“During the Renaissance, the game was again re-invented”

  The rumblings of dissent began in earnest when Chess players in the early 15th century got a pain up the crevice of their arse playing the then existing game-tree and some gollix had the effrontery to suggest that the Vizer (Adviser) be transformed into Queen.

  Instead of throwing out the whole cumbersome system these pioneers actually retained much of it. They kept the perfected square board and six Chess pieces (King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn). Some other modifications were also made i.e., (allowing the King to castle and permitting the Pawn to advance two cells on the initial move.

  These were the most important modifications in over a thousand years. The theory of Chess did not begin to face true critical scrutiny until about the 16th century when western intelligence began its slow emergence from the quagmire of ignorance in which it had been content to live with for 1000 years.

  Within our lifetimes it will be possible finally to be able to understand this vast universe and answer its many riddles in our journey of self-correcting discovery. On reaching western shores the names and design of the pieces were gradually altered to represent the political and religious mores of European feudalism.

  Traditional Chess from the Renaissance onwards was initially employed as an exaggerated rigorous and artificial construct of a strictly classical nature. Until the 15th century Chess remained a game of slow strategic maneuver with composed Chess problems being the order of the day (please see Shatranj for further details).

  It was during the Renaissance that the game was once again re-invented. In 1497, Lucena published a book about the game. In the closing decades of the 15th century some changes in the rules took place, Queen becoming the most powerful piece and the Bishop being allowed to traverse an entire diagonal - both Queen and Bishop (white & black) becoming long range fighting pieces.

  The Pawn (originally called a Baidaq) was allowed to advance two cells on the initial move and the King was allowed to castle (King or Queen flank) into a position of safety in either the left or right side pocket of the board. Around 1600 castling was established as a single maneuver, however, many regional variations were practiced around this time which was referred to as free castling.