The King.—The King is by far the most important man on the board, inasmuch as a successful attack upon him (as will be explained later on) involves the loss of the game. On the other hand, his moves are much more circumscribed and his powers of attack more limited than those of any other man except the Pawn. He moves only one square at a time, but that move can be made in any direction—that is, to any adjacent square, either forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally. Place the king on his own square and he can move to Q sq, Q 2, K 2, K B 2, or K B sq. Similarly, if he be placed on a centre square, he can move on to any of the eight adjacent squares. The King captures in the same direction in which he moves; that is, if any one of the enemy’s men stands on an adjacent square to his own, he can occupy that square, the other piece being removed from the board, or “taken” or “captured,” as it is termed. The King cannot move on to any square commanded by an enemy’s man, or, as it is technically called, he cannot move into check; neither can the two Kings occupy adjacent squares. Once during the progress of each game the King has the option of an extension of his ordinary move, but this I will describe under its proper head of castling.
The Queen.—The Queen is by far the most powerful piece on the board, as she possesses such a wide range of moves. Like the King, she can move in any direction—forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally; but these moves are not confined to the adjacent squares, for the only limits to her range of moves are the sides of the board, provided no piece or Pawn is in the way of her march. Place the Queen on her own square, and she can be moved to any one of twenty-one squares, namely, Q B sq, Q Kt sq, Q R sq, K sq, K B sq, K Kt sq, K R sq, Q 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 squares, Q B 2, Q Kt 3, Q R 4, K 2, K B 3, K Kt 4, and K R 5. Similarly placed on a centre square, say Q 4 or 5, or K 4 or 5, and it will be found that she commands (that is, can be moved to) no less than twenty-seven squares on a clear board. The Queen takes in the same direction as she moves; this she does by displacing the enemy’s man, and occupying the vacated square herself.
The Rook.—Next in importance comes the Rook. This piece moves forward, backward, or sideways, as far as the open board permits, but not diagonally. Place the K R on its own square, and it can move to fourteen squares, namely, R’s 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 squares, K Kt sq, K B sq, K sq, Q sq, Q B sq, Q Kt sq and Q R sq. Placed on any position on the open board, in a corner, at the side, or in the centre, it will be found that it always commands fourteen squares, neither more nor less. It captures in the same direction as it moves in a similar manner to the King or Queen; that is, by removing the enemy’s attacked man and occupying the square so vacated.
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The Bishop.—The Bishop moves diagonally only (that is, in a similar manner to a man at draughts) but he can pass over any number of squares that may be open to him. Place the K B on its own square, and it can move on to any of the following seven squares, viz.: Kt 2, R 3, K 2, Q 3, B 4, Kt 5, or R 6. Placed on a centre square, it commands thirteen squares in all. It captures in the same direction as it moves, and in a manner similar to the K and Q. From the nature of its move the B can never leave the squares of the colour on which it originally stood. Therefore the White K B is always on a White square, and the Black K B upon a Black one.
The Knight.—Whilst the move of the Kt is one of the most beautiful upon the chess-board, it is, at the same time, the most difficult to describe, though a knowledge of its move is not by any means difficult to acquire by a little practice. It may be described as a combination of the shortest move of the R with the shortest move of the B; that is, one square in a straight direction—forward, backward, or sideways—and one square in a diagonal direction. Place the K Kt on its own square, and it can move on to the following three squares, viz.: K 2, B 3, and R 3. It will be seen that its imaginary R’s move would bring it over Kt 2, and then its imaginary B’s move places it on B 3 or R 3. Or its imaginary R’s move takes it over B sq., and then its imaginary B’s move places it on K 2. Placed on a centre square, say K’s 4, it commands eight squares—K B 2, K Kt 3, K Kt 5, B 6, Q 6, Q B 5, Q B 3, and Q 2. It will be noticed that it invariably moves on to a square differing in colour from that which it has just left; or, in other words, that it leaps from a White square to a Black one, and from a Black square to a White one. This peculiarity arises from the combination of the R and B moves. Place the Kt again on K’s 4 (a White square), and it will be seen that the imaginary R’s move brings it on to a square of a different colour (in this case a Black one), either K 3, Q 4, K 5, or B 4—and then the imaginary B’s move keeps it on the same colour. The Knight captures as it moves in the same manner as the other pieces—that is, the captured piece is removed from the board, and the capturing Kt occupies the vacated square. It has one advantage possessed by no other man, and that is the power of leaping over any intervening piece or Pawn, whether belonging to its own side or the enemy’s. For example, when the men are first set out in battle array, the only piece that can move without some of the Pawns first making an opening is the Kt, for it can at once spring on to B 3 or R 3, despite the intervening Pawns.
The Pawns.—The Pawn moves in one direction only, and that is one square straight forward (that is the shortest P’s move, except that on its first move it has the option of moving forward either one or two squares). Place the K P on its square, and it can move either to K 3 or K 4. Place on K 4, however, it can only move to K 5. Unlike the pieces, the Pawn does not capture in the same direction that it moves, but diagonally, one square only (the Bishop’s shortest move). Place a Pawn at K 4, and whilst it can move to K 5 it can only capture at B 5 or Q 5. The capture is effected, as it is by the pieces, by removing the enemy’s man and placing the Pawn on the square thus left vacant. The Pawn has the privilege of claiming promotion as soon as it reaches the eight square. This is done by its being exchanged for any piece of its own colour (excepting a King) which the player may desire. This is technically called “queening a pawn,” although it does not follow that a Queen is always called for. It is not necessary that the player should have lost a piece when he thus promotes a Pawn, and it therefore follows that he can have two or more Queens or three or more Rooks, etc., on the board at the same time.
This last statement may puzzle a good many boys, some of whom may say: “I am under the impression that there is only one set of chessmen used at a game of chess. If this is so I do not see that there can be two or more Queens, etc., of the same colour on the board at the same time. Will you kindly explain this?”
They would be perfectly right in stating that only one set of men is used in a game. The set constitutes thirty-two men (sixteen White and sixteen Black), and these thirty-two men form a complete set. To distinguish one piece from another different figures are used, but the shape of these figures is purely conventional, and flat counters could be used with the name or with some other distinguishing mark written on them. As a matter of fact, indeed, the Mohammedans do play chess with such counters, sculptured figures of any kind being prohibited by the Koran. Now, supposing a set is rendered incomplete by a man being lost, the place of the lost man can be taken by anything that will serve to denote that the piece should be on the board. I have often played a game where a thimble has done duty for a Bishop, and a small paper-weight for a Rook, and so on. So that it is quite easy to get something to do duty as a second Queen, etc.
In clubs and chess resorts, where there are many sets of men, a second Queen, if need be, is borrowed from another set. Sometimes, where only one set of men is available, a Rook (if one has been captured) is turned upside down, the promoted Pawn is placed on the top, and there you have a most excellent substitute for a Queen. Supposing, however, that no piece has been lost when the Pawn is promoted, then a piece of twisted paper can be placed on the head of the Pawn, and again we have a good substitute for a Queen.