for recording positions.
1884 1st formation of the Scottish Chess Association.
1884 1st Scottish Championship. Won by Crum.
1884 1st meeting of the British Chesss Association. Lord Tennyson was the President and Lord Churchill was the Vice President.
1885 1st Congress of the British Chess Association, in London (June 15).
1885 1st Australian Championship. Won by Esling.
1885 1st San Francisco Championship. won by Waldstein.
1885 1st appearance of the International Chess Magazine, edited by Steinitz. (January)
1886 1st official match for the world chess championship (Steinitz-Zukertort).
1887 1st formation of the Hobart Chess Club in Tasmania. It lasted for over 100 years.
1888 1st international correspondence chess tournament held; organized by a newspaper.
1888 1st USA Championship. Won by Showalter.
1889 1st brilliancy game prize for a tournament game, to Bird for his game against Mason in New York.
1889 1st brilliancy prize for a match game, Steinitz against Tchigorin.
1889 1st Swiss Championship. Won by Pestalozzi and Poplawski.
1890 1st official U.S. Chess Champion, Jackson Showalter.
1891 1st issue of a yearbook on chess, issued by Ludwig Bachmann.
1891 1st aticle on grading and chess ratings appeared in British Chess Magazine.
1892 1st South African Championship. Won by Roberts.
1893 1st column of Hermann Helms in the Brooklyn Eagle. He wrote a chess column for 62 years.
1894 1st time a world champion lost his crown. Lakser defeated Steinitz.
1895 1st Swiss-System chess tournament, held in Zurich.
1895 1st cable matches between the USA and UK.
1896 1st trans-Atlantic cable match, between London and New York (March 13-14). Won by the Americans.
1897 1st women's international tournament started, held in London, won by Mary Rudge. (Jan 23)
1897 1st Nordic Championship. Won by S. Svensson.
1898 1st formation of the Essex Chess Association.
1899 1st chess clock with a flag that fell on the hour.
1899 1st All-Russian championship. Won by Chigorin.
1900 1st U.S. Open chess championship, held in Minnesota and won by Louis Uedemann.
1900 1st Moscow Championship. Won by Nenarokov.
1901 1st serious and recorded games of Jose Capablanca.
1902 1st radio match held, between the SS Campania and SS Philadelphia.
1902 1st Cuban Championship. Won by Juan Corzo.
1902 1st Spanish Championship. Won by Golmayo.
1903 1st time an amateur movie is made about chess - A Chess Dispute.
1904 1st formation of the British Chess Federation, at Hastings. (Aug 22)
1904 1st British championship in 32 years, won by Napier and Atkins.
1904 1st British Ladies Chess Championship, won by K. Finn.
1904 1st appearance of the American Chess Bulletin, edited by Hermann Helms.
1904 1st appearance of Lasker's Chess Magazine.
1905 1st Scottish Ladies chess championship, won by S. Hutchinson.
1905 1st chess club in China - Shanghai Chess Club.
1905 1st Czech Championship. Won by Duras.
1906 1st American Women's chess tournament, in New York.
1906 1st corres. association, the British Corres. Chess Association, formed.
1906 1st Hungarian Championship. Won by Balla.
1907 1st title of grandmaster used at Ostende.
1908 1st introduction of seconds, for the Lasker-Tarrasch match.
1909 1st American chess correspondence organization, the CCLA, formed.
1909 1st official Dutch championship held.
1909 1st American woman chess author, Eliza Foot. She wrote a book on chess puzzles.
1910 1st painting by Duchamp with a chess theme.
1910 1st Danish Championship. Won by Kruse.
1910 1st time Capablanca achieved a perfect score, in New York (7/7). He repeated this in 1913 and 1914.
1910 1st Anglo-Dutch match. England won.
1911 1st time chess players are reimbursed for their travels, at San Sebastian.
1911 1st edition of 'Modern Chess Openings' published.
1911 1st time a player played 100 opponents simultaneously, in Munich.
1911 1st use of seconds, in the Schlechter-Tarrasch match.
1911 1st appearance of Capablanca in Europe, San Sebastian. He won. (Feb 19)
1912 1st issue of Capablanca Chess Magazine
1913 1st academic chess book on the history of chess - A History of Chess by Murray.
1913 1st Icelandic chess championsahip. Won by Zophroniasson.
1913 1st use of the grasshpper in chess problems, invented by T. Dawson.
1914 1st appearance of chess in the movies, from a scene in 'Wishing Ring.'
1914 1st French Championship. Won by Goetz.
1914 1st title of "Grandmaster" given to players, by Tsar Nicholas.
1915 1st opening of the Marshall Chess Club, in New York.
1916 1st major movie theme on chess - Chess Fever, starring Douglas Fairbanks.
1916 1st British Columbia championship, won by Ewing.
1917 1st analysis and games of the Budapest Gambit.
1917 1st Swedish Championship. Won by Lowenborg.
1918 1st Norwegeian chess championship, won by Lilja.
1918 1st formation of the British Chess Problem Society.
1919 1st time a simultaneous exhibition was played in the House of Commons. Capablanca played 38 players.
1920 1st USSR Chess Championship, won by Alexander Alekhine.
1920 1st Chilean Championship. Won by Peralta.
1921 1st formation of the French Chess Federation.
1921 1st formation of the Canadian Correspondence Chess Association.
1921 1st Argentine Championship. Won by Recca.
1921 1st Austrian Championship. Won by Saemisch.
1921 1st British Correspondence Championship. Won by Hamond.
1922 1st Finnish chess championship. Won by Chepurnov.
1922 1st all-Danish chess championship. Won by E. Jacobsen.
1922 1st Estonian Championship started. Won by Rinne.
1923 1st formation of the Maltese Chess Association.
1924 1st formation of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
1924 1st time an American defeated a Soviet in international competition.
1924 1st World Amateur Championship, won by Mattison in July.
1924 1st Latvian Championship. Won by Mattison.
1924 1st Tasmanian Chess Championship and 1st formation of the Tasmanian Chess Association.
1925 1st film to deal exclusively with chess, 'Chess Fever,' made in Moscow.
1925 1st Brazilian Championship. Won by Souza Mendes.
1926 1st time a player (Sxhultz) drew all his games in a tournament, in Hungary.
1926 1st World Women's Championship Under 21; won by Menchik.
1926 1st Polish Championship. Won by Przepiorka.
1926 1st Rumanian Championship started. Won by Tyroler.
1927 1st official FIDE chess olympiad, in London.
1927 1st use of algebraic figurine notation in a magazine, in Belgium.
1927 1st Women's World Chess Championship, won by Vera Menchik.
1928 1st international correspondence chess organized.
1929 1st international codification of chess rules, by FIDE at Venice.
1929 1st simulataneous exhibition on an airplane, by Tartakower.
1930 1st issue of the Problemist Fairy Chess
1931 1st time the USA wins a chess olympiad, held in Prague.
1932 1st international correspondence tournament. Won by Janso Balogh.
1932 1st formation of the Canadian Chess Federation.
1932 1st issue of Chess Review, in January.
1932 1st time chess included in the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
1933 1st Bulgarian Championship. Won by Geshev.
1933 1st numerical rating system, used for correspondence chessplayers.
1933 1st issue of 'Chess Review,' edited by Isaac Kashdan.
1934 1st chess federation formed to represent all the the United States - American Chess Federation.
1935 1st and only time Alekhine loses the world chess championship. Beat by Euwe in the Netherlands.
1935 1st Correspondnece Chess Olympiad. Won by Hungary.
1935 1st Yugoslav Championship. Won by Pirc and Kostic.
1936 1st U.S. Chess Championship tournament, won by Reshevsky.
1936 1st Israeli Championship. Won by Czerniak.
1937 1st blindfold play against 34 opponents, Koltanowski in Scotland.
1937 1st ballet with a chess theme, 'Checkmate' by Sir Arthur Bliss.
1937 1st US Women's Championship started. Won by Rivero.
1937 1st use of seconds in a world championship match, Alekhine-Euwe.
1938 1st time Mona Karff won the US Women's Championship. She won it 7 times.
1939 1st formation of the U.S. Chess Federation.
1939 1st chess rating system; used by the Correspondence Chess League of America
1940 1st US Open to be called the US Open (before it was the North American or Western Open)
1940 1st USSR postal chess championship. Won by Konstantinopolsky.
1941 1st USCF Open postal tournament; won by Louis Persinger
1942 1st use of the Swiss System in the U.S., in the Texas Championship.
1942 1st US Speed Championship; won by Reuben Fine.
1942 1st British correspondence championship. Won by R. Bonham who was blind.
1942 1st US Amateur Championship. Won by Jackson.
1943 1st annual USCF Golden Knight postal chess tournament began; won by John Staffer
1944 1st time Gisela Gresser won the US Women's Championship. She won it 9 times.
1945 1st international sporting event after WW II was the USSR-USA radio match. (Sep 3-4)
1946 1st publication of 'Chess Life.'
1946 1st organization of the International Correspondence Chess Federation.
1946 1st formation of the Florida Chess Association.
1946 1st Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship. Won by CCNY.
1946 1st US Junior Championship. Won by Friedman.
1947 1st chess stamp, issued in Bulgaria.
1947 1st World Correspondence Chess Championship begins, won by Purdy.
1947 1st time the USSR joins FIDE.
1947 1st national event to use the Swiss System, the US Open, held.
1947 1st West German Championship. Won by Kieninger.
1947 1st UK vs USSR chess match, London. (Sep 21)
1948 1st East German Championship. Won by Teschner.
1948 1st article on computer chess, published by Claude Shannon.
1948 1st time FIDE runs the world championship title; won by Botvinnik
1948 1st formation of the Greek Chess Federation.
1949 1st time a paper is written on how a computer might play chess; written by Claude Shannon.
1949 1st British Chess Championship run as a Swiss tournament, at Felixstowe.
1950 1st USCF rating list appears.
1950 1st time the title of grandmaster and international master are used.
1950 1st Candidates tournament (Budapest). Bronstein and Boleslavsky tied for first.
1950 1st World Correspondence Championship started. Won by Purdy in 1953.
1950 1st Commonwealth Championship. Won by Fairhurst.
1951 1st World Junior Championship held, in England. Won by Ivkov. (June 11-23)
1951 1st formation of the International Braille Chess Association.
1951 1st time a world chess championship ends in a draw; Botvinnik retains the title.
1952 1st international tournament for college students, held in England.
1952 1st participation of the Russians in a chess olympiad - Helsinki.
1953 1st Clare Benedict tournament; won by the Dutch.
1953 1st FIDE Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess title.
1954 1st official student Olympiad, held in Oslo. Won by Czechoslovakia.
1954 1st World Student Team Championship. Won by Czechoslovakia.
1955 1st World Blind Correspondence Chess Championship. Won by R. Bonham.
1955 1st Welsh Championship. Won by Kenyon (the only woman in the tournament).
1956 1st World Championship for the Deaf and Dumb, held in Poland.
1956 1st time India played in a chess olympiad and joinded FIDE.
1957 1st European team championship. Won by USSR.
1957 1st time China offically recognizes chess and its 1st national championship.
1957 1st time a computer plays a form of chess - MANIAC I.
1957 1st women's chess olympiad. Held in the Netherlands and won by USSR.
1958 1st World Blind Chess Championship. Won by R. Bonham.
1958 1st chess olympiad for the blind.
1958 1st time Fischer wins the US Championship. He would win 8 times.
1959 1st computer program to play chess, written by Bernstein at MIT.
1959 1st time the Elo system of rating chessplayers used.
1960 1st US Armed Forces championship. Won by Hudson and Feurstein.
1960 1st formation of the Hong Kong Chess Association.
1960 1st formation of the Cyprus Chess Association and 1st Cyprus championship.
1961 1st Bulgarian to be awarded the title of International Grandmaster - Milko Bobotsov.
1961 1st US Amateur Team championship.
1962 1st grandmaster of over-the-board-play and correspondence, O'Kelly.
1962 1st European Junior Championship started. Won by Zuidema.
1963 1st world chess champion from Armenia when Petrosian defeated Botvinnik.
1964 1st Grandmaster of the British Commonwealth - Abe Yanofsky.
1965 1st university to introduce a course on chess, Moscow University.
1965 1st women's world correspondence chess championship started.
1965 1st American Open. Won by Benko.
1965 1st National Open. Won by Reshevsky and R Byrne.
1965 1st All Postal Chess Tournament (APCT) Championship. Won by Sprenkle.
1966 1st US Junior championship, won by Walter Browne.
1966 1st match between USSR and USA chess computers. USSR (KAISSA) won.
1966 1st volume of Chess Informant publihsed.
1967 1st formation of the Andorra Chess Federation.
1967 1st computer to play in a chess tournament with humans - MACHACK VI.
1967 1st chess oscar. Won by Larsen.
1967 1st recognition of chess as a sport by the Greek Ministry of Sports.
1968 1st formation of the Japanese National Chess Federation.
1969 1st use of the algebraic notation in Chess Life.
1969 1st issue of the combined Chess Life and Chess Review to Chess Life and Review.
1970 1st time chess played in space, by the crew of Soyuz IX vs. ground control.
1970 1st time a chess tournament was held with all opponents being computers.
1970 1st time FIDE established an international rating system.
1970 1st USSR vs Rest of the World match. Won by USSR.
1970 1st ACM computer championship. Won by CHESS 3.0
1971 1st US championship for the blind, won by James Slagle.
1972 1st British Grandmaster title to Comins Mansfield (for chess composition).
1972 1st Correspondence Chess Grandmaster of the Blind - R. Bonham of England.
1972 1st World Women's Correspondence Championship, won by Rubtsova.
1973 1st World Open, held in New York and won by Walter Browne.
1973 1st formation of the Association of US Journalists.
1974 1st world computer chess championship, won by KAISSA.
1974 1st book employing algebraic notation issued by a major US publisher.
1974 1st chess championship tournament in China held.
1974 1st World Cadet Championship (under 16), held in France (won by Mestel).
1974 1st Asian Team Championship. Won by the Philippines.
1974 1st time a husband and wife are champions of their country - Bill and Jana Hartston of England.
1975 1st time Americans finished 1-2 in an International event, Portugal.
1975 1st World Chess Composition Tournament. Won by USSR.
1975 1st Bundesliga, German national chess team.
1975 1st formation of the Mauritania Chess Federation.
1976 1st grandmaster to defect from the Soviet Union (Victor Korchnoi).
1976 1st English-born player, Tony Miles, to become a Grandmaster.
1976 1st time a major tournament (National Open) invoked a no smoking rule.
1976 1st time an olympiad was conducted as a Swiss system - Haifa.
1976 1st US Class Championship. Won by Karlins.
1977 1st time a woman won a man's event, Gaprindashvili at Lone Pine.
1977 1st time an untitled player became a Grandmaster, Larry Christiansen.
1977 1st computer (Sneaky Pete) to play in a US Open.
1977 1st telex olympiad, won by USSR.
1977 1st World Problem Solving Championship. Won by Finland.
1977 1st European Junior Women's Championship. Won by Sikora and Kas.
1977 1st US Blind Championship. Won by Slagle.
1977 1st time a computer wins an open tournament - CHESS 4.5 won the Minnesota Open.
1977 1st Asian Junior Championship. Won by Chandler.
1978 1st Swiss System Olympiad, Buenos Aires.
1978 1st microcomputer chess tournament, won by Sargon in San Jose.
1978 1st woman, Nona Gaprindashvili, to achieve the men's Grandmaster title.
1979 1st time two Interzonals were held.
1979 1st USCF Grand Prix. Won by Bisguier.
1980 1st World Cadet Championship (under age 16)
1980 1st Aspis prize for the best player under 13. Won by Litvinchuk.
1981 1st computer to win a state championship, Cray Blitz in Mississippi.
1981 1st time standard notation (algebraic) is established for all countries.
1981 1st US Senior Open. Won by Rea Hayes.
1982 1st brother-sister (Harold and Bernadette Reddik) to tie for first in a tournament, in Chicago.
1982 1st time an American beat a reigning world champ, Seirawan over Karpov.
1983 1st time a microcomputer beat a master in tournament play.
1983 1st time a computer got an established master's rating.
1983 1st video chess cassette, starring Orson Welles, Seirawan, Christiansen.
1983 1st official FIDE world championship event, World Youth Team Ch, in the US.
1983 1st National HS Individual Championship held (won by Patrick Wolff).
1984 1st satellite simultaneous exhibition, Kasparov playing New York/London.
1984 1st time the US beat the USSR in the Chess Olympics, at Thessaloniki.
1985 1st time a world chess championship was terminated (Karpov-Kasparov).
1985 1st World Team Championship, won by USSR.
1985 1st Denker High School championship. Won by Fishbein.
1986 1st time a Soviet entrant played in the U.S. Open.
1986 1st time a chess olympiad played in an Arab country - United Arab Emirates
1986 1st Category 16 tournament, Bugojno. Average rating was 2628. Karpov won.
1986 1st formation of the US Chess Hall of Fame.
1986 1st US Cadet championship. Won by Sherzer.
1987 1st time rated game/30 time control is played.
1987 1st Samford Fellowship, awarded to Benjamin.
1988 1st time a computer shares first place in the US Open - DEEP THOUGHT.
1988 1st time a computer wins a state chess championship - HITECH in Pennsylvania.
1988 1st time a grandmaster (GM Denker) loses to a computer in a tournament.
1989 1st Computer Chess Olympiad; held in London.
1990 1st time someone passed Fischer's rating of 2785 - Kasparov a 2800.
1991 1st Chinese world champion - Xie Jun defeated Maya Chiburdanidze in the World Women's Championship
1991 1st Asian to qualify in the quarter finals of the World Chess Championship - Anand.
1991 1st World Senior Open. Won by Smyslov.
1992 1st time a woman was inducted in the US Chess Hall of Fame - Gisela Gresser.
1992 1st time a computer defeats a world chess champion in speed chess.
1992 1st time the "Bobby Fischer chess clock" used in a chess event - Fischer-Spassky, 1992.
1993 1st time a chess player was killed by sniper fire while playing chess, in Bosnia.
1996 1st time a computer (Deep Blue) beats a world champion at normal time limit.
1997 1st time a computer (Deeper Blue) beats a world champion in a match.
1998 1st time a woman (Judit Polgar) wins a U.S. Open.
2000 1st time women (J Polgar and Stefanova) were playing on the top men's team in a chess olympiad, in Istanbul.
2003 1st time that a man/machine competition was sanctioned by FIDE - Kasparov vs Deep Junior 7.
2003 1st world chess championship in total virtual reality, played in 3D - Kasparov vs X3DFritz.
2004 1st Uzbekistan world champ when Rustam Kasimjonov wins world FIDE title.
