𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!

Sixty-four squares, alternating black and white in an eight-by-eight square. That is just the start. It's the landscape, the battlefield for two opposing factions, who generally keep to the rules as they fight against each other, pitting their plans and strategies against each other.

The aim of the game is to kill the other King, and to do that, there is just one rule, one instruction, that both will fight to maintain.

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!

While the King can move in any direction, he cannot move very far, so he is reliant on his army for protection, and he knows that they know that there is only one reason for their existence and only one rule that matters to them.

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!

The King has eight pawns, they are the cannon fodder. They are useful to exchange for a more powerful piece should they reach the other side, but that seldom happens. Sometimes they can take out more powerful pieces, but often that is the last thing they do on the black and white battlefield.

The Queen is the power behind the throne and the most powerful part of the King's army. She replicates the King's moves, but can move as far as she wants, so opposition pieces on the other side of the board are not safe from her unless they are protected by another.

𝓣𝓗𝓔 𝓠𝓤𝓔𝓔𝓝 𝓘𝓢 𝓟𝓞𝓦𝓔𝓡!!

The King has six other members of his army, two Castles (or Rooks), two Knights, and two Bishops. The Queen has the combined power of a Castle and a Bishop in one, and that makes her all-powerful on the battlefield, but there is only one of her and four of them, so it is advisable that the Queen is protected. If she is lost, then the King is in danger, and the rule that must be followed is:

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!

The Knights, like God, move in mysterious ways and can become an unexpected threat or a secret weapon. If all the attention is paid to the Queen, Castles and Bishops, a Knight may steal surreptitiously in to attack and kill the King.

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!

The King needs to be aware of all possible outcomes, from whatever moves he and his Queen direct their force to make. One uninformed move can spell disaster, so their minds need to be in peak condition, aware of all possibilities. The opposing King and Queen must do the same.

Every piece can be sacrificed if the result is the other King being captured and executed. Even the Queen can be allowed to fall as long as the RULE is followed.

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!

From the commencement of the battle, usually the first to fall are the cannon fodder that are the pawns, but these are the initial protecting wall, and when they are depleted or gone, then the Castles, Knights and Bishops have to become the front line, and that means that they too will be open to attack and may fall as they fight for their King and Queen.

As the parts of the army fall, the black and white battlefield seems to get bigger, giving more options for the enemy to threaten the King. Defence becomes more difficult, although the onslaught becomes more tempting, but options must always be considered.

The King must be the only ruler left on the battlefield, standing tall while the other King lies defeated in the blood and mud. He wants his Queen to be with him, but has no qualms sacrificing her to ensure his survival.

Every member of the force, including the Queen, knows the unwritten rule that must be followed even if it means sacrificing themselves:

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓑𝓮 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓮!!