The Arabs would have learned chess from the Persians and then introduced the game to the Europeans, with whom they were fighting, and whose lands they sometimes occupied. Being unfamiliar with Persian names and courtly customs, the Europeans renamed the pieces to reflect their own society.  So, with today’s game of chess, whether it is played on a traditional wooden chess board or using a 21st century electronic chess device, we are actually playing with European medieval history.

The pawns in chess are serfs. These serfs outnumbered the nobility and clergy in medieval Europe just as the pawns outnumber every other piece on the chess board, and they were considered the nobility’s property. While the nobles were actually supposed to protect the serfs, they often got caught up in their own petty wars and intrigues.  In fact, the serfs were often made to fight alongside the nobles–only to be sacrificed to the enemy in order to protect the regular army and nobles.  This scenario actually mimics the use of pawns in chess today—as they are mainly used as blockers and sacrifices to capture the more powerful pieces.

On each extreme side of the chess board when the game begins, a player has a rook or castle. These were the protective safe havens in medieval times. Set up next to the rooks, one on each side of the board as well, are the knights. The knights were the regular soldiers of the day and lived in castles, and of course they were mounted (typically) and thus with their horses they could make leaps or end-runs around others. Knights were often landed barons and the primary defenders of serfs and commoners. Chess strategies of advanced players put the knights into action very early, sometimes even opening the game with a knight’s move. As we move in closer to the royal court (the king and queen) we find it flanked by two bishops. The bishops have great power in chess and this and their positioning on the board symbolize the medieval Church’s great power, which often got caught up with that of the secular royal court. Chess players dispute whether the knights or the bishops are truly more powerful in the game. The diagonal-only movement of the bishops probably symbolizes the indirect political machinations of the Church.

Now we come to the court, where the greatest power and the most important piece are. The queen is without question the game’s most powerful piece, symbolizing the fact that queens in medieval Europe often pulled the strings behind the scenes, at once protecting, yet at the same time, manipulating the king and the court so as to keep their own power (and lives) intact.  And then we have the king–the game’s most important piece and the root of all of a player’s power, since if the king is check-mated the player loses–symbolically, the player’s kingdom has fallen, as his king has lost all of his power.

So whether you are playing with classic chess sets or a modern electronic chess game, be mindful of the history before you.

Check out a marble chess set or a wooden chess set!

Strategy is of paramount importance to playing chess. This is not a game that can be improvised (at least not in full), and if you want to win you cannot simply depend upon luck. Any improvisation in chess really should only come from responses to your opponent’s moves. You want to have a mapped-out strategy in place before the game even begins. If you are a chess beginner, you will in time develop your own style of play, but that doesn’t mean you ignore some of the most basic, elemental chess strategies that have been developed over hundreds of years and been proven to work for all players.

Let’s look at some of the most basic chess strategies which you can begin applying immediately.

• Make highly effective use of your pawns. Don’t just use them as sacrifices and don’t just try to get them out of the way. Keep your opponent’s power pieces threatened or “clogged up” with wise pawn use. At the same time, capture your opponent’s pawns ruthlessly–don’t tell yourself “oh, they’re just pawns”. Make it a point to wipe them out.

• Start using your knights very, very early in the game–you may even want to develop an opening where your very first move uses a knight instead of a pawn.

• Castle as early as possible in the game.

• Some chess masters say you should never deliberately sacrifice a bishop to capture a knight. Others say that a bishop should capture a knight whenever possible even if that means the bishop will be captured by the opponent’s next move. Be mindful of both of these ideas and see which one works better for you as you develop your own style.

• Always attempt to set things up so that your opponent will pay a price for capturing one of your pieces. The cost to him should be heavy. I.E. if your opponent takes your rook, make it so that you will immediately capture one of his power pieces such as his bishop, knight, or rook (or queen if possible, of course). Don’t let one of your power pieces get taken when all you’ll make your opponent pay with is a pawn.

• As an unwritten rule, the best piece to use to attempt to capture the opponent’s queen is a knight. Absolutely never sacrifice your own queen except where you will capture the opponent’s queen as a result. Never hesitate to sacrifice any of your pieces to capture the opponent’s queen–except for your own queen.