A Description Of The Chessboard and Chess Pieces

By John Andris

The game of Chess is played by two persons, each having at command a little army of sixteen chess pieces, upon a chess board divided into sixty-four squares. The squares are usually colored white and black, or red and white, alternately; and custom has made it an indispensable regulation that the board shall be placed so that each player has a white square at his right-hand corner.

Each player has eight superior Pieces or officers, and eight minor ones which are called Pawns; and, for the purpose of distinction, the Pieces and Pawns of one party are of a different color from those of the other.

On beginning a game, the King and Queen occupy the centre squares of the first or "royal" line, as it is called, and each has for its supporters a Bishop, a Knight, and a Rook, while before them all stand the Pawns or Foot-soldiers in a row.

(To prevent a common error of misplacing the King and Queen on commencing a game, it should be noted that at the outset each Queen stands on her own color.)

The Pieces on the King's side of the board are called the King's, as King's Bishop, King's Knight, King's Rook; and the Pawns directly in front of them, the King's Pawn, King's Bishop's Pawn, King's Knight's Pawn, and King's Rook's Pawn.

The Pieces on the Queen's side are, in like manner, called the Queen's Bishop, Queen's Knight, and Queen's Rook; and the Pawns before them, Queen's Bishop's Pawn, Queen's Knight's Pawn, and Queen's Rook's Pawn.