INDOOR AMUSEMENTS. 



The chess-men being placed, the parties begin 

 the engagement by moving alternately ; each 

 aiming to gain a numerical superiority by captur- 

 ing his opponent's men, as well as such advan- 

 tages of position as may conduce to victory. 



The rows of squares running straight up and 

 down the board are called files, those running 

 from side to side are called lines, and those 

 running obliquely across are termed diagonals. 



BLACK. 



1. King's Pawn two. 



2. King's Bishop to Q Bp's 



4th. 



3. King's Knight to K Bp's 



3d. 



WHITE. 

 Fig. 2. 



The accompanying diagram will shew at once 

 to the learner how each square is named ; and by 

 its aid he will speedily be enabled either to play 

 over printed games, or to record his own. The 

 playing over the following short game will serve 

 him as a little initiatory practice : 



WHITE. 



1. King's Pawn two. 



2. King's Bishop to Queen's 



Bishop's 4th. 



3. Queen to King's Rook's sth. 



4. Queen takes King's Bish- 



op's Pawn, giving Black 

 checkmate. 



The foregoing brief mode of. giving a checkmate is 

 called the Scholars mate, and is often practised 

 upon young and unwary players. Any contrac- 

 tions used, such as ' K ' for king, ' B ' for bishop, 

 &c. will readily be understood by the use of the 

 diagrams. 



On the Best Mode of Playing each Piece, and the General 

 Conduct of the Game. 



i. On the King. It is generally disastrous to 

 have to move the king about the board early in 

 the game. As a general rule, castle in good time : 

 this secures the king's position, and brings the 

 rooks into play. Castling with the king's rook 

 is usually much safer than with the queen's rook ; 

 for in the latter case the king is too far from the 

 corner, which is at the same time very much 

 exposed. Next to the king's rook's or knight's 

 square, the king's bishop's 2d is the best place for 

 the king in the early part of the game. Beware 

 carefully of leaving your king to be checked by 

 a knight or other piece which will at the same 

 time attack another of your men. Avoid giving 

 useless checks, such as your opponent may easily 

 or advantageously cover ; but a check which will 



compel your adversary to move his king early in 

 the game is very advantageous, as it deprives him 

 of the power of castling. After castling, it is 

 usually dangerous to move up the pawns which 

 cover the king, except to play the king's rook's 

 pawn, which not only serves to prevent certain 

 attacks from the hostile pieces, but also provides 

 a most valuable outlet for the king in case of 

 danger. When a knight checks your king, play 

 him, if possible, on to the same diagonal with the 

 knight, with one vacant square between them, 

 because so placed the knight cannot check him 

 again in less than three moves. When the board 

 is clear of the more powerful pieces, the king 

 becomes a very strong and attacking agent in the 

 warfare ; and when each player has only a few 

 pawns, with or without a minor piece, he who 

 makes the best use of his king will commonly win 

 the game. 



2. On the Queen. As the queen is by far the 

 most powerful and valuable of all the pieces, great 

 care should be taken in playing her. It is seldom 

 good play to move her far from home in the early 

 part of the game, as she becomes in such case a 

 target for the hostile pieces. Great caution should 

 be used, too, in placing her on the same file, or on 

 the same diagonal, with the king, lest some rook 

 or bishop be able to ' pin ' her. The queen should 

 not be used to attack or to defend any piece or 

 pawn when the same object can be effected with a 

 subordinate officer. Towards the end of a game, 

 it is frequently good play to give up the queen for 

 the adverse two rooks ; but this exchange is dis- 

 advantageous if made before your game is well 

 developed. In the course of a game, the following 

 are usually found advantageous squares for the 

 queen to occupy : The Q 3d, Q Kt 3d, K R 5th, 

 and K Kt 3d which situations the student will 

 do well to find and notice by means of our last 

 diagram. 



3. On the Rook. Endeavour to bring your 

 rooks into early co-operation, as their power by 

 mutual support is greatly augmented. Nothing is 

 more common than to see players leave their 

 queen's knight and rook useless at home until the 

 game is decided against them. Avoid this error ; 

 and after castling with the K rook, take an early 

 opportunity to play the queen's rook to the king's 

 or queen's square. If any file on the board 

 happen to be quite open, it is an excellent thing 

 to seize the command of it with a rook ; and when 

 the board is somewhat thinned, the being able 

 to play a rook to your 7th line will often prove 

 an advantage sufficient to decide the game. If, 

 therefore, you have lodged a rook in your adver- 

 sary's 2d line, and he should offer one of his rooks 

 in exchange, you will do much better probably to 

 support the offensive castle with his brother than 

 to make the offered change. Seek to double your 

 own rooks, and to prevent your opponent's doing 

 the same. In exchanging, a rook and two pawns 

 will mostly be found a fair compensation for the 

 loss of two minor pieces. The queens and rooks 

 are termed major or superior pieces ; the bishops 

 and knights, minor or inferior pieces. 



4. On the Bishop. Early in the game, the 

 king's bishop is slightly more valuable than the 

 queen's, as he attacks the adverse K B pawn, 

 which is the usual focus for battery. The K 3d, 

 K B 4th, Q 3d, and Q B 4th, are respectively 

 excellent posts for the two bishops to occupy. 



675 



