Chess made simple . . . and Pink!
This is how I explained the game of chess to a lady radio presenter (Charlie Crocker) who loves to laugh and loves the color pink even more. She kept telling her listeners that she had never been able to understand chess, so I thought I’d help her out.
———————–
Imagine that you are a Queen in medieval times. You live in a square continent that has only two countries. All the people in your country dress in one colour. I think that PINK would be ideal, don’t you?! All the people from the other nation dress in YELLOW because that is also such a jolly colour.
You are the PINK Queen.
Of course, you are married to a wonderful, PINK King who must be protected at all costs. Naturally, you are much more powerful than your dear King. You can move as many steps in any direction as you like. Your King can also move in any direction, but only one step at a time. Poor chap!
Your country has an army with only eight foot soldiers, all of them dressed in PINK. They are led by you and your King, and you are supported by two PINK Bishops, two PINK knights and two mobile, PINK castles (a bit like tanks in the modern army). They are all dressed in PINK including the horses that the knights ride around on.
The YELLOW nation are similarly configured.
All of the soldiers, bishops, knights and castles are constrained in the way that they move, but don’t bother about that. They know the rules, and YOU are the Queen.
Your army moves around the continent, trying to capture the YELLOW pieces of the foreign army, whilst avoiding capture themselves.
You win by cornering the King of the YELLOW nation so that, whichever way he moves next, remembering that he can only walk one step at a time, he would be captured by a member of your army on the next move.
But watch out! YOU will lose if the YELLOW army corners YOUR PINK King first!
Is that plain enough for you?
—————————
When Charlie read this out on her radio programme, she laughed so much that she could hardly speak. But she admitted that she finally had the understanding of the beautiful game that she had desired for so long
