Chess
This Checkmate can end a game in two moves, but cannot be forced. What is it called?
a) Loser's Mate
b) King Gambit
c) Helper's Mate
d) Failure Openingc) Helper's Mate
It is also called a "Fool's Mate."
This wise wizard serves as a guiding hand and mentor throughout most of the series.
a) Bellatrix Lestrange
b) Albus Dumbledore
c) Oliver Wood
d) Remus Hagrid
b) Albus Dumbledore
This empire spanned the majority of Europe, and definitely did not fall in a single day.
a) Turkish Empire
b) Byzantine Empirec) Roman Empire
d) Spanish Empire
c) Roman Empire
This flying lizard is known to breathe fire!
a) Manticore
b) Banshee
c) Dragon
d) Wyvern
c) Dragon
Believed to grow as large as 60 feet (18 meters), what is the largest species of shark currently living in the ocean?
a) Great White Shark
b) Hammerhead Shark
c) Megalodon
d) Whale Shark
d) Whale Shark
Unlike most other sharks, these are filter feeders! So they are perfectly safe to be around!
What is the name of the governing body of international chess competition?
a) FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs)
b) MOCE (Multinational Organization of Chess Enthusiasts)
c) ISV (International Schach Verband)
d) USCF (United States Chess Federation)
a) FIDE
Which of these monsters has NOT been inside Hogwarts? (That we know of!)
a) Basilisk (giant snake)
b) Acromantula (giant spider)
c) Troll
d) Manticore (a beast with the head of a man, body of a lion, and tail of a scorpion)
d) Manticore
Though it's likely only a matter of time!
What was the name of this diminutive French conqueror?
a) Napoleon Bonaparte
b) Marie Antoinette
c) Louis Vitton
d) King Louis XIV
a) Napoleon Bonaparte
Which of these would be easiest to beat in an arm wrestling contest?
a) Giant
b) Pixie
c) Dwarf
d) Elf
b) Pixie
This beast is the only known natural predator of the Great White Shark (aside from humans!):
a) Hammerhead Shark
b) Tiger
c) Killer Whale
d) A very angry seal
c) Killer Whale
These whales are incredibly smart, and terrifyingly good hunters! They have been known to throw themselves onto land to catch seals!
Not all tournament prizes are trophies! During World War 1, Grandmasters Tarrasch and Mieses played a match where the prize was what?
a) $500,000
b) a half pound of butter
c) a Sherman tank
d) Choosing who won the war
b) a half pound of butter
Considering war time rationing heavily limited how much food one could buy, this was a prize worth its weight in gold!
What rare power did Harry's father have?
a) riding a broomstick no-handed
b) summoning lightning
c) reading minds
d) transforming into a stag
d) transforming into a stag
He learned how to so that he could hang out with his werewolf buddy!
Why was the Great Wall, the largest fortification ever built, made?
a) they wanted to say they had the best wall
b) there was a draft
c) to stop invaders
d) to keep tigers out
c) to stop invaders
Specifically, the Mongol hordes! (They were a major problem, and at one point had conquered all the way from China to Europe!)
If you cut off one of this creature's heads, two more will replace it!
a) Dragon
b) Kraken
c) Werewolf
d) Hydra
d) Hydra
A group of Zebras is called a
a) pack
b) dazzle
c) stripe
d) glamour
b) dazzle
How long was the longest recorded game of chess in a serious competition?
a) 150-200 moves
b) 200-250 moves
c) 250-300 moves
d) 300-350 moves
c) 250-300 moves
269 moves, to be precise! It took 20 hours and 15 minutes, and it ended in a draw....
This journalist always got her scoop, even if it wasn't the truth.
a) Quill Penner
b) Karen Sneaker
c) Rita Skeeter
d) Molly Buzzer
c) Rita Skeeter
She could also transform into a beetle!
When was the world's first postage stamp put into use?
a) 1910
b) 1760
c) 1690
d) 1840
d) 1840
It was put into use in Great Britain, and of course had a picture of the Queen of England on it.
This spider is known for its story-telling and trickery.
a) Aragog
b) Tsuchigumo
c) Arachne
d) Anansi
d) Anansi
This spider comes from West African folklore, and is sometimes considered the god of all stories! So next time you hear someone talk about "weaving a story" they might mean it more literally than you thought!
Ostriches are funny animals! As a matter of fact:
a) they have three hearts
b) their eyes are bigger than their brains
c) their beaks can break stone
d) they can't flap their wings
b) their eyes are bigger than their brains
Talk about bird-brained!
When was the first computer program for playing chess (chess engine) invented?
a) 1951
b) 1963
c) 1985
d) 1994
a) 1951
It was created by Alan Turing (known as the "Father of Computer Science"). However, when he made this program there was no computer powerful enough to run it! So to test it he used his own brain power to calculate for the program, and played according the the results!
Which form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?
a) Rat
b) Ferret
c) Otter
d) Fox
c) Otter
The famous playwright William Shakespeare was know for:
a) setting stages on fire to be dramatic
b) making up words when he couldn't think of a good enough one
c) wandering the streets asking for ideas
d) selling stale popcorn at his performances
b) making up words when he couldn't think of a good enough one
In fact, there are 422 words that Shakespeare was the first to ever have used in written language! How Spectafulorous!
This bird rules over all others
a) Adarna
b) Feng Huang
c) Cockatrice
d) Horus
b) Feng Huang
These mythological birds rule over all others! Horus is also an important bird (being the Egyptian god of the Sun!), but isn't in charge of other avians.
Which of the following builds a nest for its eggs?
a) Fruit Bat
b) Anaconda
c) King Cobra
d) Cuckoo
c) King Cobra
Fruit Bats don't lay eggs, and anacondas don't make nests. Cuckoos actually drop their eggs in other birds' nests and leave them with an extra kid!