Page:Collier's Cyclopedia of Commercial and Social Information.djvu/444

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HESS is one of the most ancient of known games of skill. Various theories are advanced as to its origin. One account states that the wife of Ravan, King of Ceylon, devised it in order to amuse her royal spouse with an image of war while his metropolis was closely besieged by Rama. We will now proceed to give the necessary directions for playing the game. The game is played on a board divided into sixty-four squares, colored alternately black and white. It is the same as that used at draughts. Eight pieces of different denominations and powers, and eight pawns, are allotted to each competitor. As a necessary distinction, each set is colored in a different way, one commonly being white, the other red or black. The pieces are named as follows:

Every player, therefore, is provided with one king, one queen, two bishops, two knights, and two rooks, besides the eight pawns. They are placed, at the beginning of each game, in the order shown at the head of this article. In placing the board, care must be taken that a white corner square be at the right hand of each player. It should also be observed that the queen must be placed upon a square of her own color.

The king can move in any direction—forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally, provided always, of course, that he does not move into check. The king possesses one great prerogative—that of never being taken; but, by way of counter-balancing the advantage of this exemption, he is restrained from exposing himself to check. He can move only one square at a time, except when he castles, which he may do once during each game, He may then move two squares. He cannot castles when in check, nor after he has once moved, with a rook that has been moved, nor if any of the square over which he has to move be commanded by an adverse piece. The queen can move either horizontally or diagonally. She