A bishop moves any number of squares diag onally, but only; therefore a bishop can never change the color of his square.
A knight moves two squares, so as always to change cobir—that is. he moves one square for mard or backward and one diagonally. On ac count of this crooked movement, he can leap over or any surrounding pieces: and therefore a knight's cheek—unless he can be taken—always compels the king to move.
The rook, or castle, moves any number of squares forward, backward, or sidewise, lint not diagonally.
The queen is by far the most powerful of the pieces, and moves over any number of squares, either in straight lines or diagonals, forward, backward, or sidewise; so that her action is a union of that of the rook and bishop. At start ing the queen always stands on a square of her own color.
The king is the most important piece on the board, as the game depends upon his safety. TIr moves only one square at once, in any direction, except when he east les—a term to be explained presently. The king cannot be taken; but when any oilier piece attacks him, he is said to be in cheek. and must either move out of cheek or interpose some one of his subjects, unless the checking piece be captured. When there is no means of rescuing the king from ebeek, he is said to he eheekmated, and the game is over. Of course, the two kings can never meet, as they would be in check to each other. Double check is when a piece, by being moved, not only gives check itself, but also discovers a previously masked attack from another.
Castling is a privilege allowed to the king once in a game. The move is performed either with the king's rook or queen's rook; in the former case the king is moved to the king's knight's square and the king's rook is placed on flue king's bishop's square; in the latter ease the king is played to the queen's bishop's square, and the queen's rook played to the queen's square.
But the king cannot castle after having once moved. nor at a moment when he is actually in check, nor with a rook that has moved, nor when he passes over a square attacked or checked by an adverse piece, nor when any piece stands be tween hint and the rook with which he would castle, nor when in the act of castling either the king or rook would have to capture an adverse piece.
A game results from neither player being able to checkmate the other; thus, a king left alone on each side must of course produce a draw, as does also a king with a hishop, or a knight, against a king.
S t a team t r, or the not being able to move either the king or any other piece, also constitutes a drawn game.
Odds is a term applied to the advantage which a stronger player should give to a weaker; thus, the removal of a rook or knight from the better player's forces may be fair odds; or, if the players are more nearly matched, the one may give a pawn. When the odds of a pawn are given. it is always understood to be the king's bishop's Grim bit is a technical word implying the sac rifice of a pawn early in the game, for the pur pose of taking up an attacking position with the pieces.
Supposing the worth of a pawn to he repre sented by unity, the following is a tolerable average estimate of the comparative value of the pieces; Pawn. 1; bishop, 3; knight, 3; king, 4; rook, 5; queen, 0.
The rows of squares running straight up and down the board are called files, those running from side to side are called lines, and those run ning obliquely across are termed diagonals.
The playing over the following short game will serve the learner as a little initiatory practice: