CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. FIVES RACKETS-TENNIS. metropolis; the affair being got up by the then noto-in some parts of the country, but keenly played in rious Lord Barrymore and other noblemen who led the others. sporting circles of the time.' It is played by means of a distended oxbladder, tightly covered with dressed leather, and betwixt two parties of players, equidistant from each sewed up in a strong and secure way, so as to retain other; on one side and the other there is a fixed point its full elasticity. This ball is thrown aloft in the air or line called, as in the preceding case, the hail or hailing spot. The object, then, of each party is, by vigorous kicks, to propel the ball to the hailing-place behind their adversaries, on the attainment of which object the game is won. shinty, and exercises fully both the strength and speed of the players. It is amazing how dexterous even very young boys become by continual practice at foot-ball; This game is less hazardous than and skill in the application of a slight degree of force avails much more at this sport than greater strength unskilfully directed. The young men of the Scottish Border yet practise this game annually in various places; and few sights can be more exhilarating than to behold a strong body of them so employed, when the fleet foot of the shepherd vies for conquest with the vigour of the ploughman, and health and enjoyment beam unequivocally from every countenance. The sport of striking a soft ball covered with leather Rackets is the same game as fives; but instead of Tennis is a game similar with ball; it is played with a racket; but instead of striking the ball against a wall, it is struck over a central net, on each side of which the players stand. The game, which was once fashionable, we believe, is now scarcely ever practised. TRAP-BALL. This game, which is traceable as far back as the commencement of the fourteenth century, is played chiefly by boys. A wooden object called a trap,' resembling a shoe in shape, with a spring slip or tongue fastened in it by a joint, is laid on the ground. The ball is laid on one end of the spring; the other end is struck with a bat, and the ball rising is to be smartly struck. It is usual,' says Strutt, in the present game of trap-ball, when properly played, to place two boundaries at a given distance from the trap, between which it is necessary for the ball to pass when it is struck by the batsman; for if it falls withoutside of either, he gives up his bat, and is out; he is also out if he strikes the ball into the air and it is caught by one of his adversaries before it grounds; and again, if the ball, when returned by the opposing party, touches the trap, or rests within one bat's length of it; on the contrary, if none of these things happen, every stroke tells for one towards the striker's game.' In some country parts of England trap-ball is still a favourite sport. FOOT-BALL. QUOITS. riodical assemblages for athletic exercises. The piece Contests in throwing or pitching heavy pieces of metal of metal thrown was called the discus, from its round were practised by the ancient Greeks at their great peform. The main object in these contests was the cultivation of strength of arm, and victory was gained more from the ability of throwing heavy weights to a distance than from skill in attaining a particular mark. Greeks, and then by the Romans, the game of quoits, or coits, appears to have been derived. The quoit is a cirFrom these ancient practices, first pursued by the cular plate of iron perforated in the middle, or, more properly, a flattish iron ring, concave on one side, and undermost in throwing; and a notch being in the edge for the finger to press upon in delivering the throw. convex on the other, the concave or hollow side being Quoits are of different sizes, to suit the different tastes and powers of players. To play at this game,' says Strutt, an iron pin called a "hob" is driven into the ground within a few inches of the top: and at the distance of eighteen, twenty, or more yards (for the distance is optional), a second pin of iron is also made fast persons, as four, six, eight, or more, at pleasure—who, divided into two in a similar manner; two or more equal parties, are to contend for the victory-stand at one of the iron marks, and throw an equal number an upward and forward pitch with of quoits at the other [the quoit a steady aim at the pin, near which being delivered from the hand by it should sink with its sharp edge in the turf]; the nearest of them to the hob are reckoned towards the game. But the determination is discriminately made: for instance, if a quoit belonging to A lies nearest to the hob, and a quoit belonging to B the second, A can claim but one towards the game, though all his other quoits lie nearer to the mark than all the other quoits of B; because one quoit of B being the second nearest to the hob, cuts out, as it is called, all behind it; if no such quoit had interfered, then A would have reckoned all his as one each. Having cast all their quoits, the candidates walk to the opposite end and determine the state of the play; then, taking their stand there, throw their quoits back again, and continue to do so alternately as long as the game remains undecided.' The dress in quoiting should be loose and easy, with no restraint from braces. In some of the rural districts of England horseshoes used to be employed as quoits; and in some parts of Scotland the quoits consist of round flat stones, Foot-ball is an old English sport, now little known games with which are called the 'penny-stanes.' 656 IN-DOOR AMUSEMENTS. CHESS. Ir has been justly observed, that among all the in-door amusements invented by man for the employment of the idle or the relief of the studious, chess stands preeminent. It is the most refined and ingenious of all games, and possesses a charm which has rendered it a favourite of the greatest characters, whether kings, warriors, or philosophers. As an amusement, it possesses an advantage as great as it is singular; being highly interesting in itself, and played with leisure, it requires no inducement of gain, and in consequence is rarely played for money. The glory of conquest is allowed to form a sufficient attraction. Chess is of unknown origin and antiquity. Some writers have ascribed its invention to the Greeks, some to the Hindoos, others to the Chinese, and a fourth class to the Persians. There can be little doubt that it originated in the East, and at a very remote period of history; and it is certain that it has been known in Hindoostan and adjacent regions for at least two thousand years. From the Persians it was introduced by the Arabs or Moors into Spain; thence it found its way to France; and was made known in England during the reign of William the Conqueror, since which period it has been constantly played. The name of the game, and also the names of the pieces with which it is played, have undergone many mutations in travelling from country to country; nevertheless, in the present terms which we employ, the semblance of the original Eastern appellations may be seen. In Hindoostan, it possesses the Sanscrit name of Chaturanga, which imports the four members of an army-elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers; the game being a scene of mimic warfare, in which these elements respectively act a peculiar part. The Persians corrupted the Sanscrit word into chatrang, which the Arabians softened into shatranj; from that appellation it passed into scacchi, échecs, and finally chess. By the French it is called échecs, and a chessboard they term échiquier. According to the modern European arrangement, the idea of elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers has been abandoned, and there have been substituted a king, queen, bishops, knights, castles or rooks, and pawns, forming six distinct classes of pieces. The term bishop is only English, being a substitution for elephant. The knights represent the horse-soldiers. The term rook is from the Eastern word rokh, a hero, and represents an armed chariot or fortification; the English give the piece the form of a castle. The pawns are the footsoldiers, the name being from peon, an attendant. The chess pieces made in India or China for sale to wealthy Europeans, are sometimes made of solid ivory, five or six inches high, and are exceedingly beautiful, no degree of labour being spared in the carving. The king and queen are seated on elephants, under a canopy; the bishops are camels, with archers as their riders; the knights are on horseback; the castles are elephants, with castles on their backs filled with warriors; and the pawns are soldiers, one a sergeant, another a drummer, another a fifer, and the rest are the ordinary fighting In England the pieces are usually made of bone or boxwood, with more or less taste, and from a low to a high price. The following is their common form : men. The game is played on a square board, divided into sixty-four squares, chequered black and white, as represented in the preceding figure. The numbers which are here shown on the squares do not exist on the chess board; we have only marked them thus in order to illustrate the subjoined explanations of the method of playing the game. In beginning to play the game, the first thing is to set the board. This is done by placing it before you, with a white square in the right-hand corner. As the players sit opposite each other at a table on which the board is placed, each has a white square on his right. Next place the men in their appointed places. Let us suppose it is the white set of men. On the white corner square marked 64 place a rook or castle, and on the black corner, 57, place the other rook; on the black square, 63, place a knight, and on the white square, 58, place the other knight; on the white square, 62, place a bishop, and on the black square, 59, place the other bishop; on the black square, 61, place the king, and on the white square, 60, place the queen. This completes the first row, in which the king and queen stand supported on each side by their officers. The second row, marked 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, is filled entirely with the eight pawns, which thus form a front guard to the pieces behind. The red or dark set of pieces are placed in precisely the same order-a castle on 1 and 8, a knight on 2 and 7, a bishop on 3 and 6, the queen on 4, and the king on 5. It is a rule of the game that the queen must be placed at first on a square of her own colour-the white queen on a white square, and the dark queen on a dark square. The pieces and pawns on the side and front of each king and queen take their names from them; as king's bishop, king's knight; queen's bishop, queen's knight; king's pawn, &c. When properly placed, four rows of squares are left unoccupied in the middle of the board, and this space forms the field or ground on which the early evolutions of the men take place. 657 The Moves. It is a leading peculiarity of chess that each class of pieces has its own peculiar value and style of moving; some can move one way and some another, a system very different from that of the ordinary movements on a draught board. of safety, the game is at an end. The adversary has the victory.* To the foregoing account of the moves and powers of the respective pieces, may be added the following explanation of terms: Castling. This, as above hinted at, is allowed once in the course of a game: it consists in moving the king A pawn moves only one square at a time, in a straight to the second square to the right or left of that where line forward, and takes the enemy diagonally. On he originally stood, and placing the castle or rook on being first moved, however, a pawn has the power of the square over which he leaped. Castling is a means advancing either one square or two, as the player adopted to secure the king from attack; but it is not thinks fit, unless the square over which he leaps is allowable-1. When the king or the rook with which commanded by a hostile pawn; so that if he were to you would castle has already been moved; 2. When rest on that square instead of leaping over it, he might the king is in check; 3. When the king would require be captured. In such a case the adverse pawn has the to pass over a square in which he would be checked; option of taking him, and placing himself on the square and 4. When the king has a piece between himself leaped over. A pawn cannot move backwards; but on and the rook. getting to the further side of the board, upon the first line of the enemy, which is styled going to queen, he may be changed for any one of the pieces lost in the course of the game, and the piece chosen must be placed on the square at which the pawn has arrived. If not exchanged, he remains idle. The power of taking diagonally, possessed by a pawn, differs from that of all other pieces, who take in the direction in which they move after every capture he continues to go forward as before. The king's bishop's pawn is reckoned the most valuable. A knight moves obliquely, either backward or forward, upon every third square, including the square on which he stood; from black to white, or white to black, over the heads of the men, which no other piece is permitted to do. For example, a knight may leap from 36 to 19, 21, 26, 30, 42, 46, 51, or 53, passing over pieces in the intermediate squares. This property of leaping renders the knight particularly useful at the beginning of a game, as he can be brought into the enemy's ranks, and retire, notwithstanding any blockade; and should he check a king, without being himself liable to be taken, the king must remove, and cannot afterwards castle. The bishop moves only diagonally over any number of squares, as far as they are open, forward or backward, but always on the colour he is first placed on. He can take at any distance when the road is open. For example, the bishop may move from 29 to 2, 8, 56, or 57. The king's bishop is usually considered the better one, as he can check the king on his original square, which the queen's bishop cannot. The rook moves backward, forward, or sidewise, and as far as the squares are open. He is viewed as not very useful at the beginning of a game, but is particularly so towards the conclusion, by possessing the power of giving checkmate with the king alone, which neither the bishop nor knight can do. The queen is the best piece on the board. She unites the powers of the bishop and rook, and her moves are therefore unlimited, provided the squares are open in her line of motion. As an example, she may be moved from 37 to 1, 5, 16, 23, 40, 58, 61, 64, or any other number in the direction of these, so that the squares are not blocked up. The preservation of the queen is always a matter of great importance in the game. Check. When the king is in a situation that, were he an inferior piece, he would be taken, notice is given by the adversary, by saying the word 'check,' and the player must adopt some means of removing him from this position. Double check is when the king is in check by two pieces at once. He may emancipate himself from single or double check-1. By capturing the piece which is attacking him, either by himself or one of his party-and this is only available in double check, if one of the pieces does not guard the other; 2. By interposing a piece between him and the attacking piece; and 3. By removing to another square, of which no hostile piece has the command. Checkmate is when no means of escape or conquest is available; the king is then said to be checkmated, and the game terminates. One king cannot give check to another, as it would place him in a similar situation. The term checkmate is said to be a corruption of the Eastern words chah-mat (the king is dead). Stale-mate (from stall, a place of fixture) is applied to the condition of the king when he is compelled to remain in his place, by being surrounded in such a manner by his own or his adversary's pieces, that he could not move without going into check, and has at the same time no means of moving other pieces. The game is then considered drawn-that is, not won by either party. Laws of Chess. The game commences by the two parties determining by lot, or concession, which shall have the first move. After this the moves are taken alternately, one piece at a time. The principle of advance is to push forward the men gradually against those of the enemy, each party calculating beforehand what will be the effect of any particular move. The following are old-established laws in reference to playing: 1. If you touch your man you must play it, except it would expose your king to check, in which case you can only move the king, if it be practicable. 2. As long as you retain a hold of your man, you are at liberty to place him where you think proper, though you may have him set down on a square. 3. If you have removed your hand from a man, he must remain where he is. 4. If you touch one of your adversary's men, he may insist on your taking it if you can; and when you cannot, then you must move your king, provided the move do not put him in check. 5. If you make a false move, by accident or otherwise, your adversary can oblige you to move the king; but if he plays without having noticed the false move, it cannot be recalled. the king is not in check, and you move your king or any other 6. If your adversary challenge you with a check, while in reality The king moves only one square at a time, but in any direction, either forward or backward, sideways or diagonally. But once in a game, he can move two squares to the right or left, which is termed castling. He can take any of the enemy's men in any square adjoining to him, provided he does not place himself in check. This check is a peculiarity in his condition. He has the privilege of never being taken; but this can scarcely be considered a benefit, since it only means that he must not move into or continue in a situation of danger. To be in such a situation, and liable to be captured if he were an ordinary piece, is called being in check. On the avoidance of this perilous situation the whole game depends; for the instant the king is checkmated, without the means of moving into a place | Philidor on Chess. In a battle between the French and English, in the year 1117, an English knight seizing the bridle of Louis le Gros, and crying to his comrades, The king is taken!' the prince struck him to the ground with his sword, saying, 'Ne sçais tu pas qu' at chess the king is never taken?") The meaning of which is, aux échecs on ne prend pas le roi?'-(Dost thou not know that that at the game of chess, when the king is reduced to that pass that there is no way for him to escape, the game ends; because the royal piece is not to be exposed to an imaginary affront.→ man in consequence, you may retract it if you discover the error before he has made his next move. 7. You are not to give check to your adversary's king, when, by doing so, you would expose your own king to check. 8. If your adversary give check, but without giving the usual warning of check,' you are not obliged to notice it till he docs; but if he discover that he should have done so on his next move, and then warn you, each must retract his move, and the king be removed out of check or protected. 9. After your king or rook has moved, you cannot castle. 10. In each fresh game the players have the first move alternately; but if a player give the advantage of a piece-that is, agrees to start with one piece less than his antagonist-he who gives the advantage has the first move. Hoyle's Rules for Chess.* 1. Move your pawns before your pieces, and afterwards bring out the pieces to support them; therefore the king's, queen's, and bishop's pawns should be the first played, in order to open the game well. 2. Do not therefore play out any of your pieces early in the game, because you thereby lose moves, in case your adversary can, by playing a pawn, make them retire, and he also opens his game at the same time; especially avoid playing your queen out, till your game is tolerably well opened. 3. Avoid giving useless checks, and never give any unless to gain some advantage, because you may lose the move if the adversary can either take or drive your piece away. 4. Never crowd your game by having too many pieces together, so as to prevent your men advancing or retreating, as occasion may require. 5. If your game should be crowded, endeavour to free it by exchanges of pieces or pawns, and castle your king as soon as convenient; afterwards bring out your pieces, and attack the adversary where weakest. 6. When the adversary plays out his pieces before his pawns, attack them as soon as you can with your pawns, by which you may crowd his game, and make him lose moves. 7. Never attack the adversary's king without a sufficient force; and if he attack yours, and you cannot retaliate, offer exchanges; and should he retire when you present a piece to exchange, he may lose a move. It may also be sometimes expedient to act in this manner, in case of other attacks. 8. Play your men in guard of one another, so that if any be taken, the enemy may also be captured by that which guarded yours, and endeavour to have as many guards to your piece as your adversary advances others upon; and, if possible, let them be of less value than those he assails with. When you cannot well support your piece, see if, by attacking one of his that is better, or as good, you may not thereby save yours. 9. Never attack but when well prepared, for thereby you open your adversary's game, and prepare him to pour in a strong attack upon you, as soon as your weaker one is over. 10. Never play till you have examined whether you are free from danger by your adversary's last move; nor offer to attack till you have considered what harm he would be able to do you by his next moves, in consequence of yours. 11. When your attack is in a prosperous way, never be diverted from it by taking any piece, or other seeming advantage your adversary may purposely throw in your way, with the intent that, by your taking the bait, he might gain a move which would make your design miscarry. 12. When, in pursuing a well-laid attack, you find it necessary to force your adversary's defence with the loss of some pieces, if, upon counting as many moves forward as you can, you find a prospect of success, sacrifice a piece or two to gain your end: these bold attempts make the finest games. 13. Never let your queen stand so before the king as that your adversary, by bringing forward a rook or a bishop, might check your king if she were not there; for you could hardly save her, or perhaps at best must sacrifice her for an inferior piece; as, for example, place the white king on 61, the queen on 53; the black king on 4, and the rook on 16; which last, if moved to 13, must be taken by the white queen, who, in return, would be taken by the black king, because the white queen could not otherwise be moved without putting the king on check to the black rook. 14. Let not your adversary's knight fork your king and queen, or king and rook, or queen and rook, or your two rooks, at the same time; for in the two first cases, the king being forced to go out of check, the queen or the rook must be lost; and in the two last, a rook must be lost, at best, for a worse piece. Place the white queen on 5, the rook on 7, and a black knight on 37. The latter piece, if moved to 22, will fork both the queen and rook, and consequently one of them must be lost for the knight. 15. Take care that no guarded pawn of your adversary's fork two of your pieces; knights and rooks are particularly liable to this mode of attack; also guard against either a check by discoyery or a stale-mate. 16. When the kings have castled on different sides of the board, attack with the pawn you have on that side where the adversary has castled, advancing the pieces, especially the queen and rooks, to support them; and if the adversary's king have three pawns on a line in front, he should not stir them till forced to it. * Hoyle is a very old author, and his works on chess and other games are well known; they are now found in all forms, abridged or altered to suit modern players. 17. Endeavour to have a move in ambuscade; that is, place the queen, bishop, or rook behind a pawn or a piece in such a manner as that, upon playing that pawn or piece, you discover a check upon your adversary's king, and consequently may often get a piece or some other advantage by it. Suppose the black king on 6, a white bishop on 41, and a pawn on 34, by moving the pawn to 26, a check by the white bishop is discovered upon the black king. 18. Never guard an inferior piece or pawn with a better if you can do it with a pawn, because that better piece may in such a case be, as it were, out of play. 19. A pawn pushed on and well supported often costs the adversary a piece; but one separated from the others is seldom of any value. And whenever you have gained a pawn or other advantage, and are not in danger of losing the move thereby, make as frequent exchanges as you can. 20. If each player have three pawns upon the board, and no piece, and you have a pawn on one side of the board, and the other two on the other side, and your adversary's three are opposite to your two, march with your king to take his pawns; and if he move to support them, go on to queen with your single pawn; and if he attempt to hinder it, take his pawns, and push yours to queen; that is, to move a pawn into the adversary's back row, in order to make a queen. 21. At the latter end of the game, each party having only three or four pawns on different sides of the board, the kings are to endeavour to gain the move, in order to win the game; for example, the white king placed on 54, and the black king on 37, white would gain the move by playing to 53, or black to 38, and in both cases the adverse king would be prevented from advancing. 22. When the adversary has no more than his king and one pawn on the board, and you a king only, you can never lose that game if you bring and keep your king opposite to your adversary's, when he is immediately either before or on one side of his pawn, and only one square between the kings. This must, then, be a stale-mate or drawn game. 23. Never cover a check with a piece that a pawn pushed upon it may take, for fear of only getting that pawn for it; put a black rook on 7, and a pawn on 40; the white king on 63, and a knight on 61: the white king being on a check to the rook, if the check be covered by moving the white knight to 56, the black pawn could then be moved to 48, and take the knight. 24. Do not crowd your adversary's king with your pieces, lest you inadvertently give a stale-mate, which is a drawn game. 25. Do not be too much afraid of losing a rook for an inferior piece; though a rook is better than any other except the queen, yet it seldom comes into play so as to operate until the end of the game; and it is generally better to have a worse piece in play than a superior out. 26. When you have moved a piece which your adversary drives away with a pawn, that is a bad move, your enemy gaining a double advantage. At this nice game no move can be indifferent. Though the first move may not be much between equally good players, yet the loss of one or two more, after the first, makes the game almost irretrievable; but if you can recover the move or the attack (for they both go together), you are in a fair way of winning. 27. If ever your game be such that you have scarce anything to play, you have either brought out your piece wrong, or, what is worse, not at all; for if you have brought them out right, you must have variety enough. 28. Do not be much afraid of doubling a pawn; two in a direct line are not disadvantageous when surrounded by three or four others; three together are strong (as three white pawns on 28, 35, and 37); but four (as 44 in addition) that make a square with the help of other pieces, well managed, form an invincible strength, and probably may produce you a queen; on the contrary, two pawns, with an interval between (as on 35 and 37), are no better than one; and if you should have three over each other in a line (as 26, 34, and 42), your game cannot be in a worse situation. 29. When a piece is so attacked that it is difficult to save it, give it up, and endeavour to annoy your enemy in another place; for it often happens, that whilst your adversary is pursuing a piece, you either get a pawn or two, or such a situation as ends in his destruction. 30. Supposing your queen and another piece are attacked at the same time, and by removing your queen you must lose the piece, if you can get two pieces in exchange for her, rather do that than retire, for the difference is more than the worth of a queen; besides, you preserve your situation, which is often better than a piece; when the attack and defence are thoroughly formed, if he who plays first be obliged to retire by the person who defends, that generally ends in the loss of the game on the side of him who attacks. 31. Do not aim at exchanges without reason; a good player will take advantage of it to spoil your situation and mend his own; but when you are strongest, especially by a piece, and have not an immediate check-mate in view, then every time you exchange your advantage increases. Again, when you have played a piece, and your adversary opposes one to you, exchange directly, for he wants to remove you: prevent him, and do not lose the move. 32. Every now and then examine your game, and then take your measures accordingly. 33. At the latter end of the game, especially when both queens are off the board, the kings are capital pieces; do not let your king be idle; it is by his means generally you must get the movo | ened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occaand the victory. 34. As the queen, rooks, and bishops operate at a distance, it is not always necessary in your attack to have them near your adversary's king; they do better at a distance, as they cannot be driven away. 35. When there is a piece you can take, and that cannot escape, do not hurry; see where you can make a good move elsewhere, and take the piece at leisure. 36. It is not always right to take your adversary's pawn with your king, for very often it happens to be a safeguard and protection to him. Place a black rook on 5, with a pawn on 45, and the white king on 53, and he will be sheltered by the black pawn from the attack of the rook. Recommendations as to some of the Foregoing Rules. 1. Whether you play the open or close game, bring out all your pieces into play before you begin the attack; for if you do not, and your adversary should, you will always attack or be attacked at a great disadvantage; this is so essential, that you had better forego an advantage than deviate from it; and no person can ever play well who does not strictly practise this. In order to bring out your pieces properly, push on your pawns first, and support them with your pieces, by which your game will not be crowded, and all your pieces will be at liberty to play and assist each other, and so co-operate towards attaining your end; and either in your attack or defence, bring them out so as not to be driven back again. 2. When you have brought out all your pieces, which you will have done well if you have your choice on which side to castle, then consider thoroughly your own and adversary's game, and not only resolve where to castle, but likewise to attack where you appear strongest and your enemy weakest. By this it is possible you will be able to break through your adversary's game, in which some pieces must be exchanged. Now pause again, and survey both games attentively, and do not let your impetuosity hurry you on too far; at this critical juncture (especially if you still find your adversary very strong) rally your men, and put them in good order for a second or third attack, still keeping them close and connected, so as to be of use to each other. For want of this method, and a little coolness, an almost sure victory is often snatched out of a player's hands, and a total overthrow ensues. 3. At the last period of the game, observe where your pawns are strongest, best connected, and nearest to queen; likewise mind how your adversary's pawns are disposed, and compare these things together; and if you can get to queen before him, proceed without hesitation; if not, hurry on with your king to prevent him. I speak now as supposing all the higher pieces are gone; if not, they are to attend your pawns, and likewise to prevent your adversary from going to queen.-See Hoyle, Jones, &c. To these rules and recommendations we add the following advice:--Conduct your game with coolness, take time to consider the chances for and against in moving, and do not give up the contest till all hope is gone of a retrieval. An anecdote has been told of two gentlemen playing at chess, one of whom found his game so hopeless that he declared himself beat; when an onlooker of more skill said he would undertake to win the game for him by three moves, without the possibility of being counteracted. The offer was accepted, and the game at once retrieved and won. As this is a particularly instructive incident, we shall state the positions of the pieces on the board in reference to the numbers of the squares on the diagram: The black rook was at 9, the black knight at 18, the black bishop at 20, the black king at 22, the black rook at 40, black pawns at 25, 26, 30, 35, and 36, and the black queen at 42. The white king was at 7, the white rooks at 61 and 63; the white knight at 47, and a white pawn at 38. The white has the move. The white knight at 47 gives check at 32; the black rook at 40 takes it. The white rook at 63 gives check at 23; the black king takes it. The white rook at 61 gives checkmate at 21. Thus the white, by a few dexterous moves, completely paralyses the adversary, and wins the game. By writing an account of moves, it is possible for adversaries to carry on games at chess though at a great distance from each other. Thus chess clubs in London are known to carry on matches with clubs in Edinburgh or Paris, or even with a club in India. Games of this kind sometimes last for years. The Morals of Chess, by Dr Franklin. The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strength sions; for life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events that are in some degree the effects of prudence or the want of it. By playing at chess, then, we may learn1. Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action; for it is continually occurring to the player, If I move this piece, what will be the advantage or disadvantage of my new situation? What use can my adversary make of it to annoy me? What other moves can I make to support it, and to defend myself from his attacks?' 2. Circumspection, which surveys the whole chessboard, or scene of action; the relation of the several pieces, and their situations; the dangers they are respectively and repeatedly exposed to; the several possibilities of their aiding each other; the probabilities that the adversary may make this or that move, and attack this or the other piece; and what different means can be used to avoid his stroke, or turn its consequences against him. 3. Caution, not to make our moves too hastily. This habit is best acquired by observing strictly the laws of the game, such as, 'If you touch a piece, you must move it somewhere;' if you set it down, you must let it stand.' And it is therefore best that these rules should be observed, as the game thereby becomes more the image of human life, and particularly of war; in which, if you have incautiously put yourself into a bad and dangerous position, you cannot obtain your enemy's leave to withdraw your troops, and place them more securely, but you must abide all the consequences of your rashness. And lastly, we learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favourable change, and that of persevering in the search of resources. The game is so full of events, there is such a variety of turns in it, the fortune of it is so liable to sudden vicissitudes, and one so frequently, after long contemplation, discovers the means of extricating one's self from a supposed insurmountable difficulty, that we are encouraged to continue the contest to the last, in hopes of victory from our own skill, or at least of giving a stalemate, by the negligence of our adversary; and whoever considers-what in chess he often sees instances of that success is apt to produce presumption and its consequent inattention, by which more is afterwards lost than was gained by the preceding advantage, while misfortunes produce more care and attention, by which the loss may be recovered, will learn not to be too much discouraged by any present success of his adversary, nor to despair of final good fortune upon every little check he receives in the pursuit of it. That we may, therefore, be induced more frequently to choose this beneficial amusement in preference to others which are not attended with the same advantages, every circumstance which may increase the pleasure of it should be regarded; and every action or word that is unfair, disrespectful, or that in any way may give uneasiness, should be avoided, as contrary to the immediate intention of all parties, which is to pass the time agreeably. Therefore, 1. If it is agreed to play according to the strict rules, then those rules are to be exactly observed by both parties, and should not be insisted on for one side while deviated from by the other; for this is not equitable. 2. If it is agreed not to observe the rules exactly, but one party demands indulgences, he should then be as willing to allow them to the other. 3. No false move should ever be made to extricate yourself out of a difficulty or to gain an advantage; for there can be no pleasure in playing with a person once detected in such unfair practices. 4. If your adversary is long in playing, you ought |