by Jael Ravalyn

Created on: April 29, 2010

Chess is a controlled representation of battle strategy: the black pieces against the white pieces.  Unlike real-life battles, however, chess allows certain guarantees for each opponent: equal footing from the beginning. The Chess board itself guarantees the battle ground; the rules guarantee turn taking and a predictable way for each type of piece to move.

Each piece moves with predictable patterns in an unpredictable player chosen reactive method up, across, diagonally, or in a small L shape about the board with the goal of cornering the opposing king.  The board is a flat plane of eight square places on each horizontal end (a-h) and on each vertical end (1-8), filling the square board with 64 places of alternating dark and light spaces for the battle to span. 

Each side has an equal number of pieces: 16 white and 16 black.  Per side, there are 8 pawns and 8 specialty pieces: a king, a queen, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and 2 castles.  Each set of pieces sets up station at opposite sides of the board, kings in the center of its respective side with the queen next to it across the board from the other queen (thus the white queen is on the left side of the white king whereas the black queen is on the right side of the black king). 

On either side of the royal couple are the two bishops. Next to each bishop is a knight (shaped like a horse), and, by each knight, a castle is stationed.  All four corners of the board, then have a castle positioned: two corners contain white castles and two containing black.  The pawns are positioned in a row in front of each specialty piece on the second row of squares from each end of the board.

A chess game can now commence: the white side moves first.  The first move may be a one or two space (only on the first move for each pawn otherwise only one move is allowed) forward move by a pawn. The other possible first move would involve either knight who can skip over their own side’s pawns to position in an L shape in front of the row of pawns. Once the hand of the player is removed from the chosen piece, the turn has ended and the next player may move.  Pawns may “kill” an opposing piece by overtaking its place if one space diagonally from it.  Knights kill by overtaking pieces within its L shape movement range.  Castles can move as many places vertically or diagonally that its own members do not occupy, and can stop right before or kill an opposing piece in its wake.  Bishops move as many spaces diagonally on the colored squares it began on so long as not blocked by an ally and capable of killing an enemy piece in its way.  Kings can only move one unblocked space at a time capable of killing pieces within that range. Queens are the most powerful piece as it can move forward, backward, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally on non ally occupied spaces and killing any enemy piece in its wake. 

Any piece in range of the opposing side’s king has placed that side in “check.”  The opposing king must move to get out of danger or have an ally piece move to block it.  If a player positions pieces in range of over taking the opposing king, that player has won because of accomplishing a “check mate.”  If neither side is capable in the end of accomplishing a check mate, the game is a draw termed a “stale mate.”  To quit a game of chess for whatever reason, the king is laid down flat in surrender.  Killed pieces are removed from the board for the duration of the game. That, in short, is how Chess is played. 

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