II
The Board.—The chess-board is not merely something upon which the game of chess is played; it is part of the game itself, for it limits, and, to some extent, controls the action of the men. In my first lesson I gave a diagram of the board with the men set out for play, and I now give an outline diagram of the board on which the name of each square is given, both from the White and the Black side.
Now, in order to read the moves correctly, it is of the greatest importance for the student to understand the method of naming the various squares. From the diagram on page 276 it is clear that, according to our English style, each square has two names, the White player naming the squares from his own side, and the Black player from his. Thus, what the White player calls his King’s square the Black player calls his King’s eighth, and so on with all the other squares. All the boys who are taking an interest in these lessons should get this point fixed in their minds to avoid mistakes.
