Centaur Chess

Posts Tagged ‘Pieces’

Chessworld.net presents: The Evolution of Chess Style #8 – Greco with the black pieces! Part 1 of 2

Chess is an abstract strategy board game played on a square board of eight rows (called ranks) and eight columns (called files). There are sixty four squares of two alternating colors, usually black and white. There are 32 pieces in all; sixteen of them are black, and sixteen are white. Each set of sixteen has six types of pieces: one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights and eight Pawns.

Chess pieces used for play are usually tall figurines. Pieces of the Staunton set are the standard design. The height of the king should be between 85 mm and 105 mm. The other pieces should be in proportion to the king. The size of the squares on the board is based on the King and should be approximately 1.25-1.3 times the diameter of the base of the King.

Each piece in a chess set represents a sector of medieval life. Pawns represent peasants. At that time the peasants were considered unimportant to people in power, and hence Pawns are the weakest pieces in the game of chess. They are used primarily as bait to set up an aggressive endgame. Rooks or Castles represent home and sanctuary. Knights represent soldiers who, at that time, were held in high esteem, but not as much as the church or the royal family. Bishops represent priests and are considered more valuable than Knights. The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board, and the King is the one that must be protected at all costs; otherwise the game is lost.

The quality of chess sets vary from cheap plastic ones to expensive, handmade works of art. While many players are content to play chess on a regular board with plastic pieces, others prefer unique chess sets. A variety of different materials are used such as glass, ivory, marble, wood, bone or a composite. Some chess sets are small in size or have magnetic pieces that are convenient for travel.

Natural white wooden pieces of a chess set are usually made of boxwood or sometimes maple. The black pieces in natural wooden sets are made of dark wood such as rosewood, ebony, red sandalwood or walnut.

On the computer, chess pieces are often 2-D symbols on a 2-D board. However, there are some programs with 3-D graphics engines that show the pieces more realistically.

Players who achieve the most impressive results know that chess pieces work in a specific relationship, they rely on each other for protection and only together they can bring victory. Chess pieces are like troops, they go where you command and the victory or the failure depends on your skills and ability to coordinate and build strategies. From the very simple paws to the harmless, yet most important king, all the chess pieces create a complex puzzle that you design. The very basic organization principle is a pyramidal one: the king is the center of the game and its weak spot too: get the king and the game is over!

The pawns make the first line of defense, they are the chess pieces primarily used in the opening of the game when the players are trying to create a defense as strong as possible for the king, an action which is basically known as castling. Pawns are essential during the first part of the game when the main defense or offense is settled; however, don’t rely exclusively on pawns for the protection of the king as they are chess pieces with limited functions on the board and they can be easily eliminated. Most books, Internet sites or chess manuals recommend that pawns in combination with rooks and bishops be used in the immediate vicinity of the king.

The queen is probably the most valuable of the active chess pieces, it is both powerful and easy to move on the board; hence, it is widely used for both offense and defense depending on the strategy you imagine. There are players who create treacherous situations using their queen in association with some other chess pieces so that the opponent be tempted to eliminate this top element, while exposing one of their own strategic pieces. Therefore, always check well before making any move against a queen, you’ve got to be sure that it is defenseless or that the sacrifice you make is worth it.

A very special position among the chess pieces is also occupied by rooks that play a distinguished role in the castling move together with the king. They are considered very influential pieces in the battle to checkmate, being just as useful for attack as they are for defense. The main goal one may achieve with the help of this piece is that of having control over a wide range of squares related perpendicularly or horizontally to the rook. Together with the knights and the bishops, the rooks remain top pieces in the chess challenge.

Chess pieces are not only the rank-and-file of a chess game, but they are also the heart and soul of the chess game experience. Chess pieces with matching or unique movement qualities completing their intended purpose make for a sharp strategic ballet with nearly limitless possibilities of progression.

Pierre Mac Orlan, famous 20th century French writer and poet, once said, “There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world”. In fact, there are approximately 1040 possible legal chess piece positions. Now consider an average chess piece position can possess as much as 218 movement possibilities. The resulting number of game play options rockets to a figure that only International Grandmasters like Garry Kasparov and super-computers such as Deep Blue are able to even begin to grasp.

Sounds daunting, but if the history and purpose of chess pieces are understood, this infinitely varied environment can be experienced and enjoyed to its fullest.

Modern regulation chess sets have a total of 32 chess pieces divided evenly between two players. Each player’s force of chess pieces consists of 2 – Rooks (Castles), 2 – Bishops, 2 – Knights, 1 – King, 1 – Queen and 8 – pawns. And their particular histories are as follows:

• King – The King has always been royalty among chess pieces and if popularly recognized lineage were to be believed, began as the Raja. Like most royalty, the ‘ King’ has always been primarily an object of protection rather than one of attack. Therefore, it has limited but dexterous movement capabilities.

• Queen – The Queen is a creature of great change in the world of chess pieces. What began as a Mantri, or counselor, was as incapable of long-reaching moves as the King, but equally dexterous. Now that modern chess has reduced the number of battling armies of chess pieces and players behind them, from four to two, that familiar 64 square board that Chaturanga was born on, opened up, allowing the General, as the Queen was also known, to assume an equally powerful offensive role in modern play.

• Bishop – The Bishop we know today started with a severely circumscribed movement capability, although it possess the modern Knight’s ability to leap to its destination. The Bishop, or Gaja as it was once known, has lost its vertical capability but its diagonal travel equals that of the modern Queen. This movement modification has made the Bishop a decisive tool of play from middle-game onwards.

• Knight – The Knight has remained the same in its shape and movement capabilities since it was first known as an Ashva, or Horse. The Ashva was intended to act as a mounted division. The Knight’s power lays in its flanking ability, so it shouldn’t typically lead the charge.

• Rook – Was initially known as the Chariot and played like a heavy infantry division. The Rook has powerful linear movement capabilities, but is susceptible to diagonal attack. Therefore the Ratha, as the Rook was formally known, was used primarily for defense and/or pinning down opponent’s chess pieces.

• Pawn – To the ill informed, the pawn, or foot infantry, was the most expendable of all chess pieces. As Paul Keres, Estonia’s chess grandmaster, once said, “The older I grow, the more I appreciate my Pawns”. Pawns, or Pedati as they were once known, form your line of approach, defining your offensive game play strategy and your defensive options. Pawns can also be instrumental in your endgame strategy, so avoid sacrificing your Pawn chess pieces when opening. Treat your Pawns with respect for as the Irish saying goes, “When the chess game is over, the pawn and the king go back to the same box”.

With this kind of history, it is easy to understand why the designs of chess pieces vary as they do. In conforming to each society’s idea of strategic conflict has created a world of design options for the avid chess player.

You can very easily find a plethora of chess piece designs over the Internet. There are large selections of chess pieces and styles to choose from.

• Staunton style pieces
• Free Gift Box
• Notice the intricate work done on pcs
• Lasts a lifetime
• retail for $139.00

Product Description
Stunning 12″ x 12″ marble chess set delicately hand carved pieces. King is 3″ tall and pawns are 1.5″. Squares are 1.25″ each. Please note marble is product of nature, every set is unique. A similar set will be shipped…. More >>

16″ x 16″ Green Onyx & White Marble Chess Set Staunton Style Pieces Christmas Gift FREE SHIPPING

• Makes Stunning Birthday Gift
• Comes in a Beautiful Velvet Gift Box
• Every set is unique
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• retail for $159.00

Product Description
Stunning 12″ x 12″ marble chess set delicately hand carved pieces. King is 3″ tall and pawns are 1.5″. Please note marble is product of nature, every set is unique. Thanks…. More >>

12″ x 12″ Green Onyx & White Onyx Chess Set Staunton Style Pieces Nice Anniversary Gift

Product Description
Why has one game, alone among the thousands of games invented and played throughout human history, not only survived but thrived within every culture it has touched? What is it about its thirty-two figurative pieces, moving about its sixty-four black and white squares according to very simple rules, that has captivated people for nearly 1,500 years? Why has it driven some of its greatest players into paranoia and madness, and yet is hailed as a remarkably powerful i… More >>

The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain