on Notation), Black may reply in the same manner with King's Pawn to King's fourth square, and neither Pawn can do more than remain an obstruction to the onward march of the other, but if Black answer instead with King's Bishop's Pawn to Bishop's fourth, or as in the diagram, with Queen's Pawn to Queen's fourth, then White, if he choose, may take the adverse Pawn from the board and place his own in its stead.
No. 7.
BLACK.
WHITE.
THE NOTATION ADOPTED TO DESCRIBE THE MOVES OF THE MEN.
There is no portion of an elementary work on Chess of so much importance to the learner, and none which requires more resolute mastering than this.
The notation may be called the language of the game and a knowledge of it is absolutely indispensable to every one who is himself ambitious of excelling, or who is desirous of appreciating the excellencies of other players.
Having marshalled the men in battle order, as shown in the first diagram, you will observe that each party has two ranks of men, on the first of which stand the superior Pieces, and on the next the eight Pawns. The eight squares which compose the first rank are each distinguished by the name of the Piece which occupies it when the men are first arranged. There are, therefore, the King's square, the King's Bishop's square, King's Knight's square, and King's Rook's square, and in like manner, the Queen's square, Queen's Bishop's square, Queen's Knight's and Queen's Rook's squares. The files, that is, the row of squares running from top to bottom of the board, are also named by the Pieces occupying the first square in each file. Thus each of the superior officers has a file or row of eight squares running from his end of the board to the corresponding Piece of the enemy, and every one of these eight squares takes its name from such officer.
Bear in mind that White names every square on the board, in accordance with its relative position to one of his eight Pieces, and that Black does the same. Hence it follows that Black's first squares are White's eighth, and vice versâ.
Before proceeding further, it will be desirable for the student to familiarize himself with the respective moves of the Pieces, names of the squares, &c. A very little practice will enable him to do so, especially with the aid of any friend acquainted with them. He should, in the first place, accustom himself to the setting up the men in order of battle; after a few repetitions of the process, and comparing their position with diagram No. 1, he will soon have no difficulty whatever in arranging them correctly without referring to the book. It will then be well to clear the board of all but a single Piece, and practise with that until perfect in its movements; another, and then another, may be added, until the action of every one is as familiar as the alphabet.
Suppose, as a first exercise, you begin by placing your Queen on her square (i.e., her first square), then play her to Q's 5th square, then (diagonally, observe) to Q. Rook's 8th square, then to King's Rook's 8th square, then to Q. R's square, and then home again to her square. It is proper to mention that the directions for moving a Piece are not usually printed in full, and that, according to the modern abbreviations in the present and other chess-books, these several instructions would be given thus:—
| 1. Q. to her sq. |
| 2. Q. to her 5th. |
| 3. Q. to her R's 8th. |
| 4. Q. to K. R's 8th. |
| 5. Q. to her R's sq. |
| 6. Q. to her sq. |
As a next exercise, put the Queen's Bishop on his square, beside the Queen, and play him as follows:—
| 1. Q. B. to K. R's 6th. |
| 2. Q. B. to K. B's 8th. |
| 3. Q. B. to Q. R's 3d. |
| 4. Q. B. to his sq. |
To these two Pieces now add the Queen's Knight, on his own square, and play as follows:—
| 1. Q. Kt. to Q's 2d. |
| 2. Q. Kt. to K's 4th. |
| 3. Q. Kt. to K. B's 6th. |
| 4. Q. Kt. to K's 8th. |
| 5. Q. Kt. to Q. B's 7th. |
| 6. Q. Kt. to Q. Kt's 5th. |
| 7. Q. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. |
| 8. Q. Kt. to his sq. |
By taking all the Pieces in succession thus, you will speedily obtain sufficient knowledge of their movements to commence the opening of a game; but before attempting this, it is needful for you to be acquainted with the technical terms in use among chess-players, and the code of laws which governs the game.
TECHNICAL TERMS IN USE AMONG CHESS-PLAYERS.
Castling.—Although, as a general rule, the move of the King is restricted to one square at a time, he has the privilege, under certain conditions, once in the game, of moving in conjunction with either of the Rooks two squares. This peculiar movement is called Castling, and is performed in the following manner:—If a player wishes to castle on his King's side of the board, he moves the King to K. Kt's sq., and then places the K's Rook on K. B's square. If he castles on the Queen's side, he plays his King to Q. B's sq, and Q's Rook to Q's sq. The object of this compound move is to place the royal Piece in safety, and at the same time bring the Rook from the corner square into better play.
The conditions under which a player is permitted to castle are:—1st. The King must not be in check. 2d. The King must not have moved. 3d. The Rook must not have moved. 4th. The King must not pass over or on to any square attacked by an enemy's man. And 5th. There must be no Piece, either of his own or the adversary's, between the King and the Rook.
In exemplification of the importance of castling, to escape from an attack, and to retort one on the adversary, see, presently, the diagram No. 8 (p. 24).
Check and Checkmate.—The King is said to be in check when he is attacked by any Piece or Pawn, for it being a fundamental law of chess that the King can never be taken, whenever any direct attack upon him is made, he must be warned of his danger by the cry of check, and the player is then compelled either to remove his King out of check, or parry the check by interposing a man between the King and the attacking Piece, or capture the checking man.
When he can do none of these three things, he is checkmated, and the game won by the other side. (See diagrams Nos. 9 and 10.) When the King is directly attacked by the Piece played, it is a simple check; but when the Piece moved does not itself give check, but unmasks another which does, it is called a discovered check. (See diagram No. 8.) The third species of check is named the double check, where the King is attacked both by the Piece moved and the one discovered. The fourth description is called perpetual check, a case which arises when a player has two or more squares on which he can give check, and his opponent can only parry one check by affording an opportunity for another. If the first player then persists in the repetition of these particular checks, the game must be abandoned as drawn. (See diagram No. 11).
Doubled Pawn.—When two Pawns of the same color are on the same file, the front one is called a doubled pawn.
Drawn Game.—When neither party can give checkmate, the game is drawn. This may arise from several causes,