King (chess)

“ The King, a purely defensive piece throughout the middle-game, becomes an offensive piece once all the pieces are off the board, and sometimes even when there are one or two minor pieces left. The handling of the King becomes of paramount importance once the end-game stage is reached. ”

“ At his pleasure he may move to and occupy either of the sixty-four squares of the Chess-board, in a minimum of one and in a maximum of seven moves. The only obstacles to his march are distance and the opposition of an enemy.
The Strategical weakness of the Topographical Horizon [76] peculiar to the King arises from its always taking on and maintaining the physical form of a plain. Consequently it is vulnerable to attack from all sides and what is far worse, it readily is commanded and from a superior topographical post, by every adverse piece, except the King and Pawn. ”

“ It is White's move, but if he takes his Queen from in front of his King, he exposes it to check from the adversary's Rook. If he moves the King, then his Queen will be captured and the game will have to be drawn, and if he takes Black's Rook with the Queen, then the adverse King will be placed in a similar position, i. e., stalemate.
Support. A force is supported when it is within the range of another of the same color that would be in a position to capture it were it an enemy. An attacking force is supported by another Piece or Pawn which commands the square or position attacked. ”

“ The King's Gambit, the fourth of the principal openings, is the delight of the Chess player's heart as it affords opportunities for the most intricate and scientific combinations to which Chessmen are subject, and their study gives the student an almost unlimited fund of instruction and entertainment. ”

“ And in long nights, when age and childhood sleep,
Bright eyes that flicker round the rushlit board
Mark how the chess-players, in silence deep,
Meet skill with skill, until delight is roared
At cunning scheme, or swift unreckoned leap:
But, cute as fox or quick as tern awing,
No hand is found to mate King Eochaidh's king. ”

“ We find the principal figures from the chess-board reproduced in the Tarots, and also in some of the Spanish and German packs. There is the [Pg 26] King, the Knight, or mounted horseman, and the Knave. The pawns or common soldiers are represented by numbers; but there is this difference between Cards and the game of Chess as it is generally played,—in the former there are four armies, or as we should call them “suits,” and each one is headed by the King instead of the two sides generally seen in Chess. ”

“ When a king is not in check, but his owner has no move left save such as would place the king in check, it is “stalemate,” and the game is drawn.
“Castling.” This is a special move permitted to the king once only in the game. It is performed in combination with either rook, the king being moved two squares laterally, while the rook towards which he is moved (which must not have previously moved from its square) is placed next him on the other side; the king must be touched first. ”

“ The student will see that there is only one play open to White and that is to move the King to K2; for if a Piece or Pawn were interposed it would be captured in the Black Queen's next move when she would again give check, and, as the Rook's Pawn is in the way, the Queen cannot be captured by the Rook. By moving the King, however, White cannot castle. ”

“ To guard or support a Piece by the interposition of another force between the Piece attacked and the attacking Piece. A superior force is protected or covered from attack by an inferior one.
Queening a Pawn or Advancing a Pawn to Queen. When a player has advanced a Pawn to the eighth, or last, square of a file, it assumes the rank and power of a Queen or any other Piece, excepting a King, that the player chooses, in which case he is said to have Queened a Pawn. ”

“ In the game of Chess there are generally only two armies of pawns, each one being commanded by a King, a Vizir (which in the lapse of years has become a Queen) , a Knight, an Elephant (which became a fool and after that a Bishop) , and a Dromedary (afterward a Castle) ; and the game shows a striking similarity to the Indian games of cards, which have eight companies distinguished by their colours and emblems, and of which each one has their King, their Vizir, and their Elephant. ”

“ He is not allowed to Queen the Pawn, and if he loses it, or happens to checkmate his opponent with any other man, he forfeits the game. The Pawn usually capped is the King's Knight's, because it can be more readily and effectually surrounded by protecting Pieces. ”

“ He can also give check by moving his QR to Ksq., and as White cannot move his King into any square that is not commanded by an adverse force, and as he cannot capture the attacking force, he will have to interpose, but the only men he could interpose could be captured by Black, so in his eleventh move he has to guard against this check before it is given. ”

“ When the weather is unfavourable, the King retires to his favourite sitting-room, and sends for Generals Fitzroy or Manners, to play at chess with him. His Majesty, who knows the game well, is highly pleased when he beats the former, that gentleman being an excellent player. ”

“ In games, in which both players have castled on the same side of the board, and which, as stated previously, constitute the vast majority of cases it is dangerous to make excursions with the Queen to distant regions away from the King, as her retreat might be cut off, making impossible an adequate defense against an attack which the opponent might be able to initiate on the King's side with the help of his own Queen. ”

“ The break-up of the pawn position on the Q side can become awkward in the end-game and sometimes in the middle-game when the pawns can be attacked, and pieces brought to bear on the Queen’s side without leaving the King’s side denuded of forces. ”

“ Do not in all cases take an enemy's Pawn which stands before your King,—it may serve sometimes as a protection to him; and bear in mind that towards the termination of a game, especially when the superior Pieces have been taken off the field, the King should be made to compensate for his previous inactivity, by being busily engaged. The fate of the game is then dependent for the most part on the skill displayed in the management of the King. ”

“ VI. The inability of the Knight to move either on diagonals, verticals, or horizontals, and the limitation of its move to two squares distance. VII. The inability of the Pawn to move either on obliques or horizontals, and the limitation of its first move to two squares and of its subsequent moves to one square. VIII. The limitation of the King’s move to one square.
These limitations and impediments to the movements of the Chess-pieces, are equivalent in Chess-play to obstacles interposed by Nature to the march of troops over the surface of the earth. ”

“ He cannot say, "Sorry!" as he takes your knight; he does not call it hard luck when your king is surrounded by vultures eager for his death; and though it would be kindly in him to attribute to the bad light the fact that you never noticed his castle leaning against your queen, yet it would be quite against the etiquette of the game.
Indeed, it is impossible to win gracefully at chess. No man yet has said "Mate!" ”

“ If a player touch one of his opponents Pieces or Pawns, he must take it if it can be taken legally; but if he cannot take it legally, he must move his King. If a player touch more than one of his opponent's Pieces or Pawns, he must take any one of them which his opponent may select; or if none of them can be taken legally, he must move his King. The touching of a force implies an intention to move or take it, according as it is the player's own or his opponents ”

“ The conclusions arrived at by the most able and trustworthy authorities however, are, that chess originated in India, was utterly unknown to the Greeks and Romans, and was first introduced into Europe from Persia shortly after the sixth century of our era. In its earliest Asiatic form styled the Chaturanga, It was adapted for four persons, having four small armies of eight each. King, three pieces answering to our Rook, Bishop, and Knight, Elephant (Chariot or Ship,) and Horse, with four Pawns. The players decided what piece to move by the throw of an oblong die. ”

“ The White King occupies Ksq., the White Pawn K2, and the Black King Ksq., as indicated on diagram xviii.
The student will note that both Kings occupy their original positions at the beginning of the game. White has the advantage, having a Pawn, but his success depends upon his ability to queen it. This illustration is interesting, as it takes White twelve moves in order to win, when he plays first; while if Black has the first move, White gives stalemate in the fifteenth move and the game is a draw. ”

“ The Persians claim that Chess was invented in their country, pointing out the retention of some of their names and expressions in the English game, such as “Check,” from the Persian Sciack or King, and “Mat,” signifying “dead,” hence “Checkmate,” or “The King is dead.” These words may well have their derivation from the Persian or Arabic, but they are not universally employed, although Chess is of ancient origin and has been played for centuries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. ”

“ The Queen, both in Chess and Cards, has a European if not an entirely French origin. She takes the place of the Eastern Vizir, or General; and it may be particularly remarked that in the game of Chess she is more of an Amazon or Joan of Arc than the consort of a reigning monarch. ”

“ Admittedly the given body of Chess-pieces has the right to move, but it is of the utmost importance to note that this privilege of moving extends only to a single piece and from this privilege of moving the pinned piece is debarred by a specific and fundamental law of the game, which declares that:
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“A piece shall not by removing itself uncover the kindred King to the attack of a hostile piece.” ”

“ In the Card Kingdom the Queen is a much more lifelike and womanly person, as in it she aids and abets her sovereign lord and master, and is generally meekly subordinate to him.
While drawing attention to the resemblances between the games of Chess and of Cards, we must not forget to notice a slight but perhaps important fact; and that is that all the ancient packs had checkered backs, as if the little army were loath to leave the old battle-field, but transferred it to their backs, and exposed that to the gaze of the opponent instead of standing in battle-array upon it. ”

“ In nearly all end-games with pieces the King’s manœuvres used in pawn endings are of no avail, as far as opposition is concerned, as the advantage of opposition means that the opponent is forced to move his King, and as long as there are pieces on the board, such “forced move” positions are infrequent. ”

“ We will now turn our attention to positions in which the pawns opposed on each wing are of equal number and no passed pawn can be forced through. Everything depends on the relative position of the Kings. The deciding factor in valuing the King’s position is whether pawn moves are possible, or whether they are already entirely or nearly exhausted, so that only manœuvres by the King are possible. ”

“ In Castling, the King must be moved first, or before the Rook is quitted. If the Rook be quitted before the King is touched, the opposing player may demand that the move of the Rook shall stand without the Castling being completed. ”

“ In olden times as supposed, Alexander the Great, perhaps from acquaintance with India and its Kings, and their powerful Porus, 326 B.C., may have known chess and possibly Aristotle, sometime his tutor, who some say, invented chess, also played it. The most ancient names are the renowned Prince Yudhistheira, eldest son of King Pandu of the Sanskrit chess period, the yet earlier Prince Nala of the translated poems, and further back we have the Brahmin Radha Kants account from the old Hindu law book, that the wife of Ravan, King of Lanka, Ceylon, invented chess in the second age of the world. ”

“ In this ending the Black King must not only be driven to the edge of the board, but he must also be forced into a corner, and, before a mate can be given, the White King must be brought to the sixth rank and, at the same time, in one of the last two files ”

“ Example 4.—We now come to Queen and King against King. As the Queen combines the power of the Rook and the Bishop, it is the easiest mate of all and should always be accomplished in under ten moves. Take the following position:
A good way to begin is to make the first move with the Queen, trying to limit the Black King's mobility as much as possible. ”

“ On the other hand, Chess is distinctly a mimic battleground, with armies of warriors drawn in serried ranks, defying each other to mortal combat, whether there are only two armies, as in the modern games, or four, as on some of the Asiatic boards. ”

“ NOTE. Khusra Naushirawan, King of Persia, who reigned 528 to 576 (Anna Comnena, Lambe) or 531 to 579 (Forbes and biographers) seems to be the first Royal patron of chess and if we consider the accounts of Alexander the Great, and his contemporary Indian Kings insufficiently vouched Shahnama, (Asiatic Society's M.S.) , ranks as our earliest reigning great patron, (Justinian perhaps coming next) . Al Walid, conqueror of Spain, 705 to 715 A.D. is the first mentioned among Arabian rulers before the famous Harun Ar Rashid. ”