In Pics: A look at chess on World Chess Day

A cured coronavirus patient (1st R) plays chess with Ma Zhenhua (2nd L), a medical worker from Qinghai medical team, before leaving Wuchang temporary hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan) BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- July 20 marks World Chess Day. On Dec. 12, 2019, the UN General Assembly proclaimed July 20 as World Chess Day to mark the date of the establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.

According to the UN, chess is a global game that promotes fairness, inclusion and mutual respect, and contributes to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding among peoples and nations. In the time of COVID-19 pandemic, it has become ever more important for us to recognize the role chess plays in connecting people across societies.

On this special occasion, let's take a look at the unique game of chess to see how it helps break down barriers simply by two people sitting down to play.

Locals play Chinese chess at a commercial street in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, June 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

Two homeless men play chess game in a sport center in Skhirat, Morocco, April 16, 2020. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)

Afghan girls play chess at a training center in Shiberghan city, capital of Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 3, 2020. Playing chess among girls in the insurgency-battered Afghanistan is a phenomenon that has been growing slowly but steadily. (Photo by Mohammad Jan Aria/Xinhua)

Chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley (L, front) plays chess on the beach of Crikvenica, Croatia, on July 2, 2019. (Photo by Goran Kovacic/Xinhua)

Zimbabwe's chess coach (R) takes his young students through the paces during a practice session in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, Dec. 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Musa C Kaseke)

A staff member of University College Dublin (UCD) Confucius Institute teaches visitors to play Chinese chess during the UCD Festival in Dublin, Ireland, June 8, 2019. (Xinhua)

Wang Hao (L) of China and Alireza Firouzja participating under the FIDE flag shake hands after the Blitz Open final at 2019 King Salman World Rapid Blitz Chess Championship in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 30, 2019. (Xinhua/Maxim Chernavsky)

Children play chess on a giant chessboard surrounded by rice paddy at Luohong Village of Deqing County in Zhaoqing City, south China's Guangdong Province, June 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway reacts during the "Magnus Plays the World" 1 vs. 15 event at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the United States, May 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Russian chess grandmaster and former world champion Garry Kasparov (R) plays against children during a simultaneous chess exhibition match in Zagreb, Croatia, on Dec. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Relja Dusek)

People play Chinese chess in a swimming pool to cool off at a waterpark in Chongqing, southwest China, Aug. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)■