CHESMAYNE

Chess Pieces

zhivago                                                                                      softly

 

Please also see ‘Monogram and ‘Pieces’ for an AZ listing of 500+ MPs/mps. 

           

KI, QU etc - ‘The Nobility’.  KI, QU1, RO1, RO2, BS1, BS2, KT1, KT2 etc.  On :L01

 each of these MPs has a mp placed in front of it in the ISP.  Please see the sample games to see some of these MPs in action.  The best way to improve your play is by developing a good understanding of how each MP moves, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they can contribute at each stage of a game.

 

 

          The Chesmayne chess MPs/mps are triangular shaped. Large triangles are used for the MPs and small triangles are for the mps.  Each triangle has the monogram of the MP/mp printed on it ie, PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4, PA5, PA6, PA7 and PA8 for the mps.  The monograms RO1, RO2, BS1, BS2, KT1, KT2, QU1 and KI for the MPs (traditional chess).  The MPs capture an opposing MP/mp in the same direction in which they move (the PA captures in a different manner to its normal move). 

Major Piece and monogram……. 

 KI King.    QU Queen.    RO Rook.    BS Bishop.    KT Knight. 

       

Major pieces

          With Chesmayne you have many more new MPs to choose from.  The two letters MP - monogram - are used in the text to indicate a Major Piece.   The MPs below are just a selection of some of the MPs available.  Each of these new MPs are explained in later sections of the text.

NOTE: the Chesmayne chess MPs/mps are triangular shaped. 

01 Larger triangles are used for the Major Pieces - MPs.

02 Smaller triangles are used for the Minor Pieces - mps.

Each triangle has a monogram printed on it ie,

03 PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4, PA5, PA6, PA7 and PA8

04 RO1, RO2, BS1, BS2, KT1, KT2, QU1 and KI

Name and Monogram-Index

01 King = KI	02 Queen = QU
03 Rook = RO	04 Bishop = BS
05 Knight occidental = KT	06 Regent = RE
07 Prince/Princess = PR/PS	08 Knight Magnifico = KM
09 Duke = DK	10 Standard-Bearer = SB
11 Bannerette = BA	12 Palatine = PL
13 Praetorian Guard = PG	14 Adviser = AD
15 Minister = MR	16 Cannon = CN
17 Vaunt-Courier = VC	18 Chinese Knight = KN
19 General = GE	20 Lord - Lady = LO   LA

 

The minor pieces

The Chesmayne MPs/mps are properly divided into two types. The nobiliary occupy the back ranks of cells and are referred to as the MPs.  The second type of which the PAs, GUs, FSs, BQs, and BEs are typical, are known as the mps.  The Chesmayne chess MPs/mps are triangular shaped. Large triangles are used for the MPs and small triangles are used for the mps. Each triangle has the monogram of the MP/mp printed on it ie,

01 PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4, PA5, PA6, PA7 and PA8 for the mps (:L01).

02 The monograms RO1, RO2, BS1, BS2, KT1, KT2, QU1 and KI for the MPs on :L01

  (traditional chess).   

                                      

Some of the new Chesmayne minor pieces

PAWN - used when playing traditional chess. 

Monogram: Pawn (PA) PA1, PA2, PA3 etc.

First Move Option (FMO): 1 or 2 cells vertically forward.

All Other Moves (AOM): 1 cell vertically forward.

Capture (*): 1 cell diagonally forward.

Promotable (#): Yes.

Special Move (ep): En Passant. 

 

GUARD - see ‘Level’

Monogram: Vanguard (GU) GU1, GU2, GU3 etc.

First Move Option (FMO): 1 or 2 cells diagonally forward.

All Other Moves (AOM): 1 cell diagonally forward.

Capture (*): 1 cell vertically forward or back.

Promotable (#): Yes.

Special Move: Retreat one cell vertically back.

 

BAIDAQ (see Shatranj)

Monogram: Baidaq (BQ) BQ1, BQ2, BQ3 etc.

First Move Option (FMO): 1 cell vertically forward.

All Other Moves (AOM): 1 cell vertically forward.

Capture (*): 1 cell diagonally forward.

Promotable (#): Yes.

Special Move: only to AD (Adviser) in Shatranj.

 

BEROLINA (see Berolina)

Monogram: Berolina (BE) BE1, BE2, BE3 etc.

First Move Option (FMO): 1 or 2 cells diagonally forward.

All Other Moves (AOM): 1 cell diagonally forward.

Capture (*): 1 cell vertically forward.

Promotable (#): Yes.

Special Move: None.

  

FOOT SOLDIER (see Chinese chess)

Monogram: Foot Soldier (FS) FS1, FS2, FS3 etc.

First Move Option (FMO): 1 cell vertically forward.

All Other Moves (AOM): 1 cell vertically forward.

Capture (*): 1 cell vertically forward.

Promotable (#): No.

Special Move: Top-rank horizontal 1 cell left or right. 

These drawings are from book 1. in the bibliography - [Main Graphics Page]

The PAs get their name from an old French word meaning ‘foot-soldier’ and like the infantry they must advance against the foe.  The monogram PA is used to identify these endearing mps ie,

On an 8 x 8 board the PAs are numbered PA1 to PA8.

On a 10 x 10 board the PAs are numbered PA1 to PA10.

On a 12 x 12 board the PAs are numbered PA1 to PA12.

On :L02

  (8 x 8 board) the Guard is introduced.  They move diagonally forward, either left or right - the opposite of how the PA moves on the board.  They also have the ability to capture straight ahead and retreat backwards one cell.  The PA and GU may move one or two cells forward on their initial move and thereafter, one cell forward.  The attributes of the GU introduce peculiar properties into their movement on the board of which you will see more of in the games that are demonstrated in the text (See 'Levels of play' for details).  The monogram GU is used to identify this mp. 

On an 8 x 8 board the GUs are numbered GU1 to GU8.

On a 10 x 10 board the GUs are numbered GU1 to GU10.

On a 12 x 12 board the GUs are numbered GU1 to GU12.

Trojan  :TR

The TR is one of the mps.  They are soldiers who shows pluck, determination and energy ie, to work like a Trojan.  In classical and medieval legend a Trojan was a native of the city of Troy.  Troilus was the warrior son of KI Priam of Troy, mentioned by Homer and Virgil. In astronomy the Trojans are a group of asteroids which have the same mean motion as the planet Jupiter.  In Greek classical legend the Trojans were able to enter the city of Troy in a Trojan horse, thus ensuring the destruction of that city (one who is able to subvert or undermine from within).  A ten-year war was waged (Trojan-war) by the confederated Greeks against the Trojans to avenge the abduction of Helen, wife of the Greek KI.  In the game of Chesmayne a Trojan may move 1, 2 or 3 cells forward on the first move (FMO). Subsequent moves (AOM = All Other Moves) can be 1 or 2 cells.  A Trojan captures one cell vertically forward on the board and bears the monogram TR for identification purposes.   Monogram: TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, TR5 etc.  

Vandal mp :VA

The Vandals get their name from a group of people who in the 5^th century ravaged Gaul and Spain, settled in Africa, and in 455 sacked Rome.  A Vandal is a person who willfully or ignorantly destroys or damages anything, as property, artistic or literary treasures.  The name is taken from the Latinization of the native tribal name Vandalus.  In the game of Chesmayne the Vandal may move 1, 2 or 3 cells vertically forward on the first move (FMO).  On subsequent moves they may move 1 or 2 cells vertically forward (AOM).  To capture, the Vandal moves 1 cell diagonally forward.  They are used on the 10 x 10 and larger Chesmayne boards and bear the monogram VA.    Monogram: VA1, VA2, VA3, VA4, VA5, VA6, VA7, VA8 etc. 

SportsVerlag, the now unfortunately defunct east German printing house, once used these rather attractive two colour block designs printed on the linen covers of their chess books. 

Numbering the minor pieces (mps)

The numbering of the mps becomes very important when different types of mp are placed on the board.  On a :L01 (8 x 8 chess board) there is no way to distinguish between one PA and another PA. The move of a PA is indicated: e2 e4.   In Chesmayne each PA is identified by a number and this move would be indicated by: PA5-E02/E04.  If PA5 captures a PA on F$04 you can still identify PA5s original starting position on the board.  PA5 is now on the same file as PA4.  

01 In traditional chess there are six types of MP/mp available at the start of a game, KI, QU, RO, BS, KT and PA. 

02 On :L02 of Chesmayne there are also six MPs/mps available: KI, QU, RO, BS, KT and GU.

03 On :L03 of Chesmayne there are seven MPs/mps available: KI, QU, RO, BS, KT, PA and GU.

With each MP/mp numbered it is easy to keep track of their movements on the board.  Please see ‘Level’ for example games which demonstrate the benefit of numbering the Chesmayne MPs/mps left-to-right on the chess board. 

 


Wood chess box.   Walnut coloured chess box is roomy enough to hold pieces up to a 3¾” King.   Combine with any chess pieces.    Box size is 9½” x 5¾" x 3½”.    Chess Sets & Accessories Directory Click Here. 

Minor piece promotion

The mps are placed in front of the MPs and on reaching the top ranks are promoted/enrobed to a new MP selected from the one’s available at the particular level of play chosen.   PAs, GUs and other mps are often blocked by other MPs or mps of either side.   If a mp cannot make a capture then it is stuck where it is and can remain in this twilight state for a prolonged period.  

          In the diagrams the :A MPs/mps advance up the page and :B MPs/mps move down the page.   Mps are permitted to pass through XB blockers (blue).   The PA may progress two cells on their initial move (FMO).  This two-cell advance was originally introduced in the 16^th century so as to speed up events.  Thereafter, they may move (AOM = All Other Moves) one cell at a time.  A PA is prevented from retreating. PAs move vertically forward on the board and may capture diagonally forward.  On reaching the top rank they must be promoted/enrobed.   Promotion is not optional for a mp. The sharp symbol (#) is used to indicate promotion in Chesmayne ie, PA4-$D07/D08#QU2 [PA4 is promoted to QU2].   XY axis. 

          Although the PA is one of the weakest mps in a chess game they have the potential to become the strongest by being transformed into QU2 on reaching a top rank of the board. 

The Pawn

The PAs have special rules for their capturing manoeuvre.  The PA is, in fact, exceptional in many ways, which I will now explain.  The normal move of the PA is simple - they plod just one cell forward at a time.   They may never move backwards (retreat).  On their first move (FMO), however, a PA may, if desired, be moved two cells forward (see ‘Paso Doble’) instead of just one.    This privilege is accorded to each of the eight PAs on either side but, a PA may only advance two cells if both cells are unoccupied and the PA has not previously been moved.  As distinct from their forward mode of travel, the PA captures diagonally, but again only one cell.  

‘Like watermen, that row one way and look another’. 

          The Arabs called them Baidaq (BQ), ‘foot soldiers’, which was translated into the Anglo-French word p’oun.  In Shatranj, a BQ could not be promoted to QU2, but to a Minister (MR) only.  The game-tree (:gt) of chess was, therefore, different from today, for there was little point in promotion.  

          A PA can move forward only.  A PA cannot jump.  A PA is promoted on reaching the last rank as part of the same move.  The cell on which a PA is promoted is called the queening cell, even if the PA is exchanged for a MP which is not a QU.  Promotion is also called ‘enrobing’ in Chesmayne.  Theoretically it is possible to have nine QUs (QU1, QU2, QU3 etc).  The PA is nearly always promoted to QU2, but underpromotion is possible. If a PA reaches rank-8 on the chessboard and is promoted to a QU, then this QU is referred to as QU2 to distinguish her from QU1.  Sometimes it is best to underpromote to KT3, BS3 or, RO3.   The en passant (:ep) capture can only be made by a PA on R$05.   The en passant move is optional, not obligatory.  Beginners often find this difficult, so practice on R$05 (for :A) and on R$04 for :B.  The PA can only capture one diagonal cell forward to their right or left.  The PA is known by different names in differing countries,

English: Pawn.   French: Pion.   German: Bauer.   Italian: Pedone.   Spanish: Peon.  

Russian: Peshka.  Arabic: Baidaq. 

Book cover designs

More cover designs from the late lamented SportsVerlag. 
A wonderful series of images based on historic chess pieces. 

:L01

PAs in the opening and middle game: in an open game or position, the PAs are fluid, are able to advance, and many may have already been exchanged or disposed.  Both :A and :B are ready to castle (%K, %Q) and there will be open lines for RO1, RO2, BS1 and BS2. 

PAs in a closed game - in a closed position the central PAs (PA4 and PA5) are interlocked in such a way that they cannot be exchanged.  There are no open files for RO1, RO2, BS1 and BS2.  In such positions KT1 and KT2 can become more important because of their ability to manoeuvre. 

During the opening, development may be slowed down by making too many PA moves or moving a PA to a wrong cell. 

PA formation: most openings and defenses try to keep the PAs united, so that they protect one another.  This is important for the middle game and even more important in the endgame. 

Typical PA structures - doubled PAs (:do-PAs).  Doubled PAs usually imply that open files are available and in such cases you may be able to gain useful play on such a file with RO1 or RO2. 

Isolated PAs (:is-PA).  A PA is considered isolated because there are no PAs of the same colour on adjoining files.  If the PA is attacked the PA may have to be defended by MPs which are then left out of action on other areas of the board. 

Backward PA (:ba-PA).  Place A-PA8 on $H04 and A-PA7 on $G03.  Now place B-PA1 on $H05.  A-PA7 on $G03 is backward as A-PA7 is unable to advance without being captured by B-PA1 on $H05.  This means that, in certain circumstances, a single B-PA can almost be as valuable as the two A-PAs. 

Passed PA (:pa-PA). Place A-PA8 on $H04 and A-PA7 on $G05. Now place B-PA1 on $H05.  A-PA7 on $G05 is passed, as there are no opposing PAs, either on the same file or adjacent files, between A-PA7s current position and the enrobing cell (on $G08).  Passed PAs can become especially strong in the endgame.  When a PA has no enemy PA that could hinder promotion - that is, no enemy PA in front or, on the same file or, either of the next-door files - then the PA is called a :pa-PA.  A :pa-PA in the endgame can be a great asset, particularly if well advanced, as the enemy has to use MPs to prevent the PA becoming a QU2, thus reducing your adversaries MPs efficiency.  

          In the early stages of the game, the PAs have various functions.  Those in the center (PA4 and PA5), are the most valuable mps and are used for protecting central cells.  PAs in front of a castled KI are used as a shelter.  To wreck this center, the enemy often advances PAs upon yours, to force them to advance or exchange.   This operation is called a ‘PA-storm’.   Here the PAs play the part of tanks rather than infantry.  PAs sometimes resemble neither tanks nor infantry.  Their lack of mobility makes them more like natural obstructions ie, rivers, hills or marshes, that interfere with mobile warfare.  When one of your own PAs becomes an obstruction to your attack, it often pays to sacrifice this PA.  A PAs value increases as MPs/mps are exchanged off, for when both armies are so reduced that ++CM becomes next to impossible, the major objective becomes the promotion of a PA.  To be a PA ahead with otherwise as good a position as your opponent’s is usually a winning advantage - theoretically!

A-PA6 can be the source of major problems. At the start of :L01 A-PA6 is positioned on the very weak $F02 for :A and B-PA3 on $F07 for :B, where they are only defended by their respective KIs.  Because of the way they move, neither A-BS2 nor A-KT2 can protect A-PA6.  Advancing A-PA6 too soon can create a permanent and crippling weakness in the cells near A-KI. 

Pawn Chain

:L01: a diagonal set of mps that offer protection to each other.  A position in which a number of PAs of the same colour, are placed diagonally across adjacent files, thus protecting each other from enemy attack.  

Pawn Center

:L01: a position in which PAs occupy more than one of the central cells $D04, $D05, $E04 and $E05.

Pawn Majority

 :L01: the player who has the greater number of PAs on one side of the board is said to have a ‘PA majority’ on that flank.

En Passant :ep

A special rule for PAs is the en passant capture, often incorrectly understood by beginners, but not really complicated.  A PA which advances two cells in a single move, passing over a cell on which this PA could have been captured by an enemy PA, may still be captured by the enemy PA on that cell just as if the PA had only advanced a single cell. 

          The privilege of capturing :ep is only extended for the single move following the two cell advance of an enemy PA.  As with other captures, the :ep PA capture is optional (except, of course, in the rare case of no other legal move being available).  This option expires as soon as another move is played on the board.   If an :ep capture is not made as soon as the opportunity is created, then that PA may never be captured :ep again.  Only PAs may capture or be captured :ep.  The capture may only take place immediately after a two cell advance of the PA to be captured. 

          As you will see later, the special abilities of the PA to be promoted to QU2 and to a lesser extent to capture :ep, play a significant role towards the end of well-contested games when the MPs may have vanished from the board by exchanges and the game shifts from direct attacks to the careful nuturing of the PAs in their journeys in search of promotion.  The PAs are used to carve out territory and it also follows that the side that controls the midfield usually wins the game (though not always).  B$A and B$B are the most important areas.    One of the best ways to start :L01 is…

01A PA5-E02/E04

01B PA4-E07/E05

In ‘Alice Through the Looking-Glass’, Alice was a PA in a game of traditional chess trying to reach the end of the board so that she could become QU2. 

                                                    dust jacket graphics    

These are the black and white dust jacket versions of the colour designs to be found here. They are sufficiently different to be interesting in their own right.

Minor pieces - isolated - doubled - backward

01 Isolated: (:is-mp, :is-PA).  An :is-PA is a PA which has no PAs of the same colour standing on an adjacent file.  The :is-PA can thus never be defended by another PA unless a subsequent capture causes a PA to change file. 

02 Double Isolated: (:di-mp, :di-PA).  If two PAs of the same colour stand on the same file, with no friendly PA on a neighboring file, they are known as :di-PAs. 

03 Backward: (:ba-mp, :ba-PA). When a PA has fallen behind its colleagues, remaining on a modest rank while those to either side have rushed ahead, then this PA is known as a :ba-PA.    Strictly speaking, this term is generally reserved for a PA which has little or no immediate prospect of advancing to catch up on his fellows. Like the :is-PA, the :ba-PA is unable to be defended by another PA.   Please see notation symbols for a complete list of mp terms. 

This is where my classification system begins to break down - enjoy

The minor pieces (mp)

The mps can be the most misunderstood of the chess pieces.  It takes most players quite a while to find out from their own experience how to manage these inconspicuous diminutive combatants, mainly because they do not realize that their characteristic attributes make them specifically useful for certain tasks in the opening, for others in the middle game and once again in the finale.   In the opening, the function of most mps is usually of a static rather than a dynamic nature.  You will select for them a more or less permanent post, in order to gain and maintain control of cells which you want to make inaccessible to hostile MPs/mps, or on which you want to support pieces of your own, or you will exchange a mp that obstructs the line of one of your opponents pieces. 

          In other words, the mp serves in the opening mainly as an adjunct to the MPs.  They get dynamic actions of their own in the middle game, where they are often used aggressively to drive away pieces which shield the enemy or where they sacrifice themselves to open lines for the MPs.   In the endgame they play a dominant role, the decisive factor being usually whether or not one of the mps can be promoted to QU2 or other MP.   Like the KTs, the mps lend themselves to forking combinations that are likely to take the inexperienced player by surprise. A unique type of advancement results from a mp privilege of promotion to any MP except a KI.   Usually a player will choose QU2, the most powerful MP, to take the place of a mp which reaches the top rank.  But there are occasions where promotion would lose a game which under promotion to BS3, RO3 or other MP would draw, or even win, and others where a new queen would lead only to a draw while a lesser MP would force the win.  

To win

How much of an advantage do you need to win? An advantage of one mp is usually enough when each side has several of such.  However, when you have KI and one mp against a lone KI the position may be won or drawn according to circumstances.  You must know when this ending is a win and when it is a draw, then when you are wondering whether or not to make exchanges you will know whether you are heading for a ++CM, a draw or a loss.  In all mp endings the question you must always ask is “Can I promote my mp?”  If you can the game is won, if not, you cannot win.  Many endings come down to a race to promote a mp.  When you are in a mp race you may need an extra move in hand if you are going to finish up in a good position.  With additional mps on each side, an extra mp is more likely to lead to ++CM. There is a possibility of a second mp being promoted to QU3, and a move with another mp may prevent a draw by stalemate or enable the opposition to be gained.  You should not advance mps without good reason.  Such action can throw away victory.  Mp movements are very important.  There are, of course, occasions when mps have to be moved forward as fast as possible ie, in a race to promotion.  Having the opposition in such situations cannot be underestimated.  

Typical Mexiacan Dolls And Purses, Puerto Vallarta

Minor piece development

We can only say a little about mp development here as it is too involved a subject to try to do more at this stage, but it is too important to miss out altogether.  Broken-up or ragged mp positions on the board are bad, but it is too early to study these either.   Many games come down in the end to KI and mp versus KI and mp.  You must therefore know how to win these endings from any position on the board.  You must drive the enemy KI to the side of the board (into B$D), place your KI opposite to prevent him escaping and give ++CM with a MP.   In driving the KI back, you will use two main tried and trusted ideas - ‘reducing the rectangle’ and the ‘waiting move’.   You will have noticed that your KI has to work in the endgame.   In the earlier parts of the contest your KI has to stay in safety or he will be ++CM.   In the endgame he can safely come out and he must do so.  One of the most common mistakes in the endgame, made even by quite strong players, is not making enough use of their KI.  In the endgame he is most gainfully employed.  It is just as important to ‘develop’ your KI in the endgame as it is to develop the other MPs/mps in the opening. 

          Mp moves can result in permanent weaknesses, because in contrast to the moves of the MPs they create a permanent change in your position.  A cell left undefended by an advancing mp remains threatened with occupation by hostile MPs/mps at any time.  An :is-mp or a :ba-mp as a rule gets weak sooner or later.  Lacking the protection of a supporting mp, they require a MP to defend them, and their mobility is often so restricted that an attack launched by your opponent on another part of the board cannot be met in time. An :is-mp, of course, can be strong, particularly when supported by a MP in the rear so that your opponent must constantly protect against further advance of the mp.   An :is-mp in the center of the board is not necessarily weak as long as there are enough MPs/mps left on the board to utilize the mp as a support for an outpost which results in cramping your opponent’s pieces and that provides a basis for an attack on the KI.  However, if no decision is reached in the middle game, the gradual exchange of the MPs/mps eliminates the job for which a center mp was intended and turns the mp into a weakness in an endgame in which the opposing KI can attack this mp.  

Minor piece structure

Sometimes a player is faced with the problem of avoiding a permanent weakness in the mp structure even very early in the opening.  When planning any mp move, never forget to consider that by advancing the mp you are giving up the control of a cell previously defended by the mp.    The ability of a hostile MP/mp to occupy that cell may more than offset the advantage you expect to derive from the advance of your mp.  An example of this is an early advance of a center mp (PA4 or PA5), which is frequently seen in games of inexperienced players.  If at the end of the development stage neither you nor your opponent’s position shows a tangible weakness against which to direct an attack, you should not try to start aggressive action.  There is no reason for you to assume that in a ‘balanced’ position this will be successful.  You should, instead, try to improve the mobility of your mps and enhance their cooperation as much as you can with the objective of having them control cells of both colours, preferably in the center region of the board (B$A and B$B).  Then you will be prepared to concentrate a superior force on either wing when prospects for a promising attack develop. You can be confident that such an occasion will arise if your opponent’s pieces are not properly cooperating with each other, and in such a case you should search for a combination that will take advantage of it.  

Minor piece promotion (#)

To increase your own strength you may promote a mp.  Nearly all endgames depend on this factor, but it can also be important in the middle game or even the opening.   To obtain QU2 or other MP for a mp is such a big gain in material that you can afford to sacrifice in order to achieve it.  A good rule to be guided by is to maintain a mp which you have on a cell in the center, unless the position happens to be such that by exchanging the mps you gain material or avoid losing your mp.  

Handicap game

Many games of chess are played at odds, and one of its pleasing features is the equable and efficient system of handicapping practiced.  This allows players of widely differing skills to meet on even terms without degrading or altering the game in any significant way.   Handicaps are designed to give even games.  If one player wins constantly the handicap should be adjusted.    This usually occurs with the mps.   In a traditional game of chess each side has eight PAs.  In Chesmayne :A could have eight GUs and :B could be given eight PAs or :A could have a line-up of 4 GUs and 4 PAs versus 8 PAs.  You can now try this by printing the chess pieces below…

Just print, cut and assemble Pieces - Guards bend into a triangular shape and glue  - simple!   See ‘Level’. 

Touching your MPs/mps

The laying on of hands

Medium Chess Pieces with Box.  Hand carved traditional chess pieces in walnut & natural stains stored in a wooden box with locking clasp. King - 3½” heightt.  Hand crafted and made in Poland.  Chess Sets & Accessories Directory Click Here. 

Your finger tip contains 9,000 nerve endings, 9 feet of blood vessels and 75 pressure sensors.  If you ‘touch’ a MP/mp during a match you are obligated to play this piece on the succeeding move.  If you ‘touch’ several MPs/mps, your opponent can choose which MP/mp should be moved.  For the acolyte this is important.  It is advisable to play slowly and remember not to ‘touch’ any MP/mp until you are definitely sure that you want to play the MP/mp.  A player on the move who ‘touches’ a MP/mp must move this piece, unless prior to ‘touching’ the MP/mp indicates the intention of merely adjusting the position on the cell on which the piece stands. Of course, you can adjust your MPs/mps without penalty. You may do so by announcing beforehand the phrase ‘j’adoube’ or, ‘I adjust’.

          If players decide to play that ‘touching’ is not automatically an indication to move a piece, then the following condition comes into effect…

          If you move a piece and take your hand off the MP/mp, the play is considered final and cannot afterwards be retracted.  All players should develop the habit of playing the touch move rule.  This is not so much because of the penalty involved but because it demonstrates sloppy thinking.  The move should be decided upon and then decisively played.  This practice is universal amongst all mature players.  Younger players should develop this habit from a very early age.  No one should expect a reprieve from the touch move rule.  

          Some players have the bad habit of keeping the piece they want to move in their hand after they have put the piece down in a cell, and then change their mind and place the piece in a different cell.  Once they have taken their fingers off a MP/mp they should leave the piece where it is, because then the move has been completed. Taking moves back naturally annoys your opponent.   It is strictly prohibited in mature play.  Be particularly careful not to touch a piece of your opponent before touching one of your own MPs/mps, because if you are playing with someone who insists upon strict compliance with the regulations, s/he can force you to capture the piece you touched. 

An indiscretion - I slipped - I stumbled - I fell

If yourself or your opponent makes an illegal play, the move must be retracted upon demand of the other player and a different legal move must be made by the same MP/mp.   If the illegal move was a capturing play, then the capture must be made legal by another piece, if allowed. If by mistake you make an illegal move your opponent cannot exact a penalty.  However, s/he can insist that you make a legal move with the same piece, if possible.  If it is discovered that one of the players has made an illegal move and that the opponent has played on without espying it, the position that existed before the illegal move was made must be reconstructed and the game continued from there.  The same rule holds if one or more pieces have been accidentally placed incorrectly in the ISP.   

Taking prisoners

A piece once touched must be moved, but if captured, is removed from the board and retained until the conclusion of the game by the player who makes the capture.  Plays are often referred to as ‘moves’.  A ‘stalemate’ (++ST) is also possible in chess.  The object of the game is to ++CM the opposing KI, with a secondary object of taking prisoners.  It should be apparent that the whole basis of traditional chess rests on when MPs/mps can and cannot be captured.  There are no compulsory moves, except the avoidance of +CH and it follows that capture is always optional.  A piece that is in line for capture is said to be ‘en prise’ and is equivalent to ‘gardez’ or +CH on His Majesty.  

The Major Pieces (MP)

Value of the MPs/mps - :L01.  This depends on various factors but a rough guesstimate is as follows.  QU1 (nine), RO1 or RO2 (five), BS1 or BS2 (three), KT1 or KT2 (three), PA (one).   An approximate value can be given to each MP/mp apart from the KI.   In certain cases the value of a piece can dramatically increase or decrease, according to what the MP/mp can achieve.  Together, for example, a BS and a KT are more useful than a RO and PA combination, even though the value of each pair is six PAs.  These rough values can assist you to work out when you should or should not capture your opponent’s pieces, and whether you should worry about your own MPs/mps being captured.  The values can also help in assessing which side is ahead - with careful play the side with the highest total piece value, or the most material, will usually (but not always) win the game. Although QU1 is the most powerful chess MP, the KI is the most important and must be guarded very carefully at all times.  The KI cannot be valued because if you lose him the game would end in loss.  It does not matter how many MPs/mps you have if you are going to lose your KI. 

          Over 20% of moves in chess are captures.  So it is vital to have an idea of the average values of the various units of force.  Each MP/mp has an average value.  For QU1, RO1, RO2, BS1 and BS2, it is proportionate to the average number of cells controlled.  An unobstructed RO always controls 14, (:L01), but a BSs range varies from 13 to 7, and averages just under 9 (:L01).    On this basis a RO is worth at least 1.5 BSs, and in practice this figure holds.  Similar calculation would rate a KT as much weaker than a BS, but special factors favor the KT so much that their true average value approximates to a BSs.  Factors favoring the KT include the fact that a KT cannot be obstructed, and a KT has access to all the cells, a BS only to 32.  In freak positions the average values can be temporarily quite false, but normally they are a good guide.  The basic unit is always taken as an average PA ie, a PA that has no special advantage, like being passed (:pa), or part of a checkmating net.   Average values are…

          Value of RO1 or RO2: winning a RO for a KT or BS is called ‘winning the exchange’.   The exchange is worth on average, nearly two PAs.  Two BSs or two KTs equal a RO and two PAs.    Two KTs or BSs are worth only a RO and one PA if the other MPs have been exchanged.  RO1 and RO2 like open spaces and are therefore strongest in the endgame when the board is clear of obstruction.  

          Value of QU1.  Before the endgame QU1 is worth two ROs, but in the endgame RO1 and RO2 are nearly always worth a PA more, unless the KI is exposed to +CH.  Another approximate equivalent of QU1 is three KTs or three BSs or two KTs and one BS, which are almost always at least equal to QU1.  Two BSs and a KT are usually superior.  RO and BS or KT plus two PAs are almost always superior to QU1. Exceptions to these valuations occur where the opposing KI is very exposed so that QU1 can organize many +CHs, giving herself virtually several successive moves while your opponent is powerless to make useful replies.   

          About your KI. Since the fate of the game hangs on your KI, he cannot be given a numerical value.  However, when so many MPs/mps have been exchanged that ++CM is no longer a serious danger, he may and indeed must be used as a fighting MP.  As such the KI rates well below a RO but above a BS or KT.   When most of the MPs have been exchanged, including the QUs and at least one pair of ROs, your KI ceases to need shelter of PAs in a corner.  Use him as a marauder right in the enemy lines.  

BS or KT = 3 PAs (3.5 in the early stages).

RO = value of KT or BS plus 1.5 to 2.0 PAs.

QU1 = 2 ROs, or 3 KTs, or 3 BSs, or RO, KT or BS and 1.5 PAs.

Summary: KT, BS = 3 to 3.5.  RO = 5.  QU = 9 to 10.

Some MPs/mps are, of course, more valuable than others. Often the value of a piece depends on the MP/mp position on the board and what the MP/mp can do in this position.  A BS stuck behind PAs, or in a corner, is not as powerful as a central KT with more freedom of movement.  When exchanging MPs/mps, there should be some evaluation.   Remember, all PAs are of equal value, but some are more equal than others!  

Castling (%)

Castling was introduced in the 16^th century.  It is a joint manoeuvre of the KI and RO1 or RO2 during which they pass over each other.  Since your KI is so important and his protection of prime strategical consideration, the rules allow castling (%) which puts your KI in a position of great safety.  This particular move can be carried out by either player and may be done on either the left or right side of the board.  Castling (%) counts as a single move.  If the move is to be played on the KIs-side of the board BS2 and KT2 must have been moved from their home positions (ISP).  If it is to be played on the QUs-side of the board QU1, BS1 and KT1 must be moved from their home cells (ISP).  To carry out this manoeuvre the cell between the KI and RO must be vacant, that is, you are now in position to castle (%).  

          QU-side castling is called ‘castle-long’ and is indicated by %Q and KI-side castling or, ‘castle-short’ is indicated by %K.  When the KI-side is castling (%K) the KI is moved two cells to the right and RO2 two cells to the left from the KIs side. In QU-side castling (%Q) the KI is moved two cells to the left and RO1 three cells to the right on an 8 x 8 board. Castling (%) is not permitted if any of the following conditions occur…

01 The KI, RO1 or RO2 has already been moved. 

02 The KI has to cross a cell which is attacked by an opponents MP/mp. 

03 The KI is attacked by an enemy MP/mp, that is, he is in +CH. 

04 The cell in which the KI is to be input is attacked by an enemy MP/mp. 

05 There is another MP/mp in the way of this manoeuvre. 

          Do not put off castling (%) for too long as many games have been lost due to leaving the KI too long on F$E. A prime cause for this procrastination in castling (%) is the ambition to attack your opponents KI before your own KI has been protected. Moving too many mps in front of the KI is another cause for disaster.   Remember that your foe is going to attack your castled (%) KIs position.  In attacking your opponents KI it is imperative to have as many MPs/mps as possible join in the assault.  An attack by a few members of your army against an enemy prepared to repulse it merely results in a loss of time.  When defending it is necessary to have a mp at hand to protect your KI or an attack will break through by means of a sacrifice.  The best protection for your KI is an unmoved mp structure. When castling (%) you must first move your KI and then RO1 or RO2 because the double step of the KI clearly indicates that you intend to castle (%).  

          In the majority of contests the players castle (%) at an early stage on the KIs side of the board.  The mps in front of the KI then form a protective wall which a player who plans a ++CM attack cannot hope to penetrate unless s/he can gather superior force, so that s/he can sacrifice some of them to breach the mp wall, and still have enough material left to force ++CM.  What minimum material you will need for this purpose depends upon how many cells around the castled KI are blocked by your opponents MPs/mps.  QU1 plays a decisive role in practically all of these ++CM attacks on the board.   As a rule QU1 is the MP who actually gives ++CM.  

Rook

Rook: the Rook is known by different names in differing countries: 

English: Rook.   French: Tour.   German: Turm.   Italian: Torre.   Spanish: Torre.  

Russian: Ladya (boat) Arabic: Firz. 

Files: Open, openable and semi-open

Advice on ‘developing’ your ROs :L01. 

ROs should be left on the back rank, at the ends of effective files.  The most effective files are ‘open’ files (files free of mps).  Next come ‘openable’ files (files that can at any time be cleared of mps by an exchange).  Then come ‘semi-open’ files (files that are clear of mps at least half-way along or can be so cleared).  If there are two effective files, place a RO on each as soon as possible.  If there is only one, place at least one RO on it (if the file is open, you should if possible double (:do) RO1 and RO2 on it, one behind the other.  If there are no effective files then defer the development of RO1 and RO2 until an effective file is made.  Seize any open file with a RO as soon as possible.  But note that a RO commands a file just as well from the first cell in the file as from any other cell.  Therefore, as a rule, keep the RO there as long as the board remains crowded.  If moved out, a RO is exposed to attack.  ROs are stronger MPs than KTs or BSs.   RO1 or RO2 are usually worth roughly the same as a BS and two PAs, or a KT and two PAs.    KTs, BSs, ROs and QUs are MPs.   The RO can move in a straight line along a rank or file, but in one direction only each go.  RO1 and RO2 are not allowed to jump over an occupied cell, except in the special case of castling (%).  See 'Cannon' - CN1 and CN2.  

En prise

In line for capture - likely to be captured.  A MP/mp is ‘en prise’ when the MP/mp is under attack and is inadequately defended.  An example is a BS under attack by a PA and defended by a PA (or any other MP/mp).  Clearly it is in your opponent’s interest to take the BS even though the PA would be lost. 

          A more complex case is where KT2 is under attack by BS1 and RO2 and defended by PA4.   In this case, it is the existence of a second attacker (RO2) which makes KT2 ‘en prise’. The situation is further complicated when some of the attackers or defenders are pinned (:pn).  Often a complete check for whether a MP/mp is ‘en prise’ can be quite complex.  A typical determination is made by considering the value of the MP/mp attacked, the number of attackers, the number of defenders and the values of the least valuable attacker and defender.  En Prise checks are made to determine whether or not the board is stable/quiescent (in a dead state).   Remember ‘the dog that bites is not always the dog that barks.’ 

The Rook - RO1 and RO2

The ranks and files are the domain of RO1 and RO2, which can move as far as desired across empty cells up, down or across the board in a straight line. On an empty board RO1 or RO2, whatever cell they are on, thus have a choice of 14 cells to which they may move (8 x 8 board), 7 on the vertical line of cells through their own cell and 7 on the horizontal line.  Beginners often move mp-1 or mp-8 two cells, planning to get RO1 or RO2 into play via $A03 or $H03. This is a very bad idea for two reasons.  One is that your opponent need only unblock BS1 on BS2 on whose diagonal $A03 or $H03 is located to make it inaccessible to RO1 or RO2.  The other is that RO1 or RO2 do not belong on the open board as long as they can be chased by the mps of your adversary.  

          Not only does repeatedly moving RO1 or RO2 lose developing tempo, but RO1 or RO2 may not find a safe place at all.  The proper way of developing RO1 and RO2 is by castling (%K or %Q) in order to let them cooperate with each other.  They can then be placed on R$01 in files in which they may be able to invade the enemy’s territory or in which they may be useful in supporting an advanced MP or mp.  Also, when protecting each other (:co-ROs) on R$01, they are in a position to contest the control of an open file which your opponent prepares to seize with one of his/her own ROs.  

++CM with RO and mps

The commonest type of ending and the one that is the most often mishandled is the RO and mp finale. To play the endgame well it is essential to have a thorough grasp of the basic principles of this ending, and it is significant that the greatest mature players of endgame play have been those that excelled in this particular type of ending.  The set winning position is known as the Lucena position, after a Spanish chess writer of the 15^th century.  The conditions normally necessary for a win with a RO and PA against RO are as follows…

01 The B-KI must be cut off from the promoting cell (R$08).  

02 The A-KI must be able to reach the promotion cell on R$08 or, at the very least, be in contact with the mp. 

It should be noted that much also depends on the file on which the mp is placed.  The most difficult is F$H and frequently only a draw is possible in which the previous procedure will not work as A-KI cannot get away from the corner cell in B$D. 

Jaipur, Marionettes

Rook - Symbolism - Mythology

Castles/Citadel: the self - sometimes symbolized as two castles, the centers of two different kingdoms which need to be united.   The image of the castle emphasizes that it is as difficult to get to know the inner self as it is to storm a castle. A female figure (the damsel, incarcerated or enchanted, usually plays a key role).  Towns used to be laid out as part of a ritual with everything done and chosen for its symbolic value ie, a cemetery might be placed at the center of the city, as representing the trunk of the tree of life.  Symbolic significance of the ‘dream-house’, temples and churches represent an overall pattern of the psyche in mandala form.  Gargoyles on the outside of the church, represent monsters guarding the treasure. Twin towers represent the split in the psyche.  The hero/heroine slays the dragon and extracts its teeth, which turn into mighty warriors when sown in the ground.  

          The RO - the governor of a castle (colloquial name). A walled defensible enclosure, typically reached by a bridge over a circular moat of water.  An ambivalent symbol in that it both includes and excludes. It may protect its inhabitants against monsters, ogres, depending which side of its walls you stand.  In myth, castles typically contain a treasure (the Holy Grail, or royal prisoner).  An extension of the treasure-cave guarded by a dragon or a loathy worm.  Such a castle represents Camelot, a realm of spiritual aspiration and attainment. In the human body, its treasure the mind, its mystery our ignorance as to our own true human nature.  

          Chariot: in the Katha Upanishad (III:3-4) it is written: ‘Know that the Self is the lord of the chariot, the body verily is the chariot - know that the soul is the charioteer, and emotion the reins.’  They say that the bodily powers are the horses, and that the external world is their field.   In myth, chariots are drawn by many different creatures according to the nature of the charioteer……. 

01 The solar chariot of Apollo is drawn by white horses. 

02 Solar chariots may also be drawn by griffons or swans - see Cygnus under Constellations. 

03 The chariot of the Norse Thor is drawn by solar rams. 

04 The lunar chariot of Norse Freya by cats. 

05 That of the Celtic Flidass, goddess of wild things, by deer. 

06 That of Cybele by lions. 

07 That of Venus by doves. 

08 Pluto by black horses. 

09 The chariot of the Greek war god Ares is also horse drawn, as are the chariots of many battle heroes. 

10 Chariot symbolism survives in the 7^th card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, the Chariot.  It portrays a spear-carrying prince erect in his chariot.  He holds no reins.  The chariot is drawn not by horses but by two sphinxes, so as to imply the charioteer is one who has answered the riddle of the Sphinx and thus triumphed on all planes of human endeavor, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. 

11 Arianrhod: ‘Silver Wheel’, is associated with the constellation Corona Borealis (see ‘Astronomy’), ‘Northern Crown’, in the starry regions, of which she maintained Caer Sidi, an otherworld castle of initiation where the dead went between incarnations.  

12 In the Welch ‘The Tale of Taliesin’, Gwion-Taliesin, whose original country is in the summer stars, spends three periods in Arianrhod’s prison while awaiting resurrection.  

13 Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna, reluctant to make war on his cousins, is persuaded to do so by the god Krishna, his charioteer.  

Castling (%)

This move was established in 1561 when Ruy Lopez approved it.  Castling (%) is known by different names in differing countries:

English: Castling.   French: Roque.   German: Rochade.

Italian: Arrocco.   Spanish: Enroque   Russian: Rokirovka

%K = KI-side-castling.   %Q = QU-side-castling.   %G = GE-side-castling.

A single move where two MPs are moved and which puts the KI into a position of safety.   It was first introduced in the 16^th century.  Castling (%K or %Q) is a KI move and this is indicated by moving your KI first and then RO1 (%Q) or RO2 (%K).  In the game of Shatranj the KI is only allowed to move one cell in any direction. Around the 13^th century, according to Jacopo da Cessole, a KI could be moved to $C01, $C02, $C03, $D03, $E03, $F03, $G03, $G02 or, was even allowed to make a jump from $C01 to $B01 or $B02.  During this phase of chess various rules were in force (‘free castling’). Many regional versions have existed ie, castling was not permitted if RO1 or RO2 attacked an enemy MP, or if the KI had previously been in +CH or, the KI had to pass over an attacked cell, etc.  

          The castling manoeuvre was the natural progression from this hodge-podge of confusion.   Towards the end of the 16^th century castling was established as a single joint manoeuvre of the KI and RO1 or RO2 and became generally accepted by the 17^th.  A combined move of the KI and RO1 or RO2 and indicated by %K if this occurs on the KIs-side of the board and by %Q if it occurs on the QUs-side. A manoeuvre in which the KI and a RO are moved simultaneously.    Both MPs must be in their starting positions (ISP) and the path to their new cells must not be blocked by other MPs/mps. The KI always moves two cells to the left or right.  RO2 always moves two cells to the left (%K).  RO1 always moves three cells to the right (%Q).  The KI cannot pass an attacked cell but RO1 or RO2 can.  RO1 or RO2 must not be touched first (the KI must be moved first). 

          Once in a game, you have the privilege of moving two MPs in a single move.  The KI and RO1 or RO2.  This is called ‘castling’.  You cannot castle to get out of +CH.  The KI must not cross a cell in range of an enemy MP/mp.  But the RO may cross such a cell (this can happen in castling with RO2).  A KI which has been checked earlier in the game is still free to castle if he has never moved and is not in +CH when castling is being considered.  The purpose of castling is to bring the KI away from the center, where the game is usually opened up, and to bring RO1 or RO2 to a position where they will not be shut out of play by their own KI. Castling with RO2 (%K) brings the KI further from the center and is therefore usually safer than %Q. To guard against a back-rank ++CM (++BR) move PA1 or PA8 one cell forward.

          Here I will add some remarks which those new to the game may skip now and study at a second reading. To be prevented from castling is usually a serious handicap because your KI is likely to become exposed.  But the handicap may be infinitesimal if the QUs have been exchanged off.  If at least one pair of ROs and at least two pairs of BSs or KTs have also been exchanged, having your KI uncastled and therefore near the center is usually an asset. So if prevented from castling seek wholesale exchanges, especially QUs. Castling early, usually advisable, can be a major blunder if your opponent has a great preponderance of MPs/mps on the wing where you are thinking of castling.  In such a case delay castling or consider castling on the other wing.

          The only time when you can move two MPs is during the castling manoeuvre. The KI moves first and then RO1 (%Q) or, RO2 (%K), which is allowed to jump over the KI and land on the cell next to him.  This move is the only time during the game that your KI is allowed to travel more than one cell at a time, and each player is allowed to make the castling move just once during a game.  Castling also brings RO1 or RO2 into active play.  Castling on the KIs side (%K) is usually safer than QU-side castling (%Q), as this manoeuvre puts the KI deeper into a corner of the board.  A RO can cross an attacked cell when castling but the KI is not permitted to do so.  When castling always move your KI first.  Remember that you cannot castle once you have moved your KI, while moving RO1 or RO2 means that you cannot castle to that side of the chessboard.

Bishop BS1 and BS2

MP which moves along the diagonals. On :L01 two of these MPs are used and are placed on $C01 and $F01. The BSs have their origin in the Persian ‘al-fil’ (elephant) which was allowed to jump over one cell.  See Vaunt Courier (jumping BS).   Chaturanga: the ‘Hasti’ moved diagonally, jumping over the adjacent cell to the next cell.  The BS is known by different names in the following countries… 

English: Bishop.   French: Fou.   German: Laufer.  

Italian: Alfiere.   Spanish: Alfil.   Russian: Slon (elephant) Arabic: Fil. 

This MP moves on the diagonal cells of the board.  Symbol = BS.  Historically the BS was the elephant of Indian chess, but during the 15^th century assumed the present diagonal movement.    There is one BS for the XL cells and one BS for the XD cells.  It often happens during a game that one side will have a dark coloured BS and the other side a light coloured BS.  In this case the BSs of opposite colour are unable to come into contact with each other.  It is also known as a ‘vector MP’ or ‘line MP’.  On an empty 8 x 8 board the BS controls from 7 to 13 cells depending on the cell position. The BSs on $C01 and $C08 are sometimes referred to as QUs-BSs and the other two on $F01 and $F08 as KIs-BSs.  

          In the descriptive notation they have the symbols QB and KB. The two BSs together are valued at more than double the value of one BS.  A BS is often compared in valuation terms with the KT.  The Muslim ‘Fil’ with its two protuberances symbolized the elephant from which this MP obtained its name.  This was seen as a BSs miter in Europe and a recognition of the status of the church of the period.  In Mongolia and Tibet the BS is called a ‘camel’.  In medieval carnivals derived from the Roman Saturnalia the ‘BS of Fools’ was a burlesque figure who, after a brief dissipated reign was actually or symbolically burned to death or otherwise sacrificed.   In Ireland ‘Fiana Fail’ is known as the BSs party.  In the USA the BS is the symbol of the ‘Republican Party’ whose members wear elephant-motif ties. In medieval England the power of the Church was recognized in naming this MP a BS.  But our BS is an elephant in Russia, a messenger in Germany, and a court jester in France!

          Power of two BSs: a BS is handicapped by being barred from half the cells of the board, since BS1 or BS2 move only on cells of one colour (32 cells in the traditional game). This handicap disappears if its partner, BS2, is still on the board.  With open diagonals a team of two BSs is particularly strong.  Because of this, an early exchange of a BS for a KT is to be avoided unless something is clearly gained.

Good Bishop

A mobile BS - one that is not impeded by its own mps on the same coloured cells as itself. 

Bad Bishop

A BS obstructed by your own mps or, a BS that is trapped behind your own mps which are on cells the same colour as your BS.  If the mps are hemmed-in there will be cells of one colour (a colour weakness) that neither the mps nor the BS can control.  If you have one BS in the endgame try to keep your BS on the opposite coloured cells to your mps.  Your BS will not be able to offer protection to the mps but will retain mobility.  If you see yourself heading for a bad BS ending, see if you can exchange this BS before such a position arises. 

Bishop Ending

When the KIs and BS/KTs and BSs plus some mps are involved in the endgame. 

Bishops Of Opposite Colour

When one side has a BS on the XL coloured cells and the other side has a BS on the XD coloured cells. 

Bishop of the Wrong Colour

Used exclusively to describe a situation where a BS cannot assist in the promotion of mp-1 or mp-8 (:L01, 8 x 8 board), because the BS cannot attack the promoting cell on rank-08. 

BS1 - BS2

BS1 = Bishop-01.   BS2 = Bishop-02. On an 8 x 8 board the MPs are numbered from left to right.  Therefore, BS1 is placed on $C01 and BS2 on $F01.   A mp promoted to a BS would be indicated by BS3, BS4, BS5 etc.  

Dark Celled Bishop

The BS that moves on the XD cells. 

Colour Weakness

Usually occurs with opposing BSs or a bad BS. 

Double Bishop Sacrifice

A game in which BS1 and BS2 are sacrificed in order to attack your opponents position.  What usually occurs is that one side ends up with two KTs versus two BSs or, one BS and one KT versus two KTs. If the attacker has BS1 and BS2 they are known as ‘Raking BSs.’  Note: two VCs may be used instead of two BSs.  

Fianchetto

The expression was first used by Francesco Piacenza in 1683 and by Giambatista Lolli in 1763.  If A-BS1 is moved it is known as a QUs fianchetto.  If A-BS2 is moved it is known as a KIs fianchetto.  If A-PA2 or A-PA6 is moved to R$04 then it is known as an ‘extended fianchetto’ (A-PA2-$B02/B04 or A-PA6-$F02/F04). If A-BS1 and A-BS2 are moved as shown above then it is known as a ‘double fianchetto’.  The fianchetto is used in many openings.

          8 x 8 board.  The placing of A-BS1 on $B02 or, BS2 on $G02.  Sometimes at $A03 or $H03.  Also, B-BS1 at $B07 or BS2 at $G07 and sometimes at $A06 or $H06.  Fianchetto is an Italian word meaning ‘playing to the flank’ and is taken from the word ‘fianco’ (a flank).  The VC can also be used in the same fashion.

01 KIs fianchetto :KI-fc.

02 QUs fianchetto :QU-fc.

03 Extended fianchetto :ex-fc.

04 Double fianchetto :do-fc.

The development of a BS on the long diagonal ie, $B02 and $G02 for :A, and $B07 and $G07 for :B.  A manoeuvre in which A-PA2 or A-PA7 is advanced one cell and the BS developed behind.  For example, :A could start the game by…

01A PA7-$G02/G03 and,

02A BS2-$F01/G02

.......which would fianchetto A-BS2.  A-BS2 would then be referred to as a ‘fianchettoed BS’.   The value of the move is that it places A-BS2 on the longest diagonal of the board.  D$-A08/H01. 

Fool (Bishop)

01 The child in adult form, that is, the child within the adult.  Spontaneous and genuine like a child.  The KIs fool, who is tolerated and appreciated whatever he does or says, as in ‘KI Lear’ for example.  The right relationship between the mature side of the personality, and the inferior unconscious side, which has to be lived inwardly by everyone else.  This inner realm is represented by the KI and his court. The fool or idiot has often been taken as a symbol of spiritual wisdom in contrast with worldly sophistication, as, for example, by the Sufis. 

02 The Harlequin, an Italian version, is often supposed to be invisible, that is unconscious, spiritual.  Columbine.  His chequered suit: the interplay of opposites. 

03 Clowns: often play either the under-developed childlike emotions, found more in men, or the inferior intellect, which is ignorant or pig-headed, more common in women - traditionally. 

04 The Fool in the Tarot pack, the joker of ordinary playing cards: it is basically as above, the irrational and unconscious, with all its potential for transformation. 

The traditional KT

A mounted soldier - a man of noble birth, who after an apprenticeship as page and squire is raised to honorable military rank and bound to chivalrous conduct.  Chesmayne: the MPs which have an L-shaped movement: 2 x 1, 2 x 2, 3 x 1, 3 x 2, 4 x 1 and 4 x 2 etc.  

     

Knight Errant: a wandering knight who travels in search of adventures, to exhibit military skill etc - quixotic conduct or action.  The 2 x 1 move of the traditional KT was invented over 1500 years ago - symbol, KT.  The Chinese knight uses the monogram KN.  Knights are effective when placed in the center of the board but when placed near the edge lose some of their power.  The traditional KT is known by differing names in the following countries: 

English: Knight.   French: Cavalier.    German: Springer.  

Italian: Cavallo.    Spanish: Caballo.   Russian: Kon.    Arabic: Faras. 

Mounted knights became a professional brotherhood during the middle ages and from this arose the word ‘chivalry’ (from the French cheval, or horse).  The era in which knights wore various colours and carried banners is long gone but their tradition is still carried on by the horse racing fraternity in which the riders wear various colours ie, The Oaks, The Grand National, The Prix de Arc de Triomphe, various Derby’s or, the Australian Cup being modern day examples.

Fork :fk

It does not take a beginner long to become familiar with the KTs move and to see at a glance their threats to attack two MPs/mps at once.  Nevertheless, you will often be taken completely by surprise through combinations involving KT forks in situations in which the two MPs/mps in question do not stand in a forkable position but are forced into it by a move, usually a sacrifice which you have failed to consider. This is why the KT can attack eight MPs/mps simultaneously (in theory!).  In reality, even triple attacks by a KT are rarely seen in play.  

Bower: used to distinguish between two similar KTs

01 Right-Bower: Knight on the right-side of the board (KI-side).

02 Left-Bower: Knight on the left-side of the board (QU-side).

03 Best-Bower: the stronger Knight.

Quest

Medieval Legend: a knightly expedition undertaken to secure or achieve something.   Those engaged in such an expedition.  All over the earth there exists the theme of a heroic quest for a prize or, knowledge of use not only to the hero but for his people.  This quest imposed by supernatural power, for treasure (dragon-treasure), the Holy Grail, or the hand of a princess, requires the hero to overcome not only a hostile power but also h/er own fears and inner conflicts.   The objective or goal is the integration of the soul by seeing through illusion (called maya) to reality. Gilgamesh sought immortality and triumphed by recognizing his need to accept death.  Those finding the Holy Grail (Lancelot, Perceval, Galahad and Gawain), did not know what to ask it or even what to do with it when found.  Perceval reached the Grail castle but did not ask the right question. Orpheus seduced Hades with the music of his seven-stringed lyre and freed Eurydice, but looked back and lost her in the shadow.  As in chess, the powers of darkness may be overcome, but rarely in worldly terms of fame or wealth.  

Different knights

When KTs move, they attack a completely new set of cells.  Compare them with the ROs.  A KT attacks eight entirely new cells when moved.  The great disadvantage of the traditional KTs is that they are a short-range MP.  This means, that you must post them in the center and as near the enemy position as is safe. Then they will be at their best in making forks and other attacks.    Finally, the one MP a KT  cannot normally fork is an opposing KT, since this could result in an exchange.  However, in Chesmayne there are different types of knight (see below) and these may fork other knights without being subject to a fork themselves!     

The forking ability of a knight

It is worth studying carefully the different arrangements of enemy MPs/mps that make a fork possible.  This will help you not to miss chances of a fork in play.  First, remember that all cells attacked by a traditional KT at a given moment are of one colour, the opposite colour to the cell on which the traditional KT stands.  This means that only MPs/mps which stand in cells of the same colour as each other can be forked by a traditional KT.  It is important to know the fork combinations very well. An experienced player will think of a fork instantly on seeing the possibility. 

          NOTE: some of the other knights of Chesmayne can attack both coloured cells at the same time. 

          An attack on two of the opponents MPs/mps by a knight.  In Chesmayne there are different types of knight ie, KT, KN, KM, SB, BA, PG etc.  A MP or mp can fork but, this term is usually used in reference to a knight.  A fork by a knight on the KI and QU is called a ‘Family Check’ (+FC).  Knight: to attack two or more MPs and/or mps at the same time.   A fork is a double attack by one MP/mp in which two of your opponent’s MPs/mps are attacked at the same time. 

Family fork  :f-fk

Any MP/mp can fork, though it is the knight that most commonly performs this tactic, owing to the special way in which they perform their duties.  A knight can fork QU1 and RO1, KI and QU1, RO2 and BS1 etc, with the result that one of these MPs is subsequently eliminated.    The KT may be sacrificed but gain value for the side moving by capturing either RO2 or even the QU.  Sometimes a knight can fork QU, RO and KI and this type of fork is known as a family fork (:f-fk) and can cause some discomfiture to your opponent during a game.  Sometimes a knight will fork a BS and a PA.  Your opponent being unable to counter both threats thus loses the PA.  Your opponent will either move or defend the BS and you will capture the PA and sometimes a +CH can also be achieved as well!  Other examples are A-RO1 forking B-BS1 and B-BS2 at the same time, A-QU1 forking B-BS2 and B-RO1 simultaneously, or A-BS2 forking B-KI and B-RO2 and then capturing B-RO2 on the succeeding move.  A PA can also fork two MPs at the same time.  An attack on two MPs/mps by one MP/mp, normally a KT on :L01. A move that attacks more than one enemy MP/mp.  Yet another way a MP may fatally lose its mobility is through a fork, a simultaneous attack on two MPs/mps. Failure to foresee this possibility in actual play could spell disaster. In the English language the expression ‘speaking with a forked tongue’ is sometimes used.   

Palette of knights

Collectively known as ‘The Knights of the Round Table’. 

Chesmayne has a selection (palette) of knights that can be used during a game,

01 2 x 1 The traditional KT of occidental chess KT

02 2 x 1 The oriental knight of Chinese chess KN

03 2 x 2 Knight Magnifico KM

04 3 x 1 Standard-Bearer SB

05 4 x 1 Bannerette BA

06 3 x 2 Palatine PA

07 4 x 2 Praetorian Guard PG

Other knights that may be used are listed below:

08 Knight Bachelor KB.  

09 Knight of Columbus KC.  

10 Knight of Saint John KJ.  

11 Knight of Malta MA.  

12 Knight Templar TE.  

13 Knight Cossack CK.  

14 Knight of the Garter KG. 

His Majestic Beneficience - HMB - The KI

01 A KI is usually described as a male sovereign or monarch, who holds by life tenure the chief authority over a country and people.  One of the MPs in the game of chess moving one cell in any direction.  Symbol: KI.  One of the 12 Chesmayne draught kinglets: K1 to K12.  The KI is known under different names in various countries (see below). The KI in the 13^th century was allowed to make a leap, but only once in a game, and from this idea the castling move (%K, %Q etc) evolved. 

English: King.   French: Roi.   German: Konig.   Italian: Re.  

Spanish: Rey.   Russian: Korol.    Arabic: Shah. 

                                    Lit De Justice                         

02 The cell on which the KI resides. French: the sofa upon which the KI  of France sat when holding formal sessions of parliament.  A Chesmayne session.  $E01 on Level-1. 

03 The KI plays two parts in the game - while he is usually passive at first, later he frequently assumes an active role.  In fact, in the endgame the KI often has great influence as an active MP.  In the middle of the board he controls eight cells, all those in his immediate vicinity, and this is mainly useful in protecting his own mps and attacking the opponent’s.  In the middle game it is above all the passive function of your KI that is predominant.  The danger of ++CM not only nearly always prevents him from taking part in the struggle with the enemy MPs/mps but often even compels his own MPs/mps to give him care and protection. Cases where the KI supports the other MPs/mps in attack are extremely rare in the middle game. It is much commoner in the middle game for the KIs qualities to be turned to advantage in defense, in the protection of his own MPs and mps.  

04 During the Middle Ages the word ‘scacus’ was used for ‘KI’ but, during later periods scacus was used for any of the chess MPs/mps and its plural ‘scaci’ was used to denote the game of traditional chess itself.  The French retain the plural form ‘les echecs’, and the Italians ‘gli scacchi’.  In Ancient Mesopotamia kingship was said to have come from heaven - the KIs position was given by the gods and his principal duty was to serve them.  As mediators between gods and people KIs have an important place and many religious obligations, including the building and maintenance of temples.  KIs are leaders of the national army and shepherds of their peoples and also connected with justice, protection of the poor, widows and orphans. In ancient Israel the sacred character of the monarchy is shown by the fact that monarchs were anointed by Yahweh, usually through the medium of a prophet or priest (1 Samuel 10:1).  In Israel they were not divine but ruled as Yahweh’s servant.  The biblical model of monarchy influenced the medieval Christian concept of kingship where the KI was held to rule by ‘divine right’.  

05 Aztecs: appointed a youth KI for a year, then tore out his heart. 

06 Irish myth: KIs and heroes are bound by contradictory ‘geasa’ (plural ‘geis’), or magical prohibitions.  To obey one geis means to disobey another, leading to fated death. 

07 Stag-King: also known as the ‘horned god’, ‘green-man’, alias Cernunnos.  The tradition of a man wearing stag-skins being chased, killed and eaten (the hunter becoming the hunted) dates back to at least 20,000 BC, as indicated by paleolithic cave-painting at Alamira in Spain and in the French Ariege. 

08 Henry VII: first Tudor KI of England (1485-1509) justified his seizure of the throne by claiming descent from KI Arthur. Naming his first son Arthur, he damned his predecessor, Richard III, as a hunchbacked tyrant who had murdered the two young sons in the Tower.  

09 Geoffrey of Monmouth: Fabulist: euphemerised the Aeneas myth and claimed, in ‘The History of the KIs of Britain’, that the Britons were descended from Brutus, the great-grandson of Aeneas. 

10 You are not permitted to commit suicide in chess: your KI must get out of +CH when your opponent has designs on the KIs life.  It is customary in a social setting to announce +CH, but if you do not do so, the +CH is still ‘on’ just the same, and your opponent must extricate him/herself immediately.  There are three possible ways of getting out of +CH… 

10A Capturing the checking MP/mp.  

10B Moving your KI to a cell where he is no longer in +CH.  

10C Interposing a MP/mp between the KI and the checking mp/MP (an interposition).

NB: T scenario above is not available when a knight +CHs the KI.

11 If none of the above are available, it is ++CM, which the player announces (avoiding a triumphant tone).  This ends the game.  A KI can never move into +CH.   A KI can never move into a cell next to the enemy KI.  If a KI is left in +CH for even one move, that move and all subsequent moves are void. If the previous position cannot be restored, the whole game is replayed (this highlights the point of making an accurate record of the moves being made during a game).  

KI and his court

12 The dominant ruling power in consciousness whether individual or communal.  The final arbiter of values within.  The ritual renewal of the KI, either by replacement (originally with the sacrifice of the old KI) or regeneration, gave rise to much mythology, which provided the ritual words for the occasion.  The symbolism around the KI remains valid whether an actual KI was involved (representing his people) or the myth survived outside its context and was presented as fairy-tales.  The hero or sun KI.    The weak, feeble KI, often with a wicked Vizer or prime minister (PM) in control.  Often the KI is in need of renewal.   Like KIs, dominant attitudes wear out, get dry and sterile. They become too abstract, meaningless and ineffective, and lose their emotional base.  They fail to move.  Whether mythical or real, the KI may combine the qualities of Hero and Wise Old Man eg, KI Arthur, Charlemagne, and perhaps Barbarossa.  But of course somebody who is not a KI can symbolize this too, such as Sophocles, turning from GE into poet/playright.  

13 The KIs of Sumer and Akkad were masters of the four quarters and at the Heb Sed festival in Egypt the KI climbed a four-sided platform, with four stairways and also faced the four directions.  As representative of his people, he was responsible for holding together the different ingredients in the fourfold structure of life, whether in the psyche, the community or the cosmos.    He is raised on a throne between heaven and earth, holding the orb of the earth, in a jeweled robe that represents the starry night, with the sun as his crown.    The individual's life was projected on to the KI.   S/he identified with the KI.    The whole nation centered its life in the KI, from whence life flowed back into man, animal and plant.  The KI was the focal point for the work and genius of the whole nation.  His power to rule depended entirely on the people’s consent to be ruled.  

14 KI/Lion: power. The carnival KI usually a criminal, given one day’s rule. This is the tradition of amnesty for criminals. The Court: whether in reality, myth, drama or fairy-tale.    Usurpers to the royal throne or bed - the KIs mistresses especially if scheming. The wise BS or scheming prelate. Chancellor/Dark Vizer. The fool. In alchemy: the KI was the human personification of the work, the process of transformation, in four main stages, which were the equivalent of transforming base matter into gold. 

15 Film: “The KI and I”: 1956 musical starring Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson.  The charismatic KI of Siam falls for his children’s English nanny.   Brynner won an Oscar for his performance in this entertaining adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage hit musical. 

16 Alexander, KI of Macedonia: he had two objectives, the wish to conquer the world and to amass all knowledge.  He had the ability to reorganize or redefine the parameters of a problem so that he could personally solve it. 

17 Shakespeare: ‘Time’s glory is to calm contending KIs, to unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light’. 

18 KI James Bible: English version of the Bible prepared under James-I and published in 1611.

19 In the American Congress the House Speaker is known as the ‘KI of the Hill’. 

20 KI of Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1935-1977.  Elvis Presley, born January 8^th 1935 to Vernon and Gladys Presley, in a two-room railroad shack in the Mississippi town of East Tupelo.  Generally perceived as being a great creative artist who made a significant contribution both through his music and through the symbol that he became.  Many tourists are drawn to his resting place in the gardens of his Memphis mansion, Gracelands each year. Died aged 42 years. His memorabilia have fetched enormous sums - jumpsuit ($100,000), black plastic comb ($1,000), Jailhouse rock guitar ($31,050).  He made a total of 33 films.   A troubadour who sang for the American people - legs spread wide apart, guitar slung low, his black hair coiled like a sensual serpent. With his hallmark sneer and slowly rolling hips and golden suits he became a cultural icon, musical catalyst and sexual liberator.  Elvis had had arguably the biggest influence on American popular culture in the 20^th century - bigger even than Marilyn Monroe or Walt Disney.  Today he remains along with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Al Jolson, one of the four greatest vocalists in American popular music history. Occasional supermarket sightings of the sequinned idol have been reported.   Country, blues, gospel and ballad singer. He won both adulation and the accolade of immortality.   His name an anagram of ‘lives.’ 

21 The air of the court: air of gentility (to give oneself airs). 

Crown

Whether crown of thorns or crown of pomp, the crown or diadem set on the head (crown of the body) of KI, victor or sacrificial victim symbolizes sovereignty, victory or great attainment.   As QU of Heaven the Virgin Mary is commonly shown with a crown of stars.  The BS/VC of Rome wears the triple crown of the Christian Trinity.  The crowns of KIs are typically of gold, encrusted with jewels and pearls, a statement not only of worldly but symbolic wealth. In Qabalism of the titles given to the first sephirah of the Tree of Life, Kether, is crown of creation, meaning godhead (that from which all else springs). Crown or halo: the splendor of the fully conscious mind.  Light, originally an attribute of the gods only.  When combined with the diadem of the moon, integration of conscious and unconscious light.  KIs or Saints become focal points for unity.   Crown of Wild Olive: to undertake a job for its own sake rather than for gain. This was the crown awarded in the ancient Olympic Games.  

Lion

Very often the shadow of the KI. Hercules and Samson, as sun heroes, must wrestle the lion with their bare hands.  This is where Hercules starts his labours ie, symbolically struggling with his own character.  The lion resembles the sun - especially in a child’s drawing - with a mane like the golden rays of the sun.  You can recognize a lion by his claws.  

Example-01: Richard the Lion-Heart

Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard, Coeur de Lion is one of England’s most famous kings and yet he actually spent less than one year of his reign in England.   His image is that of a chivalrous knight, constantly battling to restore justice and order and, indeed, in many respects that is just what he was.   The son of King Henery II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard was born in Oxford on the 8^th September 1158.  He spent much of his early life in France on his mother’s estates at Anjou and Poitou, where he indulged in tournaments and war games.  He was known as the Duke of Aquitaine, but on the death of his father in 1189 he became king of England.   Printed Parchment Story Sheets are supplied with each of these sets which give the history of the set and details of their characters.   Packaged in a fitted presentation box. Crafted and imported from England.   Chess sets and accessories Directory Click Here.  

This dashing warrior-KI, who went off to the crusades wielding Excalibur, the great sword of KI Arthur, is printed indelibly on our mental tapestry of chivalry, magic and stirring deeds. He was a commander who led from the front in hand-to-hand fighting, whose charisma drove his armies to attempt the impossible. He was also known as ‘Richard Coeur de Lion’. He is admired for his skill as a peacemaker, administrator, military strategist, wit, repartee and cultivation. A popular tale ascribed his name Lion-Heart to his reputed affair in prison with the KI of Germany’s daughter. 

          Learning of their ardent relations, her father loosed a hungry lion in his cell.  Armed only with 40 silk handkerchiefs the gallant Richard stuffed his arm down its throat and pulled out its heart, which he ate with relish before the stunned KI and his court. He was the most powerful ruler in western Europe and his empire stretched from Scotland in the north to the Pyrenees in the south. He was not only KI of England, but ruler of vast tracts of western France, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine as well as Count of Anjou. 

          Born in Oxford in 1157, the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine he spoke French and Provencal and displayed precocious political ability.  He inherited the English throne at 26 and believed in being at the sharp end when danger threatened.  He set in motion the process that introduced a proper judicial system and a bureaucratic administration in England.  During 25 years of waging war, Richard took part in only three pitched battles and was a master of ravaging the countryside and besieging. His admirers laud him as a model of medieval generalship. The ultimate accolade came from one of his enemies, Ibn-al-Athir, the most influential Muslim historian of the age who wrote: ‘Richard’s courage, shrewdness, energy and patience made him the most remarkable ruler of his times’.  He died prematurely at the age of 42 (like all good heroes).  

          The film ‘The Lion KI’ was a box office and home video success because both boys and girls and adults are bowled over by the strong father-son relationship in this movie.  It is one of the few movies in recent years in which a father has taught a son something useful.  It tells the tale of Simba the lion, who is taught by his father Mufasa to be moral and responsible and to have integrity.  Mufasa is killed by his brother lion Scar. Simba never forgets the lessons his father taught him, which helps him to triumph over wicked Scar. The father-son relationship is at the core of this film’s appeal.  Though Mufasa is killed, Simba grows up strong and wise because of the values his father taught him.  The young lion Simba has gentleness and strength, something children can relate to. He also has integrity. It grossed over $740 million dollars and merchandising has topped $1 billion dollars.  The video of this film is the most popular of all time with 26+ million copies being sold worldwide. The ‘Lion KI’ is a moral tale that adults and children can understand and enjoy.  

Example-02 Sultan

King (KI) - Suleiman ‘The Magnificent’ (see knight Magnifico).  Suleyman the Magnificent 1494-1566 is considered the greatest of the Turkish Sultans and came to the sultanate in 1520.  His fleet of ships dominated the Mediterranean.  Patron of the arts, poet and conquerer, he extended the realm of the Ottoman Turks, reformed the law and left Istanbul as a monument to the Moslem religion. He presided over a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-ethnic city and experienced no difficulty in doing so, and showed a wise degree of tolerance of personal and religious conviction. His mosques were centers of education, colleges, hospitals, shops, gardens and kitchens.  He earned the nickname ‘Kanuni’ (The Law Giver).  He was a faithful husband in a time when the harem was common. His contemporaries named him ‘Sultan of Sultans’, KI of KIs, Distributor of Crowns.

Example-03 Solomon

970-930 B.C.  3^rd KI of Israel and second son of David and Bathsheba.  Though he was to be a prince of peace, he began his reign with some remarkable acts of justice.  He married Pharaoh’s daughter and altogether had 1,000 wives and concubines.  He prayed to God for wisdom and was answered. This occurred at night in a dream (when he was asleep) in Gibeon where the tabernacle and the brazen altar were located.  In this way God used to speak to the prophets and to private persons, for their own benefit.  He saw the glory of God shine about him, and heard a voice saying “Ask what I shall give thee?”  He begged God to give him wisdom to carry out the common daily business of the government and was given insight, foresight, riches, honour, but long life on condition. He failed in the condition and therefore, though he had wealth and honour, he did not live so long to enjoy them. After he awoke he went to Jerusalem to give thanks and prayed before the Ark of the Covenant (the ark being the token of God’s presence).   There is a sacred geometry of cubic dimensions built into the holy of holies in Solomon’s temple (as well as the Greek altar at Delphi and the sacred Muslim Black Stone, in the Kabah, cube, at Mecca).  

          His wealth and prosperity were beyond the dreams of avarice - the magnificence of his court - his ministers of state - the purveyors of his household and their office - the extent of his dominion - the numbers, ease and peace of his subjects - his stables - and his great reputation for wisdom and learning have few rivals in the annals of KIs.  Let us turn the pages of history back 3,000 years to the kingdom of Israel under the rule of KI Solomon.  The QU of Sheba said of him “True has the word proved to be that I heard in my own land about your matters and about your wisdom.  And I did not put faith in the words until I had come that my own eyes might see - and look! - I had not been told the half. You have surpassed in wisdom and prosperity the things heard to which I listened”.    

          Such a realm as Solomon’s few have governed.  Its territories were large and its tributaries many - it was foretold that he would have dominion from sea to sea. He reigned over all his neighboring kingdoms. All the princes from the river Euphrates to the border of Egypt, added to his wealth by serving him, and brought him gifts. He had peace on all sides.  His subjects were cheerful and numerous.  The country was exceedingly populous and all lived in safety.  His court can scarcely be paralleled. His wisdom was more his glory than his wealth.  His fullness of wisdom and understanding has been called ‘largeness of heart’, for the heart is often used for the intellectual powers.  He was free and communicative, had the gift of utterance and grudged neither to any that were about him.  The greatness of his wisdom can be judged from the fact that Chaldea and Egypt were nations famous for learning.  KIs 4:30 “Solomon excelled them all”.  He outdid them and confounded all.  It was talked of in all nations round about.  He did not bury his talent, but showed his wisdom.

          In his writings: he spoke, or dictated what was to be written about him, ie, that he was a moralist, a man of great prudence (he spoke 3,000 proverbs, wise sayings, apothegms, of admirable use for the conduct of life).  That he was a poet and a man of great wit (he wrote 1,005 songs, of which only one is extant, because that only was divinely inspired, which is therefore called his ‘Song of Songs’: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is more delightful than wine” (Saint Bernard has said that the Bride is the soul which thirsts for God).   Abraham Ben Meir ibn Ezra (c.1092-c.1167), wrote the first chess poem ‘Song of Chess’.   Solomon was a natural philosopher, and a man of great learning and insight into the mysteries of nature. He wrote about animals and plants (4:33). KI Solomon, who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes tells his readers the result of an experiment he conducted to illuminate the purpose of life.  He tried everything that life offers in the way of earthly riches and pleasures.   Everything was vanity and a striving after wind.  He concluded the matter by saying that everything having been heard is: fear God and keep his laws for this is the whole obligation of man. For life to be fulfilling the spiritual dimension cannot be ignored. The purpose of religion is to radiate the spiritual counsels and truths that are its essence.

          A particular instance of his wisdom was in deciding a controversy between two women of easy virtue. It is probable the cause had been heard in an inferior court, before it was brought before Solomon, the judges being unable to determine it. The two women lived in a house together and each bore a son within a few days of each other. One of the women smothered her child during her sleep and exchanged the child with the other. The other woman recognized that the dead child was not her own and appealed to public justice to be righted. The question or difficulty of the case was in trying to determine who was in fact the mother of the living child? 

          Both women were vehement in their claim for the living child and neither claimed the dead one.  The neighbors who were present at the birth and circumcision of the children had not been able to distinguish them.  Solomon, having patiently heard what both sides had to say, summed up the evidence.  The KI called for a sword and gave an order to divide the boy between the two mothers.  This proves to be an effectual discovery of the truth in this case.  Some deduce that the KI discerned the truth of the matter by the visages of the women and their way of speaking. To find out the real parent he could not resort to asking the young child and, therefore decided to find out which woman loved the boy best.  Both mother’s appeared to have motherly affection but their sincerity would be tested when the child was put in danger!

          The harlot who knew the child was not her own, but in claiming it as hers stood upon a point of honor and was prepared to see the child divided by the sword.  The child’s real mother knowing that the baby was her own was prepared to give the boy to her adversary instead of having it butchered.  This tenderness was seen as sufficient evidence that she was not a careless mother, but was in fact the true mother, that could not endure to see its death, having compassion on the son of her own womb. Solomon’s reputation among his people was enhanced by this and other examples of his wisdom which had a great influence upon the ease of his government. The officials of his realm saw firsthand that God was in him and feared the KI because of the wisdom that God had promised in answer to his prayer. 

          His main work and that with which he was raised up to do was to build the Temple.   Other buildings were also constructed. Gold and silver he had in abundance. 30,000 were employed cutting trees, but these were employed 10,000 at a time, so that for one month’s work they had two month’s vacation.  This was temple service!  3,300 directors and overseers not only for the temple but for all the rest of the buildings, at Jerusalem, in Lebanon and in other places of his dominion.  The foundation stones of the temple were costly, though, being out of sight, worse might have sufficed.  Great and long preparations were made for the temple, a noble piece of work. It was built in silence, neither hammer nor axe heard in the house while it was being constructed.  During its building God sent Solomon a message through a prophet so that he would be encouraged in the work. The whole inside of the house was gilded in gold even the floor was overlaid with gold, and the most holy with pure gold.  In the holy of holies the ark of the covenant was set - the doors leading into it were a fourth part of the wall.  The furniture was exquisite and glorious. The total construction time was seven years - a church never to be equaled, his own palace an academy.  Here he entertained the great and small and the QU of Sheba.  Gold was used to make targets, shields and a stately throne, for KI Solomon’s wealth exceeded all the KIs of the earth for riches.  These were Israel’s golden days.

          Ark of the Covenant: holding the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, this acacia wood chest (measuring 45 x 27 x 18 inches) was constructed circa 1250 BC below Mount Sinai after the Israelite Exodus from Egypt. Gold-lined inside and out, with two golden cherubim (angels) facing each other on the ‘mercy seat’ atop it, it was kept in the ‘Holy of Holies’, the innermost sanctuary of the Israelite god Yahweh. For the three centuries of their wanderings in the wilderness, this sanctuary - the Tabernacle - was a tent.  So heavy that four men were needed to carry it, the Ark’s sides had rings through which were permanently set two gold-plated poles of acacia wood, it being so dangerous that its handlers had to keep their distance.   When KI David took the Ark to Jerusalem, it was put on a new cart, but the oxen stumbled by ‘the threshing place of Nacon’.  Uzzah, one of the guides of the cart, reached out to steady it, but on touching it was struck dead by Yahweh, because of his irreverence. David, furious, was also afraid.  Charged with divine energy, the Ark could level mountains, knock down the walls of cities and strike Israel’s enemies with cancerous tumors and fiery bolts.  Rather than carry it on, he left it for three months.  On learning that its local guardians still lived (blessed by Yahweh), he dared take it on to Jerusalem where it was housed (955 BC) in the Temple of Solomon built by Hiram Abiff, the mythic founder of Freemasonary.  Yet it had vanished sometime before Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem (587 BC). The Bible is mute about how, why or where it vanished. Jewish tradition says it is buried under the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem where no excavation is allowed (so far).  Ethiopian lore claims it was removed by Nenelik, son of Solomon and the QU of Sheba. Author Graham Hancock claims it was taken away during the reign of the idolater Manasseh (687-642 BC), to be guarded in Egypt then in Ethiopia, first by Jewish then by Christian protectors. Today it is said to rest in the Church of St Mary of Zion at Axum in Ethiopia.   Hancock also claims that the KTs Templar sought it, and that the stone tablets are the true Holy Grail (in Parzival c.1195-1216, Wolfram von Eschenbach refers to the Grail as a ‘stone’).  One tradition suggests that the stone tablets were meteoric in origin, and that the Ark’s gold casing shielded against radioactive corruption.  Yet maybe its power was primarily symbolic, it being a relic in which lay the self-confidence of the Israelite spirit.  No surprise, if so, that it vanished soon before the humiliation of the Babylonish captivity.

          In the end the luster both of his goodness and of his greatness was sullied and eclipsed, the glory of his piety stained by his departure from God and his duty, in his latter days marrying strange wives and worshipping strange gods.  The glory of the kingdom of Israel was in its height and perfection in Solomon, but it soon declined and began to sink and wither in the very next reign.  After death his name has come to personify wisdom for he chose wisdom as the basis of his throne.  He became the QU of Sheba’s lover and answered perplexing questions that she asked of him.  Over-taxation, his harem and the running costs of his royal court drained his economy.  His name consists of three syllables, SOL OM ON (light, glory, truth).  Author of the ‘Song of Songs’.   The Talmud mentions him as a Qabalist and alchemist.  Islamic myth mentions him as sealing Djinns in bottles and the fate of those releasing them.  Flavius Josephus (AD c-37-100) in the ‘Eight Book of the Antiquities of the Jews’ states that the wisdom of Solomon exceeded that of the ancients and that he was in no way inferior to the Egyptians, who were said to be beyond all others in understanding.  He died aged 60 years.

          After Solomon’s death, there was a serious division among the people, and the nation split into two.  Those who endeavored to maintain the line of David and Solomon formed the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Those who broke away from that allegiance are known as the Northern Kingdom, Israel.  Judah often had good KIs who were loyal to God and had high moral values.   In the 6^th century BC Solomon’s magnificent temple was destroyed by the Babylonian invasion.   Eventually the Persian prince Cyrus overcame the Babylonians (70 years later).  

Books of KIs

These two books give an account of David’s successor, Solomon, the division of his kingdom and the succession of several KIs.  The characters of these KIs may be briefly cited…….  

01 David the devout. 02 Solomon the wise. 03 Rehoboam the simple. 04 Abijah the valiant. 05 Asa the upright. 06 Jehoshaphat the religious. 07 Jehoram the wicked. 08 Ahiziah the profane. 09 Joash the backslider. 10 Amaziah the rash. 11 Uzziah the mighty. 12 Jotham the peaceable. 13 Ahaz the idolater. 14 Hezekiah the reformer. 15 Manasseh the penitent. 16 Amon the obscure. 17 Josiah the tender hearted. 18 Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah (all wicked/wasters). 

The function of the KI

The KI plays two parts in the game.  While he is usually passive at first, later he frequently assumes an active role.  Your power as KI is borne out by the fact that you can let the pieces be captured or let them live as you choose.  By the fact that you control the destiny of all and that it is your will and your will alone that shapes the course of events.  In fact, in the endgame the KI often has great influence as an active MP.  In the middle of the board he controls eight cells, all those in his immediate vicinity, and this is mainly useful in protecting those crowding around him.   In the middle game it is the passive function of the KI that is predominant.  The danger of ++CM not only nearly always prevents him from taking part in the struggle with the enemy MPs/mps but often even compels his own MPs/mps to give him care and protection. Cases where the KI supports the other MPs/mps in attack are extremely rare in the middle game. It is usual in the middle game for the KIs qualities to be turned to advantage in defense, in the protection of his own MPs and mps. Your function as KI in a game of chess is to snatch lightning from the sky and the scepter from the opposing KI.  

          The two KIs have a special role in a contest, since the object as laid down in the rules (:L01), is the pursuit and ++CM of the enemy KI.  If you capture all your opponents MPs/mps and the KI still remains at large then you have not won the game. The KI must at all costs be protected from attack. Capture of the other MPs/mps may only be a means to facilitate the final chase and submission of the opposing KI.

Constant Attack

A MP/mp that gets near to the KI will need to be supported by another MP/mp.  A quiet move can often do more than an aggressive one.  On the other hand, one +CH too few has often bungled an otherwise certain ++CM.   F$G is the scene of most of the disasters in the attack on the castled (%K) KI.  This is because mp-7 has either been forced to move or, has been sacrificed or lost in some other way.  Only the player who can achieve ++CM can be said to have mastered the game.  What is the use of the best positional play if it does not lead to a successful conclusion?  The most effective plan of action in chess is constant attack and, on the defensive side, the counter-attack. You must harass and confuse your opponent, never leaving him/her alone.    Action, not negotiation, must be your watchword.

Check + or +CH

There is a paradox in chess - the KI cannot actually be captured!  A KI can be put in +CH.   If he cannot get out of a +CH position then the game is lost.  The KI is the most important of the MPs and can only move one cell in any direction.  This is a salutary restriction, designed to keep him close to home, where he is less liable to attack than on the open battlefield.  This MP is said to be ‘attacked’ when your opponent has one or more MPs/mps so placed that on their next move they could capture him.  He is said to be ‘defended’ or ‘protected’ if a MP/mp of his own army can capture the attacker.  An undefended MP/mp who is attacked is said to be ‘en prise’, literally translated from the French ‘in grasp’. A player is not compelled to defend against an attack except when it is the KI who is threatened.  In such a case, the attacker should draw attention to the attack by calling +CH.   In reply, only moves which get the KI out of +CH are admissible.  The elementary and commonest form of attack on the enemy KI is the simple threat arising from a +CH. The fork involving a +CH, for example, is nothing but a double attack on the KI and another MP/mp.  The possibility of +CH must be considered above all during the calculation of a series of forcing moves. In addition to the usual +CH, which can have a greater or lesser effect, there are three other special types of +CH, namely…

01 Discovered Check +DC.

02 Double Check +DO.

03 Perpetual Check +PC.

Discovered check    +DC 

The +CH is a means of pursuing the KI but it is also a weapon that can be used to capture new enemy MPs/mps.  This tactic can create havoc in the enemy camp and often leads to the loss of high caliber MPs.  Removal of a blocked MP/mp to a different cell can put the KI in +CH.    Usually the KI has to move, or another MP/mp must be interposed between the opposing combatant that is checking the KI. Whatever happens, usually the MP that caused the +DC (discovered) goes on to capture material.  The objective is to use the +CH to snatch new material from your opponent. An unsupported MP/mp in enemy territory can be captured using such combinations.  Even the QU or other MP can be in danger when unsupported. 

The +DC (discovered) is a superb form of the +CH.  This type of +CH, which in most cases is very effective, occurs when a MP opens the line of the checking MP by moving away. Their positioning before executing the +DC is sometimes termed a ‘battery’ and is particularly common in the field of problem chess.  It should be noted here the connection between a ‘battery’ and a pin. Why is +DC so effective?  The discovering MP can capture enemy MPs/mps that are defended several times over because your opponent must respect the +CH. Occasionally, instead of the direct capture of an enemy MP/mp, it is even more effective for the discovering MP to threaten a MP of higher value.  Decoying the KI is a very common method of enforcing a +DC.  +DC by an advanced-passed-PA (:ap-PA) is a motif that occurs very often.

Double check     +DO

+CH can also be used to undermine the support of one MP for another.  Sometimes the power of +CH can force a mp through to the promotion cell (#$). The +DO (double) tactic occurs when two MPs +CH the opposing KI simultaneously.  Because neither MP can be captured the KI has to move elsewhere on the board. +DO (double) is when the KI is checked by two different MPs.  +DO is nothing other than a +DC where the discovering MP itself gives +CH at the same time.  It is obviously more effective than other +CHs.   You cannot defend yourself against it by either interposing a MP/mp or capturing one of the checking MPs with a MP other than the KI.  The KI in +CH is obliged to withdraw from the cell on which he stands.  Also, +DO is given almost without exception by MPs that have different ways of moving.  This rule knows only two exceptions, which arise out of the regulations covering taking ‘en passant’ (:ep) and PA promotion. +DC is even more frequently put to use for the purpose of bringing about a direct ++CM. 

 Pendlum +CH     +PE

Sometimes the +DC can be used even more effectively for the purpose of a direct ++CM attack.  An interesting example which occurs frequently in practical play, is a series of +DCs, the so-called ‘pendulum’ (+PE).  In this the +DCs are repeated by discoveries by one and the same MP, which either capture enemy MPs/mps with gain of tempo or create strong threats by changing position. There is also the discovered-attack that is combined with a +CH.  In this, one MP opens the line of attack of another MP ie, for the purpose of threatening an unprotected MP/mp or a MP of higher value and gives +CH at the same time.  Your opponent is compelled to cover the +CH and therefore cannot thwart the attack by the other MP. 

Delivering ++CM

The ultimate object of the game is to deliver ++CM to the opposing KI and for this it is usually necessary to have a superiority of forces. The method of ++CM is always based on the principle of limiting the number of possible moves for the opposing KI.  The QU is a very powerful MP and it is easy to administer ++CM with her aid, but since the QU is only one unit and therefore covers only one field of action, she must be helped in her task by one or more of the other MPs including the KI.  This leads us to a fundamental rule in the endgame, always use your KI as much as possible.  The way to ++CM depends on confining the opposing KI to as few cells as possible.  This can be done by limiting the opposing KI to the top four ranks (8 x 8 board), then to three ranks - two - one, and then ground-zero, ++CM.  You use your QU or other MP to force the KI to R$08.  

Resigning (++RS)

A word about losing is also in order.  Many people playing over games by mature players are puzzled by the fact that ++CM rarely occurs but that instead either :A or :B resigns.  Why does this happen?  It is because the loser realized that his/her position was quite hopeless and that it was a waste of time to continue.  Resignation in chess is really a compliment to your opponent.   Do not start thinking about resigning as soon as you get into difficulties.  Think how to get out of them instead.  Only resign when you are sure you have no chance left, when it is quite clear that your opponent knows how to win and that there is no reasonable chance left of your opponent blundering away the advantage.  You will learn to judge when such a position has been reached as you obtain experience and, of course you would be quite justified in continuing against a weak player in positions which would be hopeless against a strong one.  Finally, resign pleasantly when you have to do so.  It happens to everyone.  Turn your KI on his side, thank your opponent when you say the fatal words ‘I resign’ and give him/her credit for the good play instead of grumbling about your own mistakes. 

Stalemate   ++ST 

One danger that must be avoided is giving ++CM with your QU or, indeed with any other MP/mp, is that of arriving at a position where the opposing solitary KI cannot move at all.   This is known as stalemate, in which case the game is only a draw (:L01).   The QU is such a powerful MP that she can give stalemate by herself. At times you may find that you have overreached yourself and allowed a stalemate to occur.  ++CM with a RO will need assistance from either a QU, KI or other MP.  The first object when checkmating with a RO is to drive the KI to a back rank or, a cell on the edge of the board (B$D).  With BS1 and BS2 you must drive the KI to the edge of the board (into B$D), but since the action of the BSs is along the diagonal cells only, the KI must be confined to the outer edge of the board, B$D on an 8 x 8 board.  You must administer ++CM in 50 moves in positions where such a ++CM can be forced within this number of moves.    Otherwise, provided a MP or mp has not been moved or a capture made during this period, a draw may be claimed.  

          A stalemate is a position of the MPs/mps when no move can be made by a player without putting your own KI in +CH, the result being a draw in traditional occidental chess (and a loss in Chinese Chess for the side stalemated).  Any position in which no action can be taken, a deadlock - bring to a standstill (French: ‘stale’ a standstill). In Chesmayne the players decide at the beginning of a game/match whether a stalemate is a draw or a loss.  Stalemate occurs rarely in play, since the conditions required for a stalemate situation are unusual.  It comes about when the winning side has not foreseen the possibility of stalemate. Assessing stalemate as a draw seems illogical, and such finales often have a ‘deus ex machina’ effect.  Stalemate is a typical scenario of the endgame.  

Enforcement of ++ST

The simplest case of the enforcement of stalemate is that in which the weaker sides KI has already had all his escape cells cut off, the mps are blocked or pinned and all the other MPs can be sacrificed - mostly in giving +CH.  In other cases it is only by the sacrifice of the last MP that the KIs remaining escape cells are taken away from him. You should always take particular account of the possibility of stalemate in a winning position.  Stalemate is often the result of an error rather than the normal conclusion to a game.  The beginner is therefore advised not to capture the opponents last MP or mp in positions where you have a material advantage, since the danger of stalemate is multiplied.  Many players have at some point during a game spoilt a won game by stalemating the adversary.  Moves which try to enforce stalemate can be carried out in positions where there are many MPs/mps and sometimes occurs during the middle game.  

Smothered Checkmate    ++SM

The ‘Double Check’ (+DO) is the neutron bomb of the chess stage - nothing surviving its detonation. Quite a large number of short games owe their ++CM finish to +DO and +DC.  Discovered check can win material in a variety of ways. So powerful is this weapon that even a MP can be surrendered to obtain a series of +DCs.  ROs can also be a deadly blow as a combination.   Discovered check can also give rise to a special and most pleasing type of ++CM known as Smothered Checkmate (++SM) and occurs when a KI is smothered by his own MPs/mps.  

Stalemate   ++ST

++ST occurs in the endgame phase when there are few MPs/mps left on either side of the board, but it sometimes appears out of the blue in the middle game.  The time to be wary is when one side is at his/her last gasp and when the other has overwhelming material or positional superiority.  A game is stalemated if…

01 The KI of the player whose turn it is to move is not in +CH and such player cannot make a move. In this case, the KI is the only MP that can make a legitimate play and his only move will be into +CH (a stalemate occurs). 

02 By agreement between the two players. 

03 At the request of one of the players when the same position appears three times, and each time the same player has had the move.  This prevents constant stalling by one side. The position is considered to be the same if MPs/mps of the same kind and colour occupy the same cells. 

The right of claiming the stalemate belongs to the player who……. 

04 Is in a position to play a move leading to such repetition of the position, if s/he declares the intention of making this move. 

05 Is about to reply to a move by which such repeated position has been produced. If a player makes a move without having claimed a stalemate in the manner prescribed above s/he then relinquishes this right to claim a stalemate. This right is, however, restored if the same position appears again with the same player having the move. 

06 When the player whose turn it is to move proves that at least 50 moves have been made by each side without a capture of a MP/mp and without a mp move having been made. 

07 Insufficient MPs/mps remain on the board to force ++CM, that is, if :B has only a KI remaining and :A has a KT or BS and a KI, then ++CM is impossible. Other types of draw are possible in chess. 

08 Perpetual check (+PC) can force a drawn game. If you can perpetually +CH your opponent’s KI you can force a +PC.  Most games do not terminate in ++ST, +PC or ++DR but end in ++RS or ++CM. 

Perpetual check    +PC

A position in a game in which one side cannot escape from constant +CH from the opponent.   Games often arrive at positions where one side’s KI cannot escape from continuous +CH or by avoiding the +PCs would incur the danger of loss.   In such cases we speak of perpetual check.  It is obvious that the attacking side is content with +PC only when a material or positional advantage cannot be obtained by other means. The game then ends in a draw.  On the other hand, +PC is often a very welcome way out of an otherwise lost position.  One form of +PC you cannot help being already familiar with is the pendulum (+PE) - where it is impossible to force a win with it.   +PC is very often accomplished by +CH with the strongest MP, QU1 - alternately on two cells.   Frequently the KI gets into a zone where he is continuously subjected to +CH by the enemy QU and which he cannot escape from.  This occurs very often in QU endgames, but it is also met in the middle game.  Similar +PC zones can also be created by MPs other than QU1.  +PC zones constructed by RO, BS and mp are of relatively frequent occurrence.  Cases often occur where the KI in +CH apparently has a flight cell at his disposal but dare not move into it because of a strong enemy threat (++CM or win of material).  

Attacks on the KI summary :L01

Attacks on the KI can take different forms…….  

01 Attack on the mps in front of the KI, which have not been moved.  Having three PAs in front of your castled KI can be dangerous, for if an opposing RO or QU penetrates to your back rank, ++CM can result. 

02 Weakness on cells of one colour. The general study of the strengths and weakness of various mp formations is beyond the scope of this volume, but here you can see a very important example of positional weakness directly due to the mp formation. 

03 Attack along F$01 or F$08 by RO1 or RO2. One special case where mp advances are nearly always good, is when players have castled on opposite wings. Here you are not removing any protection from your own KI, so there is nothing to be lost. 

04 Attack on mp-01 or mp-08 when the mps in front of the KI have not moved.  These are a natural target. The first thing to notice is that mp-01 or mp-08 has a natural and very powerful defender in the KT.  It is often necessary to exchange this MP, drive the KT away, pin the KT, or deflect the KT, before a successful attack can be launched against mp-01 or mp-08. 

05 How you attack the KIs position depends on how the mps are placed in front of the KI. 

06 The best formation, all things considered, is with the three mps unmoved. 

07 Broken mps in front of the KI are nearly always defensively weak. 

08 A mp advance to break up the enemy KI position is very often good when the players have castled on opposite wings. 

09 Look out for a back-row checkmate (++BR), when the KI has no outlet. 

10 Doubled ROs (:do-ROs), connected ROs (:co-ROs) or, RO and QU1 on the top rank are very strong in attack. 

Enforcement of ++ST

The simplest case of the enforcement of stalemate is that in which the weaker sides KI has already had all his escape cells cut off, the mps are blocked or pinned and all the other MPs can be sacrificed - mostly in giving +CH.  In other cases it is only by the sacrifice of the last MP that the KIs remaining escape cells are taken away from him. You should always take particular account of the possibility of stalemate in a winning position. Stalemate is often the result of an error rather than the normal conclusion to a game. The beginner is therefore advised not to capture the opponents last MP or mp in positions where you have a material advantage, since the danger of stalemate is multiplied.  Many players have at some point during a game spoilt a won game by stalemating the adversary. Moves which try to enforce stalemate can be carried out in positions where there are many MPs/mps and sometimes occurs during the middle game.  

Smothered Checkmate    ++SM

The ‘Double Check’ (+DO) is the neutron bomb of the chess stage - nothing surviving its detonation. Quite a large number of short games owe their ++CM finish to +DO and +DC.  Discovered check can win material in a variety of ways.  So powerful is this weapon that even a MP can be surrendered to obtain a series of +DCs.  ROs can also be a deadly blow as a combination. Discovered check can also give rise to a special and most pleasing type of ++CM known as Smothered Checkmate (++SM) and occurs when a KI is smothered by his own MPs/mps.  

Stalemate   ++ST

++ST occurs in the endgame phase when there are few MPs/mps left on either side of the board, but it sometimes appears out of the blue in the middle game.  The time to be wary is when one side is at his/her last gasp and when the other has overwhelming material or positional superiority.  A game is stalemated if…

01 The KI of the player whose turn it is to move is not in +CH and such player cannot make a move.  In this case, the KI is the only MP that can make a legitimate play and his only move will be into +CH (a stalemate occurs). 

02 By agreement between the two players. 

03 At the request of one of the players when the same position appears three times, and each time the same player has had the move. This prevents constant stalling by one side. The position is considered to be the same if MPs/mps of the same kind and colour occupy the same cells. 

The right of claiming the stalemate belongs to the player who……. 

04 Is in a position to play a move leading to such repetition of the position, if s/he declares the intention of making this move. 

05 Is about to reply to a move by which such repeated position has been produced. If a player makes a move without having claimed a stalemate in the manner prescribed above s/he then relinquishes this right to claim a stalemate. This right is, however, restored if the same position appears again with the same player having the move. 

06 When the player whose turn it is to move proves that at least 50 moves have been made by each side without a capture of a MP/mp and without a mp move having been made. 

07 Insufficient MPs/mps remain on the board to force ++CM, that is, if :B has only a KI remaining and :A has a KT or BS and a KI, then ++CM is impossible. Other types of draw are possible in chess. 

08 Perpetual check (+PC) can force a drawn game. If you can perpetually +CH your opponent’s KI you can force a +PC.  Most games do not terminate in ++ST, +PC or ++DR but end in ++RS or ++CM. 

Perpetual check    +PC

A position in a game in which one side cannot escape from constant +CH from the opponent. Games often arrive at positions where one side’s KI cannot escape from continuous +CH or by avoiding the +PCs would incur the danger of loss.  In such cases we speak of perpetual check.  It is obvious that the attacking side is content with +PC only when a material or positional advantage cannot be obtained by other means.  The game then ends in a draw.  On the other hand, +PC is often a very welcome way out of an otherwise lost position. One form of +PC you cannot help being already familiar with is the pendulum (+PE) - where it is impossible to force a win with it.  +PC is very often accomplished by +CH with the strongest MP, QU1 - alternately on two cells. Frequently the KI gets into a zone where he is continuously subjected to +CH by the enemy QU and which he cannot escape from. This occurs very often in QU endgames, but it is also met in the middle game. Similar +PC zones can also be created by MPs other than QU1.   +PC zones constructed by RO, BS and mp are of relatively frequent occurrence.  Cases often occur where the KI in +CH apparently has a flight cell at his disposal but dare not move into it because of a strong enemy threat (++CM or win of material).  

Attacks on the KI summary :L01

Attacks on the KI can take different forms…….  

01 Attack on the mps in front of the KI, which have not been moved.  Having three PAs in front of your castled KI can be dangerous, for if an opposing RO or QU penetrates to your back rank, ++CM can result. 

02 Weakness on cells of one colour.  The general study of the strengths and weakness of various mp formations is beyond the scope of this volume, but here you can see a very important example of positional weakness directly due to the mp formation. 

03 Attack along F$01 or F$08 by RO1 or RO2. One special case where mp advances are nearly always good, is when players have castled on opposite wings.  Here you are not removing any protection from your own KI, so there is nothing to be lost. 

04 Attack on mp-01 or mp-08 when the mps in front of the KI have not moved.  These are a natural target.  The first thing to notice is that mp-01 or mp-08 has a natural and very powerful defender in the KT.  It is often necessary to exchange this MP, drive the KT away, pin the KT, or deflect the KT, before a successful attack can be launched against mp-01 or mp-08. 

05 How you attack the KIs position depends on how the mps are placed in front of the KI. 

06 The best formation, all things considered, is with the three mps unmoved. 

07 Broken mps in front of the KI are nearly always defensively weak. 

08 A mp advance to break up the enemy KI position is very often good when the players have castled on opposite wings. 

09 Look out for a back-row checkmate (++BR), when the KI has no outlet. 

10 Doubled ROs (:do-ROs), connected ROs (:co-ROs) or, RO and QU1 on the top rank are very strong in attack. 

KI and mps

The mps, though the humblest figures on the board at the beginning and for a long time in the game, are particularly important in the endgame by virtue of their capacity for changing into higher calibre MPs on reaching the top ranks (promoted/enrobed).  Indeed, next to administering ++CM on the KI your most vital objective in the game is to ‘promote’ a mp.  This nearly always takes prime place in the endgame when lines have been cleared by exchanges and the mps can obtain a free run home.  It follows that the side against whom the mp is queening must strive with all his/her might to deter the invader. You must determine if a mp is within range of the promotion cell (:#$) and whether you can arrive in time to eliminate the mp.  

Opposition: vertical, horizontal and diagonal

By the nature of the rules the KIs are unable to approach each other directly, but must always stand, at the nearest, one cell apart. Nevertheless, they can effectively block each others way and prevent each other from reaching important cells.  When one side, say :A, is facing the other side, :B, and forces the opposing KI to move so that :A can gain a cell on the intervening rank or file, then :A is said to have the ‘opposition’.  This opposition is of three types……. 

01 Vertical opposition :vo-KI.

02 Horizontal opposition :ho-KI.

03 Diagonal opposition :do-KI.

The question of the opposition becomes very important when dealing with KI and mp endings.  

Zugzwang

A position in which all legal moves are disadvantageous. A position in which the player whose turn it is to move is at a disadvantage only because it is his or her turn to move, and for no other reason.  An obligation to move where the move leads to a weakening of the position. The right to make a move is nearly always an advantage, and many positions exist in which either player could win if it were his/her turn to move.  Even in the initial starting position (ISP) it is advantageous to have the move and one could hardly find anybody who would be ready to renounce this advantage. Some positions exist in which the right to move changes into a very unpleasant ‘obligation to move’ which reduces the prospects of a successful outcome to the game.    This obligation, when to move is a disadvantage, is known as Zugzwang, a German term and usually occurs in the endgame.  The theory of PA endings, including the theory of the opposition and of critical cells is based on Zugzwang.  There are two types of Zugzwang……. 

Zugzwang partial    :ZP

01 Partial: in the case of partial Zugzwang the side whose move it is loses (or in more favorable positions draws), since every move leads to either a loss of material or a positional disadvantage. If it is your opponent’s move here, s/he could make some indifferent move, after which the Zugzwang would once again be in operation. 

Zugzwang mutual    :ZM

02 Mutual: refers to positions of a most exclusive character. In such positions neither player has a suitable move at h/er disposal, and therefore, the one whose turn it is, is obliged to worsen h/er own prospects.  It is obvious that in the middle game - apart from extremely rare cases - only partial Zugzwang occurs. 

Conjugate cells    :cc$

Zugzwang: the cells occupied by the KIs. Trebuchet is an example in which the KIs are separated by a KTs move (a 2 x 1, L-shaped distance apart).  Conjugate: joined together in a pair or pairs - coupled.  Of two MPs/mps: so related as to be interchangeable - so placed that one is the mirror image of the other - yoked. Conjugate-pairs can occur with the MPs and mps also.    Charles Dealtry Locock was the first person to make a formal study of the positions that can arise due to :cc$ on the chess board.  

Zwischenzug

An in-between move that can change a good position into a poor one. An intermediate move in an apparently forced sequence, usually conferring some kind of surprise advantage. 

Mating combinations

The first things a beginner learns about in chess tactics are simple ++CM devices.  In your very first games you encounter the dangers which lie in wait for you on the back rank and to which you mostly react with an ‘air-hole’.  Then comes the time when you understand and admire your first ++CM combinations. One of the first combinations that you learn is the so-called smothered checkmate.  I still remember very well how strongly I was impressed as a young boy by the checkmate operation which occurred. But even in the elementary combination you can perceive the basic feature of every checkmating process - restriction of the enemy KIs mobility, the blocking of his neighboring cells and finally, at the right moment, the deadly thrust of the checkmating MP/mp.  

The mating net

The gradual surrounding of a KI is called the ‘mating net’.  The mating net is formed not only by your own MPs/mps but also by opposing MPs and mps that block particular cells.  Many checkmating combinations recur in a specific form in numerous games.  There is hardly a player who has not encountered smothered checkmate in over the board play.   ++SM can of course also appear in other forms, and more MPs/mps can take part in its execution. Another common combination, which today is overlooked only by a beginner, consists of the BS2 sacrifice on $H07, enabling QU1 and KT to carry out an attack on the opponent’s exposed KI.

Epaulette checkmate    ++EM

++CM can occur using BS1 and BS2 and only rarely occurs with one BS and requires B-KI to be shut in by his own MPs/mps.  ++CM with a KT occurs frequently in one of the many forms of smothered checkmate.  The ++CM patterns that arise out of the co-operation of BS and KT can be most diverse. It is interesting that these two MPs are very well suited to complement each other in ++CM attacks.  In ++CM with BS and KT the application of ++DC or ++DO is very common.  For an example of ++CM with two KTs please see the ‘Immortal Game’.    If a KI surrounded by his own ROs is checkmated by RO1, RO2 or QU1, it is known as an epaulette checkmate and indicated by the symbol ++EM.

++CM with the RO

Perhaps the commonest ++CM is the one given by a lone RO on R$08.  In most cases the MPs defending this rank are diverted beforehand. It often happens, however, that the RO giving the ++CM on R$08 is supported by another MP.  This occurs not only on R$08 but also on R$07.   A similar ++CM pattern, having a KT in collaboration with a RO on R$08 is also common.  ++CM combinations executed by a RO which has the help of a BS also occur frequently. Of frequent occurrence also are combinations in which the ++CM set-up with RO and BS is achieved by sacrificing the pieces that block the way of these MPs. If the KI stands on a file which no longer has any mp cover, he may easily become the victim of a ++CM attack by RO1 and RO2. 

++CM with QU1

The strongest MP, QU1, is naturally the most frequent participant in ++CM operations.    QU1 can replace either the RO or the BS in the ++CM patterns already discussed.  A ++CM of the ++EP type can be forced by QU1 alone, without the help of the other MPs.  When the enemy KI stands on the edge of the board (B$D) it very often happens that the checkmating QU is protected by a MP or mp.   The most diverse combinations are made possible by the invasion by QU of weak cells in your opponent’s castled position.  The effectiveness of the QU is so strong that she is able, with the help of one or two MP’s or mps, to force ++CM even away from the edge of the board (B$D).  When checkmating with MPs (QU1, RO1 and RO2, two ROs or QU and two ROs), two typical ++CM patterns arise:  ++CM with the MPs doubled on open files or on R$07 or R$08 and frontal ++CM with these MPs.  Naturally, the co-operation of QU1, RO1 and RO2 also makes a range of other ++CM patterns possible. 

++CM with various combinations of MPs/mps

The active participation of a greater number of MPs/mps obviously makes possible such a quantity of ++CM patterns and the combinations leading up to them that it cannot be surveyed properly here.  An important element of the great majority of these ++CM combinations however is the maximum coordination of the attacking side’s MPs/mps. RO with mps or, RO, QU1 and mps are examples.  

mps in ++CM attacks

It is noteworthy that mps, in spite of their low mobility, often perform the move which ends a game. The grounds for this are principally to be found in the fact that the mps are mostly employed as battering rams to destroy your opponent’s castled  position, and in the process they frequently reach the immediate vicinity of the enemy KI.  A common mp ++CM is that occurring when the promotion of a mp is at the same time combined with a ++CM operation.  Sometimes the KI is driven into the enemy camp in the course of the ++CM combination and so may become the victim of a hostile mp that at the beginning of the combination still stood in the ISP.  Such combinations are effective precisely because of the inconspicuousness of the ++CM mp. More often the mps participate in the ++CM operation by protecting the MP that gives ++CM, cutting off the flight of the enemy KI or drawing him within range of the attacking MPs/mps by sacrificing themselves.  

          The exposed KI: so far we have occupied ourselves with the concluding phase, the enforcement of ++CM. In all cases where ++CM combinations arise the balance has been disturbed considerably in favor of the attacker and, above all, the enemy KI is in a dangerous exposed position.  

Exposure of the KI

To take a closer look at the tactical conduct of the attack in situations where one side’s KI is exposed - the different forms of the exposure are as follows……. 

01 KI in the middle of the board (B$A or, B$B). 

02 KI without mp cover. 

03 Broken castled (%Q or, %K) position.

04 Weakened castled (%Q or, %K) position.

05 KI threatened by MPs on open files or, R$07.

06 Other cases of exposed KI positions.

KI in the middle of the board

One of the first bits of advice given to the beginner says: make use of the first opportunity to castle.  Castling (%Q, %K) is an important developing move, which not only brings RO1 or RO2 into play but also contributes towards securing your KI against enemy attack. Almost without exception, therefore, can we describe as exposed a KI which has lost his right to castle (%Q or, %K) or cannot castle in good time because of the backward development of the mps on one wing (mostly KI-side).   In the initial phase of the game both sides’ KIs are often faced with grave threats. $C08 and $F08 are the Achilles heels of your opponents position.  In many positions of this nature, which chiefly occur in the classical open games, it is usual for the MP sacrifice on $C08 to involve preventing the opponent castling and keeping the KI in the middle of the board for a long time.  It often happens that one KI is forced to remain in the middle of the board for a long time, even when in other respects both sides have already completed their development, because the way to safety is cut off by enemy MPs/mps.  In many opening gambits (:&Gs) material is sacrificed above all to hinder your opponent from castling (%Q, %K).  

Preventing the KI from castling    %Q, %K

Another example of the KIs detention in the center occurs when he has lost the right to castle by retreating from a +CH.  The usual means of keeping the KI in the center is by pinning a MP/mp. At times castling is hindered by the fact that a mp on the KIs side is attacked by enemy MPs/mps.  Neglecting the development of the KIs side and omitting to castle in good time can be very dangerous even in closed positions.  As long as your opponent’s KI remains, regardless of the reason, on his original cell (ISP), the opening of the KIs file (F$04) is a very important factor in most of the attacking operations carried out against him. A typical combination serving to achieve this objective is the sacrifice of KT1 on $D05.  

KI in the center but not in his original cell  - ISP

When your KI goes beyond R$02, he in most cases finds himself in a dangerous situation.   Sometimes A-KI gets into a bizarre position after the first few moves.  Thus the KI reaches a sort of castled position after a great detour.  An artificial castling occurs in many cases where normal castling has become impossible to execute. As a rule the KIs own mps offer him the safest cover.   If the KI finds himself outside the mp chain, he is often exposed.  There are various ways in which such an exposure of the KI can arise.  Frequently the KI is compelled to evade the attack of the enemy MPs/mps by fleeing into open space.  The exposing of the KI occurs most often when his own mps are advanced in attack. For this reason a flank attack by mps calls for a special advantage or superiority in the effectiveness of the mps such that an effective counter-attack is rendered impossible.  

Broken castled position

Only a chain of connected mps affords the KI good cover against attacks by enemy MPs/mps. If the mps are isolated (:is-PAs) or devalued by being doubled (:do-PAs), the KI stationed behind them can be threatened. A typical means of breaking up the enemy castled position and thus exposing the KI by force is the MP/mp sacrifice.  

Weakened castled position

Mps are strongest on their original cell (ISP), which is a principle obvious to a mature player. Every mp advance weakens cells that were previously covered by the mp. The PA formation A-$F02, A-$G02, A-$H02 offers the most resistance against attacks on %K.  A single MP, KT or BS on $F01 is often sufficient to ward off the threats of several enemy MPs/mps.  In an emergency it is possible to cover points threatened by attacking MPs by the moves: A-PA8-$H03 or A-PA7-$G03. All other formations of the defending mps give the attacking side, :B, many more chances.   The weakening of the castled position by the move A-PA8-$H03 is a little less marked as a rule.  It can be exploited principally in the following three ways……. 

01 By advancing A-PA7 ie, the advance A-PA7-$G04/G05 against B-PA1 at $H06 and opening F$7 for the attack.  By analogy this method can be applied against any compromised PA position.  

02 By forcing the move: A-PA7-$G02/G03 and exploiting the weakness of A-PA8 on $H03. 

03 By sacrificing a MP/mp on $H06 or $F06. An even stronger weakening of the %K position is represented by the PA formation A-PA6-$F03, A-PA7-$G02, A-PA8-$H03.  In addition to the sacrifice on $H06 here an enemy MP can also invade the weakened $G06 point at the right moment.  MP sacrifices occur even more frequently against castled formations where A-PA7 or A-PA8 has already advanced two cells. Every move by a PA in a castled position requires most careful consideration.  If A-PA6, A-PA7 and A-PA8 advance one cell they appear to offer the A-KI cover.  However, this formation is much more unstable than that in which the PAs stand on their original cell (ISP).  A weakened castled position can be a decisive disadvantage even when the material has been significantly reduced.

RO on R$07

The occupation of R$07 as a powerful weapon in the attack on the B-KI is obvious.  The examples mentioned obviously do not exhaust all the possible forms of exposed KI positions.   These can also be caused, for example, by an advanced enemy PA, by the effectiveness of enemy pieces restricting the KIs freedom of movement, by open files opposite the castled position etc.   Very complex tactical problems arise in cases where both KIs are exposed.  Then it is important to combine the attack on the enemy KI with the defense of your own KI.   

Tactical problems in attacking the castled KI

In general an attack on the castled KI in a position where he is not exposed can be divided into the following stages……. 

01 The attainment of a strategic advantage on the wing where the enemy KI is situated ie, an advantage in the concentration and greater effectiveness of the MPs, in the number and mobility of the PAs. 

02 The exposure of the enemy KI ie, the weakening or breaching of the castled position by tactical means ie, by the exchange or sacrifice of MPs/mps, the PA breakthrough etc. 

03 The ++CM operation, ie, manoeuvres enforcing ++CM or, ++CM combinations.  Here we shall concern ourselves with the second stage of the attack on the castled KI ie, the method by which the exposure of the enemy KI can be achieved.

There are three basic questions to be considered……. 

Driving the KI out of his castled refuge

You have seen in the previous examples that as a rule the KI is secure only when behind a defensive wall of mps and when outside the mp chain he is almost always exposed.  It is obvious that your opponent never removes the KI from mp cover willingly and that therefore his exposure must be brought about by force. The most important way of achieving this objective is the sacrifice that draws the KI out from his cover behind the mp chain into the fire of the MPs.  

Breaching or weakening the castled position by MP attacks

With the mp formation A-PA6-$F02, A-PA7-$G03, A-PA8-$H02 the A-KI is not considered exposed when A-BS2 is posted at $G02. Forcing the exchange of such a defending A-BS2 is a tactical element that is very often applied during the execution of an attack.   

The collaboration of MPs and mps in attacks on the castled position

The mps are an important instrument for breaching or weakening the castled position.   Their first, so to speak, very modest duty consists in safeguarding operational points for the attacking MPs. A case which is very common is the one where A-PA8 protects a MP on $G05 which is threatened by B-PA3 at $F06. The capture of this mp results in the opening of an attacking file against the weakened A-KI position.  Sometimes the PAs can take a still more active part, being employed as a battering-ram against your opponents castled position. The most frequent objective of a PA thrust against the castled position in the opening is by attacking files or diagonals.  Numerous positions arising from the Sicilian Defense lead to typical PA attacks.  By the moves A-PA6-$F02/F04, A-PA7-$G02/G04 and A-PA7-$G04/G05. :A gains operational space for MPs.  

The positional ++DR

The indecisive result (disregarding, of course, instances of a draw agreed in positions which are unclear or favorable for one side) is a special example of positional equilibrium. It mostly occurs after considerable simplification and with complete material and positional equality.  Another peculiar case of an indecisive conclusion to the game is the situation described by the collective term ‘positional draw’.  In principle there are three ways in which a positional draw can arise……. 

01 The unfavorable position of the MPs/mps makes it impossible to exploit the material advantage that has been gained. 

02 The weaker side has so fortified his/her position that the stronger side’s MPs/mps find it impregnable. 

03 Owing to threats by one side or both the repetition of two or more moves occurs.  This form of positional draw is obviously the one most commonly seen in the middle game. 

Queen - QU

Queen - the most powerful MP - Queenly pre-eminence. Chaturanga: ‘Mantri’ or Minister.   See Minister (MR).  The QU is known by different names in the countries listed below……. 

English: Queen.   French: Dame.   German: Dame.  

Spanish: Dama.   Russian: Ferz.   Arabic: Firz. 

01 The QU was not a powerful MP until the last part of the 15^th century.  In Indian and Arabic chess, the QUs predecessor was a minister (MR) or Vizer (AD). The QU is the most powerful of all the chess MPs because QU1 can move any number of cells and in eight different directions (forwards, backwards, to either side, and along all diagonals). The QU combines the moves of the RO and BS.  QUs cannot jump over occupied cells - only KT1 and KT2 can do this (on :L01).  Because she is so powerful the QU is the MP most often chosen for promotion when a mp reaches the top rank. A mp so promoted is indicated by QU2, QU3 in the Chesmayne Notation.  The QU is the most important attacking MP, and if you have captured B-QU1 you will have less to fear from leaving your KI on one of the central files.  On an empty 8 x 8 board QU1 can move between 21 and 27 cells depending on her cell position.  The Italians used to call the QU ‘rabioso’ (furious) and the game itself ‘scacchi alla rabioso’.

02 During the middle ages theology was known as the QU of science.  ‘The Faerie Queene’ was written in 1590 by Edmund Spenser and recounts the glories of QU Elizabeth-I (1533-1602), who was also known as the Virgin QU and ‘Good QU Bess’, and the period in which she reigned is known as the Elizabethan Age. 

03 Cat: a mother cat is called a QU.  Tabby comes from ‘tabbi’, black and white silk imported from Attabiya, part of old Baghdad. The Turkish ‘Van’ cat is the only breed which loves swimming. 

04 ‘The Snow QU’ by Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875). 

05 Queen (to): ‘To QU a mp’ means to promote a mp and exchange the mp for QU2, KT3, RO3, BS3 etc. 

06 Queening cell: the cell on which a mp is promoted/enrobed to any other MP of the same colour, apart from a KI.  

07 Queenside: the side of the board containing the A, B, C and D files. The side of the chess board on which QU1 is positioned at the start of the game (ISP).  For :B, the left-hand flank.    MPs/mps positioned on this side of the board are known as the QUs-BS, QUs-RO and QUs-KT.    :L01, the 32 cells to the left of the board - looking at the board as if you are playing from the :A side. 

08 Queen Bee: Greek mythology: mother goddess. Regarded as ‘the birds of the Muses’.    Emblem of the Pharoh of Lower Egypt.  They also signify immortality. 

09 Queen Mab: Folklore: fairy QU who governs and produces the dreams of wo/men.

10 Queen Regent: QU2 - a promoted mp.

11 Queen Regnant: QU2 - a second QU (QU2) and the only QU on the board.

12 Queenside Castling: indicated by %Q.

13 Queenside Minor Piece Majority: a majority of mps on the QUs side of the board.

14 Queening Cell (Enrobing cell): the top rank of cells on a chess board on which a mp is promoted to QU2 or other MP. 

Queen of Sheba

Bible: KIs: 1:10, mentions this mysterious QU as coming to see Solomon on hearing of his fame and wisdom.  She came to Jerusalem to test him with many hard questions.  Impressed by his depth of perception she gave him gold, jewels and spices. Sheba rejected Yahweh for other gods and Solomon undisturbed became her lover.  She inspired him to write the erotic song/poem ‘Song of Songs.’  Sheba or Saba, today, is the Yemen (southern Arabia).  The word Sheba means ‘seven’, ‘the planets’, ‘an oath’ (a solemn vow witnessed and enforced by the heavenly powers).    In Ethopia she was known as Eteye Azeba (QU of the South).  The QU of the south is an archetype of feminine wisdom and was revered by the troubadours of 12^th century Provence as La Reine de Saba, ‘reino saba’, (wise-QU), and associated with QU Sibylla, the ancestress of all magicians.  Gerard de Nerval writes in ‘Aurelia’ of the ‘QU of the south, crowned with stars, in a turban sparkling with the colours of the rainbow - her face being olive-tinted’.  She bore Solomon a son, Menelek (Son of the Wise) who founded a dynasty.  Haile Selassie was heir to this throne.  Today the Ark of the Covenant is believed to be in Ethiopia.

Exchanges

You can often ‘force’ a number of exchanges in order to capture prisoners or alternately to bring about a won ending.  In all games of chess progress is made in this manner right up to the very end of battle.  Exchanges made to effect a polished ending without thought of immediate gain in material are the key to success in your campaigns. It pays to keep an open mind in all situations on the chess board.  As the attacker try to retain the initiative and as a defender try to wrestle the initiative into your own court.

01 Make exchanges when they lead to material gain.

02 Exchange MPs not mps when you have material advantage.

03 Exchange mps but not MPs when you have material disadvantage.

04 Exchange when you are under severe attack.

The player with the advantage

The reasons for 02 and 03 are as follows: the fewer MPs/mps on the board, the more difference an extra MP/mp makes. You may hardly notice an extra KT with many MPs on the board, but if you have a KT and mps and your opponent just mps, you can easily capture mps, promote your own, and win.  However, if you have a KT only and no mps, you cannot win, as this is insufficient material to checkmate. The player with the advantage should therefore try to exchange MPs, while your opponent should aim to exchange mps.

To reduce the force of an attack

When you are on the defensive, especially when you have little room for manoeuvring, exchanges will often reduce the force of the attack and give you room to breathe, hence 04 above.    In addition there may be special circumstances ie, getting rid of an important defender when you are yourself attacking - where exchanges pay. What you must not do is to exchange because you are afraid of a complicated position.  Practice in such positions will improve your play more than anything else. You will find that a stronger player will beat you even if you do try to make things easier by exchange.  So you might as well play a game with some interest in it!

To win

Victory is an inexhaustible topic.  Does it mean that chess is a game of chance?  No - the blame must be laid on human inadequacy.  You should never make the same mistake twice - it is better to make a new one!   Stalemate as victory is a contradiction in terms, surely, yet there are times when a stalemate seems like a gift from heaven and a player is as pleased about it as if s/he had won. A player is always learning, but can it be said that you get anywhere?  Certainly, but you never seem to attain the goal of perfection.  The study of chess is a sort of labor of Hercules, which always has to begin again at the beginning. When you meet with misfortune you must not despair. 

          Many decisive factors have to be taken into consideration - how many MPs/mps are left on the board - how few MPs/mps does your opponent have - how many mps remain. Sometimes you may be justified in accepting considerable exposure of your MPs/mps in an effort to create a blockade.    Brain-to-brain combat of championship caliber is difficult to attain.  Chess is warfare on a grand scale.  The manoeuvre that is basic to chess is capture and calls for attack which in turn provokes responses in the form of counter attack and capture. At all levels of play it becomes a matter of who is firing at whom in a given area and this is repeated everywhere on the differing levels - a complex pattern of intermingled cells and MPs/mps.  Time is a vital factor as indeed one might expect in an occidental game.  Early plays are usually swift, there being a call to hurry into battle.  Chess is essentially a struggle for new cells and their occupants - a fight to build a strong defense while keeping the enemy MPs/mps weak so that they are bound to be defensive.  

++WN, ++DR, ++LS

You will also have to consider what you want from the game.  Do you really have to win - draw?  Maybe your sole ambition is to have an interesting contest and the result is of secondary importance.  In a team game the ambitions of an individual may be subordinated by the overall team requirement. Emotional issues will also influence a player.  Health, tiredness, mood and so on will also have their effect. An amalagram of all these factors affect a player when s/he sits down to play.  The human mind can overcome many handicaps - but not always.  What is important is to avoid incompatible objectives such as deliberately provoking a complex game when tired, when a draw is sufficient.   

To gain material

We will mention in what kind of situations a player can expect to force the gain of material against any defense. Basically, there are only two types of manoeuvre that can accomplish this……. 

01 The first is an attack on more than one MP and/or mp at a time.

02 The second is an attack on an immobile target with more MPs/mps than your opponent can muster for defense.

How your MPs/mps cooperate with each other to achieve these objectives is explained elsewhere in this text.  Their study is an indispensable preparation for the higher levels of chess, which deal with the proper conduct of the opening, middle game and endgame - the three distinct subjects with which you must acquaint yourself before you can play an intelligent game of chess.  

Skill and ingenuity

Sometimes the chess players’ fancy takes h/er along unusual paths.  In a game of chess you must be active and not subscribe to the fatalistic principle of allowing yourself to be surprised.   The player who decides what is going to happen is the one who sees one move farther than his/her opponent.  The harder matched, the greater the victory!  The finest games of chess are those which are contested on both sides with skill and ingenuity and where the final victory goes to the player who holds the remaining ace move. In this game where both sides are actively fighting the zwischenzug and intermediate check are used in an original way. A MP or mp suffers an absolute pin only when the MP protected is the KI.   All other types of pin are more or less relative and can at any time lose their effectiveness as a result of tactical measures.  Each  and every situation on the board requires handling differently.

Escape

You should endeavor to block every escape of your opponent, but you should avoid opening the window to your opponent and making your own escape impossible. The occasional mistake makes excellence bearable. Everyone can on occasions suffer from chess blindness, sometimes caused by time trouble, poor physical health, tiredness, temperature etc, can all be contributory factors, but what would chess be without silly mistakes! 

The General – GE - see Chinese chess

The GE may move one cell horizontal or vertical at a time, but is not allowed to move diagonally.  The GE may castle (%G) with the RO, CN, AD etc and this is indicated by……. 

01 %GE = % on the GEs side of the board.

02 %AD = % on the ADs side of the board.

03 %Q = % on the QUs side of the board.

04 %K = % on the KIs side of the board.

05 %RE = % on the REs side of the board.

The GE may replace the KI.    He may be put in +CH or, ++CM in the same way as the KI.    It is also possible to have a KI and GE on the board instead of a KI and QU in the ISP.     Please see Chinese chess for further details of this MP. 

The Oriental knight  - KN1 and KN2

This is the oriental knight and is indicated by the letters KN as opposed to the occidental knight who bears the monogram KT.  They move in a 2 x 1 or, 1 x 2 fashion and may capture any MP/mp on who’s cell they land. However, the oriental KN can be blocked from moving.  If there is a MP/mp one cell away from a KN they are prevented from moving past this MP/mp.  In the worst case the KN can be totally blocked from moving ie, if the KN is surrounded by MPs/mps on all four sides. On :L04 (ISP) the KN is prevented from moving because of being blocked by the PA in front. Also, the KN is blocked from moving because of the RO to the left and the BS to the right. It is necessary to move the PA, RO or, BS to enable the KN to move.  It follows that the KN can be blocked from +CH or, ++CM the KI, GE or from capturing other MPs/mps. KN1 and KN2.  Please see Chinese chess and :L04 for further details of this MP.  

The Minister - MR

The MR must move two cells diagonally at a time. They are not allowed to move horizontally or vertically. The MR can be blocked from moving if there is a MP/mp one diagonal cell distant.  They are allowed to move two cells at a time on a diagonal to any part of the board.  Notice that there is a MR for the XL and XD diagonals - MR1 and MR2.    Please see Chinese chess for further details of this MP.  

The Adviser  - AD

The AD may move one cell diagonally at a time to any cell on the board.  There is an AD for the XL and XD coloured cells - AD1 and AD2.  Please see Chinese chess for further details of this MP. 

The Cannon – CN

The CN is similar to the RO. They may move horizontal or vertical to any cell on the board just like RO1 and RO2.  However, the CN can only capture by vaulting over a MP/mp (of either side).  In this sense they are similar to a cannon-ball being fired.  It follows that the CN can put the KI or GE in +CH in this manner.  The CN can be quite a powerful MP to have on the board.    CN1 and CN2.  Please see Chinese chess for further details of this MP.  

Standard Bearer  - SB

An SB is an officer or a soldier of an army or military unit who bears a standard - a conspicuous leader of a group of men.  The Standard-Bearer moves in a 3 x 1 or, 1 x 3 manner, just like the knight whose L-shaped movement is easily understood.  They can jump over the heads of other MPs/mps on the board in the same manner as the KT of occidental chess.  They may be used on the 10 x 10 and larger boards. They bear the monograms SB for identification purposes.  SB1 and SB2.  

SB1 and SB2 on a 10 x 10 board

SB1 or SB2 can move to 2, 3, 4 or 6 cells depending on their cell position.

01 SB1 or SB2 placed in B$A can move to 8 cells.

02 SB1 or SB2 placed in B$B can move to 8 cells.

03 In B$C an SB can move to 4 or 6 depending on the cell position.

04 In B$D an SB can move to 4 or 6 depending on the cell position.

05 An SB placed in $A01 can move to 2 cells ($B4 or $D2).

06 An SB placed in $B01 can move to 3 cells ($A04, $C04 or $E02).

07 An SB placed in $C01 can move to 3 cells ($B04, $D04 or $F02).

08 An SB placed in $D04 can move to 4 cells ($A02, $C04, $E04 or $G02).

Palatine  - PL

A PL is a person possessing or characterized by royal privliges ie, a Count Palatine, Earl Palatine, or County Palatine - pertaining to a palace - a vassal exercising royal privileges in a province - an officer of an imperial palace - a high official of an empire.  The Palatine moves in a 3 x 2 or, 2 x 3 manner, just like the KT.  They can jump over the heads of other MPs/mps just like the occidental KT.  They may be used on the 10 x 10 and larger boards and bear the monograms PL1 and PL2. 

PL1 or PL2 on a 10 x 10 board

PL1 or PL2 can move to 2, 3, 4 or 8 cells depending on the cell position.

01 PL1 or PL2 placed in B$A can move to 8 cells.

02 PL1 or PL2 placed in B$B can move to 8 cells.

03 In B$C an SB can move to 4 or 6 depending on the cell position.

04 An SB placed in $A01 can move to 2 cells ($C04 or $D03).

05 An SB placed in $B01 can move to 2 cells ($D04 or $E03).

06 An SB placed in $C01 can move to 3 cells ($A04, $E04 or $F03).

07 An SB placed in $E02 can move to 4 cells ($B03, $C04, $G04 or $H03).

Regent – RE

A Regent is a person who exercises the ruling power in a kingdom during the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign - a ruler or governor. In the game of chess the Regent moves 2 x 1 diagonally.  They move in the same way as a KT and may jump over other MPs/mps.   They may be used on the 8 x 8 and larger boards. They bear the letters RE.  There is a Regent for the XD and XL cells, RE1 and RE2. 

RE1 and RE2 on a 10 x 10 board

RE1 or RE2 can move to 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 cells depending on the cell position.

01 RE1 or RE2 placed in B$A can move to 8 cells.

02 RE1 or RE2 placed in B$B can move to 8 cells.

03 RE1 or RE2 placed in B$C can move to 4 or 6 cells.

04 RE1 or RE2 placed in B$D can move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

05 RE1 or RE2 placed in B$E can move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

Duke  - DK

A Sovereign Prince, the ruler of a small state called a duchy.  A nobleman of the highest rank, after that of a Prince and ranking next above Marquess.  Slang: the hand or fist - Latin: ‘dux’ leader.  In the game of chess the DK moves in a 2 x 2 diagonally and may jump over the heads of other MPs/mps. They are used on the 8 x 8 and larger boards. They bear the monogram DK.     DK1 and DK2.  

DK1 and DK2 on a 10 x 10 board

DK1 or DK2 can move to 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 cells depending on the cell position.

01 DK1 or DK2 placed in B$A can move to 8 cells.

02 DK1 or DK2 placed in B$B can move to 8 cells.

03 DK1 or DK2 placed in B$C can move to 4 or 6 cells.

04 DK1 or DK2 placed in B$D can move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

05 DK1 or DK2 placed in B$E can move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

93 Lady  -  LA - 3 x 1 diagonally

Often used conversationally, for the specific title and rank of a Countess, Marchioness, Viscountess or Baroness, which title she may hold by marriage, by courtesy, or in her own right.    The title, prefixed to the Christian name of daughters of a Duke, Marquess or Earl.  The courtesy title of the wife of a knight or a Baronet.  A woman who is the object of chivalrous devotion.  In the game of chess the Lady moves in a 3 x 1 manner diagonally across the light (XL) cells of the board.  She is used on the 10 x 10 and larger boards.  The letters LA are used to identify this MP.  LA1 and LA2.  

LA1 and LA2 on a 10 x 10 board:

LA1 or LA2 may move to 2, 3, 4 or 8 cells depending on the cell position.

01 LA1 or LA2 placed in B$A may move to 8 cells.

02 LA1 or LA2 placed in B$B may move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

03 LA1 or LA2 placed in B$C may move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

04 LA1 or LA2 placed in B$D may move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

05 LA1 or LA2 placed in B$E may move to 2, 3 or 4 cells.

Lord – LO - 3 x 2 diagonally

One who has dominion over others, a master, chief, or ruler. A dominant person - one who is a leader in his own sphere - a titled nobleman or peer - Lord-Mayor, Lord-Bishop etc.    The courtesy title of younger sons of a Duke or Marquess.  A member of the ‘House of Lords’.   In the game of chess the LO moves 3 x 2 diagonally across the dark (XD) cells of the board and is used on the 10 x 10 and larger boards.  He is usually used with the ‘Lady’ above and is identified by the monogram LO.  LO1 and LO2.

LO1 and LO2 on a 10 x 10 board:

LA1 or LA2 may move to 2, 3 or 4 cells depending on the cell position.

01 LO1 or LO2 placed in B$A may move to 4 cells.

02 LO1 or LO2 placed in B$B may move to 3 or 4 cells.

03 LO1 or LO2 placed in B$C may move to 2 or 3 cells.

04 LO1 or LO2 placed in B$D may move to 2 or 3 cells.

05 LO1 or LO2 placed in B$E may move to 2 or 3 cells.

Templar – TE - 4 x 1

A knight who can bring a company of followers into the field under his own banner. A rank of knighthood (knight banneret).  In the game of chess the Templar moves in a 4 x 1 fashion, an L-shaped movement across the board, vertical and horizontal.  He is used on the 12 by 12 and larger boards and bears the monogram TE.  TE1 and TE2.

Praetorian Guard - PG, 4 x 2

The bodyguard of a Roman military commander, especially, the imperial guard of Rome.  The title of a consul as leader of an army. One of a number of elected magistrates, engaged chiefly in the administration of justice. In chess the Praetorian-Guard moves in a 4 x 2 manner, an L-shaped movement across the board and they are used on the 12 x 12 and larger boards, and bear the monogram PG for identification purposes.  PG1 and PG2.  

Prince

PR, 3 x 3 orthogonally across two diagonals

  

“The Prince of Wales Phaeton”, George Stubbs 

A non-reigning male member of a royal family. The ruler of a small state, as one actually or nominally subordinate to a Suzerain. One who is pre-eminent in any class, group etc - a Merchant-Prince.  He may move orthogonally (3 x 3 or, onto six different cells from his present position).  He is not allowed to jump over other MPs/mps and is used on the KI-sized (12 x 12) and larger boards and bears the monogram PR.  He moves on the XD cells only.  PR1 and PR2.  

Princess

PS, 3 x 3 orthogonally across two diagonals

                         

Left: the late Princess Grace, memorialized in bronze

Right: her final resting place, dedicated by husband Rainier III

A non-reigning female member of a royal family.  The consort of a Prince.  She may move orthogonally (3 x 3 or, onto six different cells from her present cellular position). She is not allowed to jump over the other chess MPs/mps and is used on the 12 x 12 and larger Chesmayne boards and bears the monogram PS.  The Prince moves on the dark (XD) cells and the Princess moves on the XL cells.    PS1 and PS2.

Baron – BN - 4 x 1 diagonally

In England - a member of the lowest rank of the peerage. A feudal tenant-in-chief holding the lands directly from a KI.  Any great Lord.  A powerful industrialist or financier ie, a press baron.  In the game of chess the BN moves in a 4 x 1 fashion, diagonally and he is used on the 12 by 12 and larger boards. BN1 and BN2.  

Viscount – VT - 4 x 2 diagonally

A nobleman next below an Earl or Count and next above a Baron. The son or younger brother of an Earl or a Count. In the game of chess the Viscount moves 4 x 2 diagonally across the board. He is used on the 12 x 12 and larger boards and bears the monogram VT. VT1 and VT2.

Knight Magnifico - KM, 2 x 2

Any grandee or great personage ie, a Venetian Grandee. Magnific signifies magnificent, imposing, grandiose, pompous, noble, sublime, great in deeds, lavish. The KM in the game of chess moves in a 2 x 2 fashion and may jump over the heads of other MPs/mps on the board just like his near-relative the occidental KT.  The letters KM are used to identify this chess MP.  They may be used on the 8 x 8 and larger boards.  

          Magnificent signifies august, stately, majestic, imposing, sumptuous, grand.  Magnificent, gorgeous, splendid, superb are terms of high admiration.  That which is magnificent is beautiful, princely, grand, or ostentatious.  That which is gorgeous moves one to admiration by the richness and often colourful variety of its effects.  That which is splendid is dazzling or impressive in its brilliance, radiance, or excellence: ‘splendid jewels’.  That which is superb is above others in, or is of the highest degree of, excellence or elegance.   

          On :L01, 02 and 03 he may be used instead of the traditional knight or, you could have one traditional knight KT and one Knight Magnifico (KM).  The Chinese knight bears the letters (KN).     KM1 and KM2. 

KM1 and KM2 on a 10 x 10 board

KM1 or KM2 can move to 1, 2 or 4 cells depending on the cell position.

01 KM1 or KM2 placed in B$A can move to 4 cells.

02 KM1 or KM2 placed in B$B can move to 4 cells.

03 KM1 or KM2 placed in B$C can move to 4 cells.

04 In B$D a KM can move to 1 or 2 depending on the cell position.

05 KM1 placed in $A01 can move to 1 cell ($C03).

06 KM1 placed in $B02 can move to 1 cell ($D04).

07 KM2 placed in $H03 can move to 2 cells ($F01 or $F05).

 “Pieces of eight” - because each of these gold coins known as “reales” were perforated into fractions of the full value.    Two “pieces of eight”, one quarter of the coin, is the source of the American slang term “two bits” which signifies the Quarter coin.  

Major Pieces

KI	King - may be replaced by RE, GE etc	35:01
QU	Queen - QU1 QU2 QU3 QU4 = promoted mp to Queen	35:02
RO	Rook - RO1 RO2 RO3 RO4 = promoted mp to Rook	35:03
BS	Bishop - BS1 BS2 BS3 BS4 = promoted mp to Bishop	35:04
RB	See ‘Reflecting Bishop’	35:05
KT	Knight - KT1 KT2 KT3 KT4 = promoted mp to Knight	35:06
GE	General - may be replaced by KI, RE etc	35:07
AD	Adviser - AD1 AD2	35:08
MR	Minister - MR1 MR2	35:09
CN	Cannon - CN1 CN2	35:10

KN	Knight oriental - KN1 KN2	35:11
RE	Regent - may be replaced by the KI, GE etc	35:12
PR	Prince - used on dark cells	35:13
PS	Princess - used on light cells	35:14
SB	Standard Bearer - SB1 SB2	35:15
BA	Bannerette - BA1 BA2	35:16
PL	Palatine - PL1 PL2	35:17
PG	Praetorian Guard - PG1 PG2	35:18
DK	Duke - DK1 DK2	35:19
KM	Knight Magnifico - KM1 KM2	35:20

VC	Vaunt Courier - VC1 VC2 - jumping BS	35:21
GH	Grasshopper - EM1 EM2 - jumping QU - Empress	35:22
IM	Imitator	35:23
JK	Joker	35:24
LE	Leo	35:25
MA	Mann - Mantri	35:26
TA	Talia	35:27

ADMINISTRATIX	35:28
ADVISER	35:29
AGHA	35:30
AGNOMEN	35:31
ALCAIDE-ALCAZAR	35:32
AL-FIL	35:33
AMAZON	35:34
AMBUSH	35:35
ANAGAMIN	35:36
ANTONOMASIA	35:37

APLOMB	35:38
ARCHDUKE	35:39
AREOPAGUS	35:40
ARISTOCRACY	35:41
ATTORNEY GENERAL	35:42
BARON	35:43
BATTLE ROYAL	35:44
BLUE-CHIP	35:45
BOMBARD	35:46
BURD	35:47

CABINET	35:48
CALIBRE	35:49
CALL-INTO-PLAY	35:50
CARYATID	35:51
CHINESE FAMILY	35:52
CINDERELLA	35:53
CHLOE	35:54
COMBINED MP	35:55
COMMONS	35:56
COMBINED PIECE	35:57

COSSACK – CK	35:58
COPULA	35:59
COUNSELLOR	35:60
CUL-DE-SAC :cds	35:61
CYNOSURE	35:62
DABBABA DA	35:63
DAIMIO	35:64
DAME-DAMSEL	35:65
DAN	35:66
DAPHNIS and CHLOE	35:67

DAUPHIN	35:68
DEWAN (MR)	35:69
DRESS CIRCLE	35:70
DUAD	35:71
DUENNA	35:72
DUKE	35:73
DULCINEA	35:74
DEGAGE	35:75
EDUCE	35:76
EMPRESS – EM	35:77

	35:78
DULCINEA	35:79
DEGAGE	35:80
EDUCE	35:81
	35:82
EN FETE	35:83
ENISLE	35:84
EPITHET	35:85
ESCAPADE	35:86
ETERNAL TRIANGLE	35:87

EVACUEE :ev	35:88
FACE VALUE	35:89
FANTOCCINI	35:90
FARRAND	35:91
FEME SOLE	35:92
FERS – FR	35:93
FLOOR LEADER	35:94
FORMICATE	35:95
FRAU	35:96
GENERAL - see Xiangqi	35:97

GENERALISSIMO	35:98
GIVE-AND-TAKE	35:99
GRASSHOPPER – GH	35:100
HALL OF FAME	35:101
HAUT MONDE	35:102
HERM	35:103
IMITATOR – IM	35:104
INTUITIVE SACRIFICE :is	35:105
JOKER - :JK	35:106
JUNOESQUE	35:107

KORE – LA	35:108
LADY – LA	35:109
LION – LN	35:110
MAID OF HONOUR – LA	35:111
MAJOR PIECES	35:112
MANN – MA	35:113
MANTRI	35:114
MAO - KN1 and KN2	35:115
MATERIAL	35:116
MATERIAL ADVANTAGE	35:117

MENTOR – AD	35:118
MIEN	35:119
MINISTER - see Chinese chess	35:120
MIRZA	35:121
MOBILITY	35:122
NERVE CENTRE	35:123
NOBILIARY	35:124
NOBILITY	35:125
OMNIFARIOUS	35:126
OUTPOST -   :op-MP, :op-mp	35:127

OVERLOADED PIECE	35:128
PAINTED LADY	35:129
PAKEHA	35:130
PAO - CN1 and CN2	35:131
PARTHENOS – PS	35:132
PIECE	35:133
PIECES - used in chess	35:134
PRAENOMEN	35:135
PREMIER – MR	35:136
PREMIERE - QU1	35:137

PRESIDENCY	35:138
PRIMA DONNA – LA	35:139
PRIMATE – VC	35:140
PRINCE	35:141
PRINCESS	35:142
PRIVY COUNCIL – AD	35:143
PROCONSUL	35:144
Q	35:145
QUEEN	35:146
QUEEN  - to	35:147

QUEENSIDE	35:148
QUEENING CELLS - enrobing cell	35:149
QUEEN’S HONOURS  - England	35:150
QUEEN MAB	35:151
QUEEN REGENT	35:152
QUEEN REGNANT	35:153
QUEENSIDE CASTLING	35:154
REARGUARD	35:155
REGINA	35:156
ROYAL MP	35:157

SABAOTH	35:158
SAFE MOVE	35:159
SHOGUN – GE	35:160
TALIA – TA	35:161
TIED PIECE -   :tp	35:162
TOREUTIC	35:163
UNDER-PROMOTION	35:164
UNDERSTUDY	35:165
VAUNT COURIER – VC	35:166
VISCOUNT – VT	35:167

WARRIORS	35:168
WAZIR -    :WZ	35:169
ANTAGONISM OF PIECES	35:170
APPELATION	35:171
HEAVY PIECE	35:172
LIQUIDATION	35:173
ORTHOGONAL	35:174
ZEBRA	35:175
SYLLOGISM	35:176
VIZER – AD	35:177

Threat Symbols
:ct = Counter threat	44:01
:ct = Counter threat	44:02

Weakened Symbols
:we-KI = Weakened KI-side	45:01
:we-QU = Weakened QU-side	45:02

 

Expansion Symbols
:ex-KI = Expansion KI-side	45:01
:ex-QU = Expansion QU-side	45:02

 

Other Symbols-2
:exp-KI = Exposed KI	47:01
:td-MP = Trapped MP	47:02
:blo = Blockade	47:03
:sa = Sacrifice	47:04
:ug = Unguarded	47:05
:def = Deflection	47:06
:rd = Removing the defender	47:07
:sm = Sealed move	47:08
:sw = Swindle	47:09
:tg = Triangulation	47:10
:ud = United	47:11
:wm = Waiting move	47:12
:w$ = Weak cell	47:13
:cr = Coralled	47:14
:imz = Intermezzo	47:15
:tp = Turning point	47:16
:cc = Central control	47:17
:rc = Recapture	47:18
:lo-MP = Locked MP	47:19
:pn = Pin	47:20
:pn-KI	47:21
:pn-KI+CH	47:22
:pn++CM	47:23
:pn++ST	47:24

 Chess Construction Set

Invented and described by Fergus Duniho

Introduction

Tools and Materials

Board Tiles

Specialized Boards

Tile Mats

Poker Chip Pieces

Shogi Pieces

Wood Pieces

Photographs

Introduction

In Meta-Chess, John William Brown identifies a problem and proposes a solution. I agree with him about the problem but not about the solution. He borrows his presentation of the problem from John Gollon. Gollon made the observation that card players commonly recognize that different card players favor different card games. When people think of cards, they think of many games people can play with cards, such as Poker, Gin Rummy, Hearts, Euchre, Solitaire, and countless others. But when people think of Chess, they commonly think of just one game. Yet, just as there are countless card games, there are countless Chess games. Traditional Chess is just one game you can play on a Chess board with Chess pieces. Also, the checkered 8x8 board is not the only Chess board you can play Chess games on, and the six pieces used in traditional Chess aren't the only pieces available to play Chess games with.

Part of the problem is that many Chess games use different equipment than commonly comes in a Chess set. Limited equipment blinds many people to the possibilities for Chess games other than the traditional one. If Chess sets commonly came with resizable boards and extra pieces for different variants, people would more readily think of Chess games in the plural rather than of Chess as a single game with one board, one set of pieces, and one set of rules.

Brown's solution is to use a multiboard and a set of Shogi style pieces with movement diagrams on them. The multiboard is a single board that is designed to have different playing areas on it. Shogi style pieces are described further down. Before I had ever heard of Meta-Chess, I had identified the same problem as Gollon and Brown had, and I came up with my own solution. My solution is the Chess Construction Set described here. Instead of a single multiboard, which is limited in its uses, and which I find disorienting to look at, I recommend the use of board tiles for constructing boards of any size or shape, and the use of light-weight and foldable boards for commonly played games. Instead of Shogi style diagrammatic pieces, I recommend the use of poker chip pieces for constructing the pieces needed for any game, and a collection of multiple Chess sets and other pieces for putting together suitable sets of sculptured pieces for many different Chess games.

The Chess Construction Set is a set of components for putting together and playing different Chess variants. It is also useful for constructing and playing various non-chess board games, such as Othello, Go, or Checkers. In this capacity, it may more generally be called a Game Construction Set. I will describe here how to put together your own Chess Construction Set. Yours doesn't have to be exactly the same as mine. So you don't have to follow these instructions to the letter. But they will serve as a useful guide for putting together your own.

Tools and Materials

The following tools will help you put together your own Construction Set:

• Triangle, T-Square, or Lip Edge Ruler
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Guillotine paper cutter
• One King sized chisel tip black permanent marker
• Red, blue, and black fine tip permanent markers
• Protractor
• A pen or pencil

The following raw materials are used to make different components of the contruction set. Which you need will depend upon what you want to make. Instructions for making board tiles, specialized boards, poker chip pieces, and Shogi pieces are given further on down the page.

• Sheets of white poster board
• Index cards
• Strapping tape
• Poker chips
• Round label stickers
• Uncorrugated cardboard
• Foamboard or corrugated cardboard

The following materials are used as is without turning them into anything else. Most of these are just suggestions, and what you add will depend on how versatile you want your Construction Set to be.

• Clear plastic sheets
• A couple sets of chess men
• Checkers
• A deck of cards
• Regular and multi-sided dice
• Game pieces from other games
• Plastic storage boxes
• A tote bag

Please note that you will be able to find many of the tools and materials you need in dollar and discount stores. So you don't have to spend a lot to make your Contruction Set. Other tools and materials can be found in craft shops and department stores.

Board Tiles

Different games use boards of different designs and dimensions. You could make a set of custom boards, but for full versatility, it helps to have a set of board tiles. With board tiles, you can quickly construct boards of various designs and dimensions. Board tiles are made from squares of poster board. You can use different colors of poster board for different colored tiles. This comes in handy for three colored boards like the one used in Cavalier Chess. After you lay out a board, the clear plastic sheets should be laid over it to keep the tiles from moving out of place during the game.

Begin constructing the tiles by cutting out squares of poster board. I did my first batch with triangles and scissors. I used triangles and rulers to plot points and draw straight lines between them. I then cut them out with scissors. I made my second batch with a lip edge ruler and a guillotine paper cutter. I used the lip edge ruler mainly to hold the poster board in place on the paper cutter. I shortly abandoned the lip edge ruler in favor of the paper cutter's own ruler. I used it to cut two-inch wide strips, then to cut stacks of strips into squares. When using a paper cutter, it is important to be careful. Make sure you keep your fingers away from the paper cutter's guillotine. The shape of my left arm makes it easier for me to safely hold things down on a guillotine cutter than the shape of a regular arm would. You will probably have to take more caution for your fingers than I have to.

My tiles are 2 inch squares, which is a bit on the large side. The ideal size is a bit wider than a poker chip, because you will be making pieces out of poker chips. If you have used only white posterboard, you will need to color half of your tiles black on one side. A King size or Jumbo size black permanent marker is good for this. Set the tiles aside, colored side face up, and let the ink dry.

Oriental boards, such as those used for Chinese Chess and Shogi, are uncheckered. To construct these boards, you will need white tiles with black borders. To make these, take the tiles made from white posterboard, and color a border around the edge of one side on each tile. A King size chisel tip permanent marker is ideal for this. You will end up with a set of reversible tiles. One side will be black or white for checkered boards, and the other side will be white with a blak border for uncheckered boards. Let the ink dry.

When I made my tiles, I had some one inch wide strips left, which I could not make into regular sized tiles. So I made half sized river tiles for Xiang Qi with them. I have also used half tiles to identify files. I could use them for ranks too, but, on the suggestion of David Howe, who I was playing against, I have used dice for that.

After you piece together a board, place clear plastic sheets on top to keep it in place. Clear report covers will do. So will comic book bags or plastic baseball card holders. The report covers I have are especially ideal, because they are full of static electricity which keeps them in place.

Specialized Boards

If there are some games you like to play a lot, it may be inconvenient to always construct a board out of tiles. An alternative is to make a specially designed board for a certain game. You can make a light, foldable, and easily portable board our of index cards and strapping tape. Begin by taping two cards together on the lined side. Tape more cards together. Tape each card to its neighbors, but do not tape more than two cards together with the same strip of tape. This is so the board will easily fold into your pocket. Using 3x5 inch cards, I recommend taping together a 5x3 card square that is 15 inches long on each side. Two sides will be made of three 5 inch edges, and the other two sides will be made of five 3 inch edges. On the blank side, which has no tape on it, use the finetip permanent markers to draw your board. A lip edge ruler is the best tool for drawing straight lines across the board. The lip edge works like a t-square to make your lines perpendicular to their edges, and the lip edge ruler is long enough to cover the full length of the board. Rulers and triangles could also be used, but they're considerably less efficient.

Some boards made in this manner are resizable. I made a 10 x 10 board on 15 index cards with 1.5 inch squares. Exactly two squares fit along one side of an index card. So I can fold the board into 8 x 10, 6 x 10, 4 x 10, and even 2 x 10 configurations. If I choose to ignore partial squares along the edge of the board, I can also fold it into 6 x 8, 6 x 6, and other configurations. With spare index cards, I could also cover up unused square for a game and cover the whole board with plastic sheets. By adding more cards to the board, I could extend its size to 18 x 20 inches and have up to 12 x 13 squares for a playing area.

An alternative to using index cards is to draw a board onto a sheet of poster board. This will be less portable and less resizable, but it will also be more stable. With large sheets of poster board, you can make regular sized boards.

Specialized boards are especially useful for games with hexagonal or triangular boards, which cannot be made from square tiles.

Tile Mats

David Howe has made mats of tiles. These have a little less versatility than a set of individual tiles, but they take much less time to lay out before a game. He cut out posterboard tiles, as I described above. He then taped different colored tiles into a checkered pattern and laminated it. If you have access to a machine for laminating, this is a very good solution for putting together different boards. For full versatility, it is best to make multiple mats of various sizes, such as 4x4, 2x4, 1x4, and 1x1.

Poker Chip Pieces

Many chess variations use pieces not found in regular chess sets. If you have lots of money, you could go and buy a large set of RPG figures from a gaming store. I'm not rich, and I took my cue from the Chinese. In China, Chinese Chess has been a game played by the common people, and being poor, they could not afford sculptured pieces. So they used wooden disks for pieces.

Poker chips can cost a lot if you shop in a specialized gaming store, but I found a discount store which sold 100-piece sets of poker chips for only $1.00 each. That's just a penny a chip. The chips I bought came in three colors. There were 50 white chips, 25 red chips, and 25 blue chips.

Since there are no black chips, the first thing you should do is take the large tip black permanent marker and color one side of each white chip black. This will allow you to create sets of black pieces. An added advantage is that will be able to use these dual colored chips for Othello or my new Chess variant Smegi. Let the ink dry.

To turn a poker chip into a chess piece, draw a piece image on a round label sticker, then place that sticker into the center of the poker chip. The stickers may come in different colors or they may all be white. If they do come in different colors, try to match the sticker color to the chip color. Draw your images with the fine tip permanent markers. Use the red marker for the red pieces, the blue marker for the blue pieces, and the black marker for the other pieces. You may put different stickers on each side of a chip, so that it can double as different pieces. If you do this, make sure that all the pieces you will normally need for any game will all be available when you need them. For example, you could put Chinese chess pieces on one side and western chess pieces on the other.  Poker chip pieces can also double as checkers.

Shogi pieces

Poker chips will not do for Shogi pieces. Most Shogi pieces are four pieces in one. A shogi piece may be promoted or unpromoted, and it can change sides if it's captured. So, to play Shogi, you should take the time to make Shogi pieces.

This shows how the Shogi pieces are normally shaped, though the set pictured here is western rather than Japanese. Notice that the pieces come in different sizes. The King is the largest, and the pawn is the smallest.

Begin making your pieces by making patterns out of thin cardboard. Leftover poster board will also do. When I made my patterns, I used a protractor and compass to measure images of pieces from a book. I changed centimeters to eighths of an inch and constructed slightly larger pieces.

With your patterns cut out, place them on thicker cardboard and trace around them with a pen or pencil. Cut them out with scissors. Draw piece images on each piece. Use the black fine tip permanent marker for regular pieces and the red fine tip permanent marker for promoted pieces. Make all the pieces you need to play Shogi. Make more pieces if you want to play larger Shogi variations.  Save and label your patterns in case you ever want to make more pieces.

Wood Pieces

Some craft supply stores sell various wooden figures, some in the shape of people, and some in other shapes. They're about the same size as Chess pieces, and with acrylic paint, also available in craft shops, you can match them with your regular Chess set and use them as extra pieces. I have painted my figures black and ivory to go with most of my pieces. Some Chess sets come in different colors, and for these, it would be best to bring along a couple pieces to make sure you buy the right color of paint for matching the wooden figures with your other chess pieces. 

The 1st European chessmen + links http://www.chez.com/cazaux/index.htm

Italian Chess pieces, bone with ivory topping, Late X c., found at Venafro and considered the oldest European pieces, Museo archeologico di Napoli    Queen, bone, 1008-1010, Paladru Lake Colletières, Isère, France   Aufin (Bishop), wood, 1008-1010, Paladru Lake Colletières, Isère, France Rukh (Rook), wood, 1008-1010, Paladru Lake Colletières, Isère, France   Rukh, rock-crystal, Late IX - Beginning XI c., Domschatzkammer, Osnabrück   Scandinavian Chess pieces, bone, Beginning XI c., Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum Scandinavian Knight, Bishop, Pawn, deer bone, Beginning XI c., Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum    Scandinavian Knight, ivory, IX / X c., Musée de Cluny, Paris    King (?), deer bone or antler, X c., found at Loisy, Musée des Ursulines,Mâcon Chariot, deer bone or antler, X c., found at Loisy, Musée des Ursulines,Mâcon    Whale bone chessmen, Late XI c., found at Witchampton, Dorset  Scandinavian or German Chessmen, deer bone, Beg XII c., Musée du Noyonnais, Noyon, France King or Queen (?), Yorkshire, England, XIV c.      Chessmen excavated from river Thames, XIV c : bone King, wood King, unidentified, bishop on top. Bishop, bone King side and above view showing the hollow.   The "Charlemagne set", elephant ivory, South Italia, Late XI, Bibliothèque Nationale - Cabinet des Médailles, Paris  Elephant in ivory which belongs to the “Charlemagne set” although from a different origin: India, IX or X century. With its large size, 160 x 88 mm, it is not even sure that it is a chessmen.    South Italian Elephant, elephant ivory, Late XI c., Musée du Louvre, Paris  South Italian King, elephant ivory, Beginning XII c., Museo Bargello, Fiorenza South Italian Vizier, elephant ivory, Beginning XII c., Bibliothèque Nationale - Cabinet des Médailles, Paris    French Roc (Rook), both faces, elephant ivory, Mid XII c, Musée du Louvre, Paris     The "Lewis set", King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Warder, Pawn., walrus tusk Scandinavian (Trondheim ?), Mid XII, British Museum, London   German King, bone or antler, found at Dorf Langenbogen near Mansfeld (Saxony) Mid XII c., ex-von Hirsch coll.    Scandinavian Kong, whale ivory, Late XII c., Musée du Louvres, Paris      Scandinavian Bishop, walrus ivory, Beginning XIII c., Copenhagen, Nationalmuseum (The holes in the eyes were filled by jewels)

 

The images and photographs shown on this page are coming from the following sources:

Jean-Michel Péchiné, “Roi des jeux, jeu des rois, les échecs”, Découvertes Gallimard, 1997: this small French book is a wonderful!

Neil Stratford, “The Lewis Chessmen and the enigma of the hoard”, British Museum Press, 1997.

“Pièces d’échecs”, Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des médailles et antiques, catalogue de l’exposition du 7 juin au 30 septembre 1990.

Alessandro Sanvito (catalogo a cura di), “L'arte degli scacchi”, Edizioni Sylvestre Bonnard, 2000.

Isaac Linder, "The Art of Chess Pieces", H.G.S. Publishers, Moscow, 1994.

Gareth Williams, “Master Pieces”, Apple Press, London, 2000.

The authors of theses works, books and photographs, are kindly acknowledged.
If there is any problem with their presence here, please do mail me.

Many thanks to Thierry Depaulis for pointing many illustrations to me. 

Back to archaeological findings

The 1st Persian, Arab and Russian chessmen

Elephant and Bull (or Knight or Vizier ?), ivory , dated as early as II c., found at Dalverzin-Tepe, Southern Uzbekistan.  Their use is unknown, some scholars think they can be game pieces. Institute of Scientific Art, Tashkent    Elephant in carved stone, about VII c which might be a Chess piece. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Ivory piece most probably from VII to VIII c, found in Saqqizabad, Iran and very similar to the Vizier of the Afrasiab set.. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Isolated Knight found in Afrasiab, VI to VII c.      Set (King, Chariot, Vizier, Elephant), ivory , dated VI to VIII c., found at Afrasiab, near Samarkand, Uzbekistan State Museum of Samarkand Earliest known Chess pieces.     Iranian Rook from Nishapur, IX c Chess piece (?) in glass, Lebanon, X c       A Rukh, fantastic bird of prey, found in Ferghana, VIII to X c, Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia. (Personally, I strongly doubt that this is a Chess piece: a phial cork or a stick extremity ?) Elephant in ivory found in ancint Khazar fortress of Sarkel, dated VIII to X c, Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia. Proves that Chess came in Russia by the Caspian-Volga route.    King, ivory, XII c, Slutsk, Belarus, Bielorussian Academy of Sciences, Minsk Queen, ivory, XII c, Lukoml, Belarus, State Museum of Belarus  Boat (Rook), ivory, beg XII c, Volkovysk, Belarus, Bielorussian Art Museum, Minsk  Pawn, ivory, beg XII c, Volkovysk, Belarus, Bielorussian Art Museum, Minsk    Russian Chess pieces: Top: Horse (ivory, XI/XII c, Kiev); Pawn (ivory, XI/XII c, Drutsk); Rook (ivory, XI/XII c, Vyshgorod); Rook (ivory, XII/XIII c, Kopys) Bottom: Elephant (ivory, XII/XIII c, Drutsk); King (ivory, XII c, Suzdal); Queen (wood, end XIII c, Novgorod)    King on an ivory disc, 1150 to 1230, found in Staraya Ryazan, Ryazan Regional Local History Museum. Found with plain discs which are assumed to be pawn. If it is a Chess piece, it is a rare example of piece on a disc like un Chinese Xiangqi. It could also belong to a Viking game like Hnefatfl (note by JLC)

 The images and photographs shown on this page are coming from the following sources:

Jean-Michel Péchiné, “Roi des jeux, jeu des rois, les échecs”, Découvertes Gallimard, 1997: this small French book is a wonderful!

Neil Stratford, “The Lewis Chessmen and the enigma of the hoard”, British Museum Press, 1997.

“Pièces d'échecs”, Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des médailles et antiques, catalogue de l’exposition du 7 juin au 30 septembre 1990.

Alessandro Sanvito (catalogo a cura di), “L'arte degli scacchi”, Edizioni Sylvestre Bonnard, 2000.

Isaac Linder, “The Art of Chess Pieces”, H.G.S. Publishers, Moscow, 1994.

Gareth Williams, “Master Pieces”, Apple Press, London, 2000.

The authors of theses works, books and photographs, are kindly acknowledged.
If there is any problem with their presence here, please do mail me.

Many thanks to Thierry Depaulis for pointing many illustrations to me

Back to archaeological findings 

Abstract Chess Pieces

by Fergus Duniho

This is my ever-growing set of abstract, somewhat cubist, Chess piece images. These are designed mainly for use with Zillions of Games.    This set includes images for all the pieces used in most of my own games, the Fairy Chess ZRF from Zillions of Games, and Mad Chess.   And there are images for some other pieces too.   I drew each piece with Ultimate Paint.   I used XNView to convert the bitmaps to gifs, then used giftrans and emacs to generate the transparent gifs you are looking at here. Besides the red pieces shown here, there is also a matching set of white pieces.  Download Whole Set 

Brief description of content

                                              01 The mps  

02 Some of the new Chesmayne mps  

03 Numbering the mps  

04 Mp promotion  

05 The PA  

06 :L01  

07 En Passant :ep  

08 Mps - isolated, doubled, backward    

09 The mps  

10 To ++WN  

11 Mp development  

12 Mp structure  

13 Mp promotion  #  

14 Table of mps  

15 Handicap game  

16 Touching your MPs/mps  

17 An indiscretion  

18 Taking prisoners   

19 The MPs  

20 Castling %  

21 RO   

22 En prise  

23 The Rook - RO1 and RO2    

24 ++CM with RO and mps  

25 Symbolism - Mythology   

27 Bishop - BS1 and BS2   

28 The traditional - KT1 and KT2   

29 Different knights   

30 The forking ability of a knight  

31 Palette of knights  

32 Traditional chess MPs/mps  

33 HMB - KI    

34 Crown   

35 Lion   

36 Sultan   

37 Solomon   

38 The function of the KI  

39 Constant attack  

40 Check  + or +CH  

41 +DO  +DC  

42 Discovered check   

43 Delivering ++CM  

44 Resigning ++RS   

45 Stalemate ++ST  

46 Enforcement of ++ST  

47 Smothered Checkmate ++SM   

48 Stalemate ++ST   

49 Perpetual check +PC   

50 Attacks on the KI summary (:L01)  

51 KI and mps   

52 The Opposition   

53 Zugzwang   

54 Zwischenzug   

55 Mating combinations   

56 The mating net  

57 Epaulette checkmate ++EM   

58 ++CM with the RO  

59 ++CM with QU1  

60 ++CM with various combinations of MPs/mps  

61 Mps in ++CM attacks  

62 Exposure of the KI  

63 KI in the middle of the board  

64 Preventing the KI from %   

65 KI in the center  

66 Broken castled position  

67 Weakened castled position   

68 RO on the R$07   

69 Tactical problems in attacking the KI  

70 KI and the castled position  

71 Castled position and MP attacks  

72 Attacks on the castled position  

73 The positional ++DR  

74 QU   

75 QU of Sheba  

76 Exchanges   

77 The player with the advantage   

78 To reduce the force of an attack  

79 To win  

80 Win, ++DR, lose  

81 To gain material   

82 Skill and ingenuity  

83 Escape   

84 The GE   

85 The Oriental KN  

86 The MR   

87 The AD  

88 The CN   

89 The SB  

90 The PL  

91 The RE  

92 DK  

93 LA   

94 LO   

95 TE  

96 PG   

97 PR  

98 PS  

99 BN  

100 VT   

101 KM   

102  VC  

KI   QU   RO   BS   KT   PA   GU

01	This Index
02	Minor pieces
03	Pawn, Guard, Trojan, Vandal
04	Numbering the mps
05	Level-01
06	To win
07	An indiscretion
08	Castling
09	Rook
10	Bishop
11	Knight
12	King
13	Crown
14	The function of the King
15	Enforcing Stalemate
16	King and Mps
17	Mating combinations
18	King in the middle of the board
19	Driving the KI from his castled refuge
20	Queen
21	Exchanges
22	Skill & ingenuity – Chinese pieces
23	SB, PL, RE, DK, LA, LO, TE, PG, PR, PS, BN, VT, KM
24	Syntax – symbols
25	Chess construction set
26	First European, Persian, Arab, Russian chessmen
27	Also see ‘Piece’

White			Black
	King
	Queen	(9)
	Bishop	(3)
	Knight	(3)
	Rook	(5)
	Pawn	(1)
	Points