Spain has significantly contributed to the history of chess from its integration around the 10th century to the present day. The Spanish received Shatranj, one of the predecessors of chess, from the Arabs during the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula between the 7th and 15th centuries. As chess spread to the rest of Europe, Spain contributed to the chess literature of the period, culminating with the Libro de los juegos (1283), commissioned by Alfonso X in the 13th century. Also of Spanish origin are the first archaeological pieces of evidence of the game in Europe: the Ager pieces, a set of medieval chess pieces dating from the 11th century, of abstract design and made of crystal, that belonged to Arnau Mir de Tost. During the Age of Discovery, Spain helped the globalization of Chess by introducing Chess to the Americas and the Philippines.

With reformulations of the rules of the game in the late 15th century, Spain was one of the first European countries to stand out in chess. The Repetición de Amores y Arte de Axedrez (1497) by Luis Ramírez de Lucena and Libro de la Invención Liberal y Arte del Juego del Axedrez (1561) by Ruy López de Segura were the first literary works contemplating the new rules and innovations such as the capture en passant. However, after López's defeat by Giovanni Leonardo Di Bonna in 1575, Italian players showed to be extremely skilled.

The inclusion of the Queen in chess was probably influenced by medieval queens, of which the Spanish Queen Isabella I of Castile was likely the most influential. Isabella and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, were known chess aficionados and, by expelling the Jews from Spain in the late 15th century, helped spread the new rules to the rest of Europe.

Spain has no great highlights in the chess Olympiad, with the best results being individual medals per board. The Spanish team has won a total of seven medals in the men's category (one gold, two silver, and four bronze), and three medals in the women's category (two silver and one bronze). Spain hosted the 2004 Olympiad and the 1987 World Championships.

Around 711, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Muslims, under the command of Tariq, who crossed the Mediterranean Sea at the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Peninsula defeating Roderic, the last Visigoth king of Hispania, at the Battle of Guadalete. In the following years, the Muslims extended their conquests, taking over the territory of Al-Andalus, which they ruled for almost eight hundred years. Despite the constant conflicts that lasted until the reconquest of the entire territory, the Arab culture had intense contact with the Christian kingdoms.

Following the Qur'anic interpretation of not representing living figures, the first sets of chess pieces found in Spain were abstract. The Ager set of pieces, which belonged to Ermessenda Countess of Urgel, and were left in her will to the Church of Saint Giles in the year 1058, are among the earliest archaeological evidence on European soil. A total of 44 crystal pieces with abstract shapes remained, with the King represented by only one throne and the ferz, predecessor of the Queen, by a slightly smaller throne. From this period, there are records of other pieces donated through wills to churches and monasteries in Spain and southern France. Abstract crystal pieces have also been found in the northern towns of Celanova and San Millán de la Cogolla, all dating between the 10th and 11th centuries. Another piece of Spanish origin dating to the 12th century has a humanized representation of a small Lady encased on a throne, wearing a headdress similar to that worn by women of the period.

In literature, the poem Verses on the Game of Chess written by the Spanish Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra at the end of the 11th century did not include the Queen in the game, but a later poem by the same author makes this mention (Shegal). These records show the European origin of the inclusion of the Queen in the game since in the Arab version of chess played in Spain, the figure of the ferz coexisted until the 13th century. Ezra lived with both Christians and Arabs and probably received the piece from the former. Another work, written by Petrus Alphonsi called Disciplina Clerical which is essentially a collection of texts translated from Arabic, mentions chess as one of the seven skills expected of a knight.

The most important work of the period was the Libro de los Juegos, a work commissioned by Alfonso X of Castile and completed in 1283, which consists of 93 scrolls illustrated with approximately 150 color figures. It contains 103 chess problems, which are Arabic models similar to endgames; fourteen of these problems are distinguished by having a greater richness in their composition in which one side has a clear material advantage, having likely been created by another author. The first five pages contain a description of the philosophy of chess, the rules, movement, shape of each piece, and their relative value. The illustrations contain a wide representation of the court and how the game was played by courtiers, foreigners, Muslims, Jews, and Christians. One of the illustrations contains Edward I of England with his bride Eleonor of Castile.