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HAND-BOOK OF CHESS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

THE origin of Chess is, and we are afraid must continue to remain, a matter of considerable doubt. Many writers have given accounts, more or less fabulous, of its invention, but all that can be said with any degree of confidence about its early history is, that it appears to have originated in India, and to have been subsequently introduced through Persia into Arabia, whence it was brought by the Moors into Spain. It was introduced into this country by the French, in the eleventh century.

It would appear to be about the middle of the sixteenth century that Chess came to be a science to be studied and written about. Since that period, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French, and English writers have contributed to render Chess the most scientific, as it is the most entertaining, game in existence.

During the present century the establishment of Chess clubs and Chess divans in the large towns, the introduction into many newspapers and other periodicals of columns specially devoted to the game, and the more refined taste of the present generation, have all combined in causing Chess to become an amusement which is now cultivated by all classes of society, in place of its being, as in old times, the pastime of the learned few.

Most of the works devoted to the game which have hitherto appeared are addressed more to skilled players than to the tyro anxious to learn, and are composed chiefly of scientific analyses, only useful to those who aim at placing themselves on a par with professional players. The object of the following pages is to give the young beginner a thorough insight into the game, and with this view we shall endeavour to leave nothing unexplained which is necessary to be known in order to become a tolerable Chess player.

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CHAPTER II.

THE CHESS BOARD AND MEN.

THE game of Chess is played by two persons, each player playing alternately, on a board marked out into sixtyfour squares, which are usually coloured alternately by two different colours, such as black and white, or red and white. It is now an established rule, that, in placing the board, each player shall have a corner white square at his right hand. This is not a matter of necessity, but the practice has been adopted for the sake of uniformity. The rows of squares running from the player are called "files," and those from left to right are termed "ranks." The oblique rows of squares are called "diagonals." Each player has 16 mennamely, 8 pieces and 8 pawns. The pieces are so called for convenience, to distinguish them from the pawns, and consist of 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, and 2 Knights, and will be represented in our lessons as follows:

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In setting up the pieces, the following order must be observed:

The King and Queen must occupy the two centre squares of the first row of squares; next to each King must be placed the King's Bishop; next to that piece comes the King's

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Knight; and then follows the King's Rook. By side of the Queen stands the Queen's Bishop, then the Queen's Knight, and then the Queen's Rook. It will be observed that the

White King stands on the right side of the Queen, while the positions of the Black King and Queen are reversed. Beginners are sometimes at a loss to know on which squares the royal pairs should be placed on commencing the game. It should, therefore, be borne in mind, that the White Queen invariably stands on a white square, and the Black Queen on a black square. The Kings and the Queens will thus stand opposite to each other respectively. Each piece has a Pawn immediately in front of it.

The positions of the various pieces and Pawns, on commencing the game, are shown in the following diagram:

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CHAPTER III.

NOTATION, OR METHOD OF INDICATING THE SQUARES OF THE CHESS BOARD.

IN order to be able to study the game of Chess by means of books, it is necessary to have some system to distinguish the various squares. That in use in England, though somewhat cumbrous, is more expressive than any other at present The following diagram exhibits the English

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R 8th Q Kt Sth Q B Sth Q 8th K 8th K B 8th K Kt 8th K R 8th

KR 2nd K Kt2nd K B 2nd K 2nd

Q 2nd QB 2nd Q Kt 2nd Q R 2nd)

QR 7th Q Kt 7th Q B 7th Q 7th K 7th K B 7th K Kt 7th K R 7th

KR 3rd K Kt 3rd K B 3rd K 3rd

Q 3rd QB 3rd Q Kt 3rd Q R 3rd

QR 6th Q Kt 6th Q B 6th Q 6th K 6th K B 6th K Kt 6th K R 6th

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It will be seen that the squares are named from the pieces which stand, at the commencement of the game, at the ends of the respective files. The square on which the King stands being the King's square, the next in front the King's 2nd.-That on which stands the Queen's Knight being the Queen's Knight's square, the squares in front of the same being named respectively the Queen's Knight's 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, &c. Each Pawn is named after its superior officer, thus:-The Pawn in front of the King is called the King's Pawn; that in front of the Queen's Knight, the Queen's Knight's Pawn, and so on. It is necessary to bear in mind, that, in describing a move made by Black, the squares must be reckoned from Black's side of the board, so that the Black King's square is the White King's 8th; the White Queen's 4th is the Black Queen's 5th, and so on. The moves are indicated, in an abbreviated form, thus:

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It sometimes occurs that either of two Knights, &c., can be moved to the square indicated; in which case it is stated whether the K Kt or Q Kt is to be moved. It is necessary, in playing over games, to be careful that you do not move the wrong piece.

CHAPTER IV.

THE MOVES OF THE MEN.

THE KING.

THE King moves either backward or forward, sideways or diagonally, but only one square at a time (except in castling, an operation which will be described hereafter). A King, therefore, placed on his 4th square commands eight squares→→→ viz.: Q 3rd, Q 4th, Q 5th, K 3rd, K 5th, K B 3rd, K B 4th, and K B 5th, and can move to any of those squares which are unoccupied by any other man, and which are not commanded by an adverse piece or Pawn. From this latter provision, it will be seen that the King can never be moved to a square adjoining that on which the adverse King stands; in other words, the Kings cannot check each other.

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