.4*6 CHESS. 
IK The bifliop gives check at the black king's third 
fquare. B. The king takes the bifliop.—4.5th. IK. The 
king’s pawn makes a queen, and wins the game. 
It is a fait, equally curious and remarkable, that this 
game has been in vogue amongft the crowned heads and 
nobility of almolt all the kingdoms of the earth. It is re¬ 
corded in the Modern Univerfal Hiftory, vol. ii. that A 1 
Amin, khalif of Bagdad, and his freedman Kuthar, 
were playing at chefs, without the lead apprehenfion of 
impending danger, when A 1 Mamun's forces puttied the 
liege of Bagdad with fo much vigour, that the City was 
upon the point of being carried by ftorm. On this oc- 
cafion he cried out, when he was warned of his danger, 
“Let me alone! for I fee check-mate againft Kuthar.” 
It is farther recounted of him, that he commanded the 
different provinces of the empire, to fend to his court 
all fuch perfons as were moft expert at chefs, to whom 
be allowed penfions, and patted the moft confiderable 
part of his time among them. This was about the year 808. 
Ben-Ziad, khalif of Mecca, was very fond of chefs. 
“ Is it not extraordinary,” faid he to the favourite he 
was playing with, “that fixteen pieces, placed on fo 
finall a plane as this chefs-board, fhould give me more 
trouble to manage, than fo many millions of men, that 
cover the immenfe furface of my empire ?” 
In the chronicle of the Moorifh kings of Granada, we 
find it related, that in 1396, Mehmed Baiba feized upon 
the crown in prejudice of his elder brother, and patted 
his life in one continued round of difafters. His wars 
with Caftile were invariably unfuccefsful; and his death 
was occafioned by a poifoned veft. Finding his cafe def- 
perate, he difpatched an officer to the fort of Solobrena, 
to put his brother Juzaf to death, left that prince’s adhe¬ 
rents fhould form any obftacle to his foil’s fucceflion. 
The alcayde found the prince playing at chefs with an 
1alfaque or prieft. Juzaf begged hard for two hour’s re- 
fpite, which was denied him, At laft, with great reluc¬ 
tance, the officer permitted him to finifli his game 5 but, 
before it was concluded, a mefienger arrived with the news 
of the death of Mehmed, and the unanimous election of 
Juzaf to the crown. 
When Charles XII. of Sweden, was at Bender, Vol¬ 
taire fays, “forhis only amufement, he played fometimes 
at chefs. If little things paint men, I may be allowed to 
mention, that he always made the king march at that 
game; he made ufe of it more than any of the other 
pieces, and by that means he loft every game. And 
again, when he w'as befieged by the Turks, in thehoufe 
in which he had fhut himfelf up, near Bender, after he 
had well barricadoed his houfe, he fat down coolly to 
play at chefs with his favourite Grothufen, as if every 
thing had been in profound lecurity.” 
Mr. Coxe fays, “ chefs is fo common in Ruflia, that 
during our continuance at Mofcow, I fcarcely entered 
into any company where parties were not engaged in that 
diverfion; and I very frequently obferved in my paffage 
through the ftreets, the tradefmen and common people 
playing it before the doors of their (hops orhoufes. The 
Ruffians are efteemed great proficients in chefs; with 
them the queen has, in addition to the other moves, 
that of the knight, which,-according to Philidor, fpoils 
the game ; but which certainly renders it more compli¬ 
cated and difficult, and of courfe more interefting. The 
Ruffians have alfo another method of playing the game of 
chefs, namely, with four perfons at the fame time, two 
againft two; and for this purpofe, the board is larger 
than ufual, contains more men, and is provided with a 
greater number of fquares. I was informed that this 
method was more difficult, but far more agreeable than 
the common game.” 
In a battle between the French and Englifh, in the 
year 1117, an Englifh knight feizing the bridle of the 
French king, and crying to his comrades, the king is 
taken ; the prince ftruck him to the ground with his 
fword, faying, Ne fats tupas qu'uux echecs on ne prendpas 
z 
le roi ? —“Doft thou not know that at chefs the kings are 
never taken?” The meaning of which is this : At the 
game of chefs, when the king is reduced to that pafs 
that there is no way for him to elcape, the game ends, 
becaufe the royal piece is not to be expofed even to an 
imaginary affront. 
John Frederick, Ele&orof Saxony, having been taken 
prifoner by Charles V. was condemned to death: the 
decree was intimated to him while at chefs withErneftof 
Brunfwick, his fellow-prifoner. After a fhortpaufe, and 
making fome reflexions on the irregularity of the empe¬ 
ror’s proceedings, he turned to his antagonift, whom he 
challenged to finilh the game. He played with his ufual 
ingenuity and attention, and, having beat Erneft, expreff- 
ed all the fatisfaflion that is commonly felt on gaming 
fuch viftories. He was not, however, put to death, but 
fet at iiberty after five years confinement. 
King Charles I. was at chefs, when news was brought 
of the final intention of the Scots to fell him to the Eng¬ 
lifh ; but fo little was he difcompofed by this alarming 
intelligence, that he continued his game with the utmoft 
compofure, fo that no perfon could have known that the 
letter he had received had given him information of any 
thing remarkable. 
King John was playing at chefs, when the deputies 
from Rouen came to acquaint him that their city W'as 
befieged by Philip Auguftus, but he would not hear 
them until he had finifhed his game. 
Carte, the hiftorian, mentions a chefs-match in the 
year 1087, between our Henry I. before he was king, and 
Louis le Gros, fon to Philip king of France. Louis 
having loft feveral games, and much money, was fo irri¬ 
tated, that he threw the cheflmen at Henry’s head; in 
return for which, Henry ftruck the French prince with 
the board, laid him bleeding on the floor, and would 
have killed him, had it not been for timely interpofition. 
Daines Barrington is however unwilling to allow, either 
to England or France, fo early an acquaintance with 
chefs, as this relation afligns: he rather fuppofes the 
game to have been drafts. 
The late Dr. Franklin has made fome veiy ingenious 
and applicable comparifons between the game of chefs 
and the common affairs of human life. He fays that life 
is a kind of chefs, in which we have often points to gain, 
and competitors or adverfaries to contend with, and in 
which there is a vaft variety of good and ill events, that 
are, in fome degree, the eftefts of prudence or the want 
of it. By playing at chefs, then, we may learn, ift. Fore¬ 
fight , which looks a little into futurity, and confiders the 
confequences that may attend an ablion : for it is conti¬ 
nually occurring to the player, “ If I move this piece, 
what will be the advantage of my new fituation ? What 
ufe can my adverfary make of it to annoy me ? What 
other moves can I make to fupport it, and to defend my- 
felf from his attacks.” 2d. CircumfpeBion, which furveys 
the whole chefs board, or fcene of aftion, the relations 
of the feveral pieces, and fituations, the dangers they 
are refpeftively expofed to, the feveral poffibilities of 
their aiding each other, the probabilities that the ad¬ 
verfary may take tiffs or that move, and attack this 
or the other piece, and what different means can be 
uled to avoid his ftroke, to turn its confequences 
againft him. 3d. Caution, not to make our moves too 
haftily. This habit is beft acquired by obferving 
ftribtly the law's of the game, fuch as, “If you touch 
a piece, you muft move it lomewhere; if you fet [it 
down, you muft let it ftandand it is therefore beft 
that thefe rules fhould be obferved, as the game thereby 
becomes more the image of human life, anci particularly 
of war 5 in which, if you have incautioufly put your- 
felf into a bad and dangerous pofition, you cannot ob¬ 
tain your enemy’s leave to withdraw your troops, and 
place them more fecui’ely, but you muft abide all the con¬ 
fequences of your rafhnefs. And laftly, we learn by 
chefs the habit of not being difcouraged by prefent bad 
appearances 
