1] Did you know the number of possible ways of playing the first four moves for both sides in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000 ? 2] The longest game of chess that is theoretically possible is 5,949 moves. 3] The new pawn move, where pawns were allowed to advance two squares on its first move instead of one, was first introduced in Spain in 1280. 4] The first chess game played between space and earth was on June 9, 1970 by the Soyez-9 crew. The game ended in a draw.