CHESS, a game played by two per sons sitting and having between them a square board, containing 64 rec tangular chequers, alternate white and black : each player has the white corner square at his right hand. The pieces are as follows, for each party. A queen, which is always placed on her own co lour : thus the white queen is on a white square, the fourth from the corner, and the black queen on the black square, fac ing the white queen. Their respective then placed by the sides of the queens, so that each couple occupy the two centre squares on the lines nearest the players. Two bishops are then plac ed, one on the side of the king, the other on the side of the queen, on squares of different colours. Bishops are gene rally distinguished by a kind of mitre on their tops : at the sides of the bishops are placed the two knights, also on differ ent coloured squares: these are usually distinguished by horses' heads, or by having a piece obliquely taken off from their flat round bonnets. The exterior pieces are called castles or rocks, and. are commonly made to resemble turrets ; or may be only pawns of a larger size. The pawns, eight in number, are ranged so as to occupy all the squares on the se cond line, immediately in front of the line of pieces. Pawns are generally pieces of turned wood, of a neat pattern, and with spherical summits. This de scription of one party will answer for both ; observing that the players are de signated according to the colour of their pieces. Such as are white or yellow, are called white, and such as are black, red, green, &c. are called black.
The king can only move one square at a time, but in any direction that may be open to him : he cannot, however, move to, nor remain on, a square which is com manded by any of the adversary's pieces or pawns. The queen moves only in right lines, but her range is unlimited where the board is clear: thus she can go the whole breadth, or the whole length, or the whole diagonal of the board. If placed in the centre of the board, she could, consequently, move in any one of the eight, i. e. four rectangular, and four diagonal directions, diverging from the square on which she might stand. The bishops always move in a
diagonal direction, each invariably adher ing to that colour on which be was ori ginally placed ; these pieces are called according to the colour on which they stand and move, without any reference to their own complexions respectively. Thus the white party has a black and a white bishop ; though they are both made of a white substance : the same holds in regard to the adversary's bishops. The knights have a circular move,. always proceeding to such squares, within two distant, as may be of opposite colour to that from which they move ; counting that square, say it be white, as one, the knight passes over one square, either black or white, and settles on a black square next thereto. Hence a knight can remove to or command eight squares, all in different directions from that on which he stands. The castles only move at right angles with the board; pro ceeding, if nothing should interrupt, either the whole length, or the whole breadth, at pleasure. The pawns have each the privilege of moving forward two squares, at the first move of each Ee spectively, provided no obstacle should present itself; hut ever after they can only move forward one square at a time. When pawns capture, they do it oblique ly, but only at one square distance ; thus a pawn, on a white square, can take any pawn or piece of the adversary's that may be on either of the diagonals proceeding from such white square, right and left, provided such pas n or piece be on the square next to that on which the pawn stands. Pawns never recede ; all their moves are straight forward; they have, however, the great privilege 'of being changed for any piece the party they appertain to may choose whenever they can reach that line on which the ad versaries' pieces were originally arranged: on such occasions the successful pawn is taken off the square, arid any piece its owner may have lost is placed thereon in its stead. As a queen is usually chosen, where one has been lost, this is called making a queen.