The Story of Chess - Hardcover

Cardo, Horacio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789202506 ISBN 13: 9780789202505

Publisher: Abbeville Kids, 1998

Synopsis

After a steady stream of inventors, artists, and storytellers tried and failed, a man appeared with a box and a gameboard. So begins the story.
The man explains how each piece moves, and why. For example, the king is all-powerful, so he can move in any direction. But because a ruler must be cautious, he can move only one square per turn. he animosity of the kings is so great that they can never occupy adjacent squares, and their importance is such that if a side loses its king, it has lost the war. Each piece is given similar treatment, as are such moves as check, checkmate, castling, and en passant. The highly individualistic illustrations help demonstrate the mechanics of the game explained in the text, and a more conventional board-and -piece icon on each page show that more literal interpretation of the move. Through an illustrated story of the creation of chess, this book provides narratives and visual devices for learning the game and remembering the moves.
The Story of Chess will excite and teach children new to the game and will emphasize each piece's importance for those already familiar with the rules.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 3-6-An imagined retelling of the origins of chess. The narrator traces the game to, "a great island that has since disappeared." (In truth, its roots lie arguably in either India or China and it developed through Europe until it came to be the game we know today.) The story is about the leaders of two warring nations who, after suffering great losses battling one another, wish to leave a tribute so that such devastation would not be repeated. A man named Sissa devises a game that he presents to the kings as the commissioned memorial. Each two-page spread introduces a player and offers reasoning for the moves it is allowed. "These counselors and messengers [the Bishops]...begin the game at the side of their kings and queens in order to whisper advice in their ears. They will move in the direction of their voices. In other words, diagonally." Special moves such as "castling" are also addressed within the framework of the story. The book can serve as a starting place for beginners, but they will need to look elsewhere for more detailed instruction on strategy and defense. Dark, foreboding, and stylized illustrations show the animated versions of the pieces, daggers drawn or advancing on their opponents. They're depicted as grim, fierce characters of battle and evoke images of Lewis Carroll's royal court from Alice in Wonderland. Centuries of play have proven chess' enduring nature. This book will certainly spark interest in it in the next generation.
Christy Norris Blanchette, Valley Cottage Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Abbeville Kids
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0789202506
• ISBN 13: 9780789202505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 45