A DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT CHESS
Make
your move.
A small board. An extraordinary amount of possibility. Take a closer look at the game that never gets old.
TEN CHAPTERS. NO RUSH.01 / A WORLD WITHIN REACH
Sixty-four
beginnings.
Eight by eight. Light and dark. A perfectly small space for a very big idea: every decision changes what comes next.
02 / START SMALL
Little moves.
Long stories.
One square forward. Sometimes two, on the first move. The pawn is a lesson in patience: reach the other side, and become something more.
Advance one square, or two on the first move if both are clear. Capture diagonally. Reach the last rank to promote.
03 / THINK AROUND THE CORNER
A beautiful
exception.
Two in one direction. One to the side. The knight jumps over the obvious, finding a route no other piece can take.
Two squares along a file or rank, then one across. A knight may leap over every piece in its way.
04 / FIND YOUR LINE
See the
whole diagonal.
The bishop keeps its colour and follows its line. Give it a little room, and suddenly the other side of the board feels very close.
Travel as far as the diagonal stays clear. A light-square bishop never visits a dark square.
05 / KEEP IT SIMPLE
Straightforward.
Never ordinary.
Files and ranks. Clear lines. The rook reminds you that a simple idea, in the right position, can change everything.
Move along any clear rank or file. Connected rooks are especially good at working together.
06 / POSSIBILITIES MULTIPLY
Room
to roam.
Straight lines and diagonals, all in one piece. The queen can do a great deal. The art is knowing what is worth doing.
Combine a rook’s straight lines with a bishop’s diagonals. Even the queen cannot jump a piece.
07 / WHAT REALLY MATTERS
Protect
the possibility.
The king moves one square. The whole game moves around it. When no legal answer to check remains, the story has reached checkmate.
Step to an adjacent square, only if it is safe. A king can never move into check.
08 / WIJK AAN ZEE · 20 JANUARY 1999
Put it all
together.
Two grandmasters. One extraordinary afternoon. Watch Kasparov and Topalov turn everything you have just explored into a game that still invites a closer look.
09 / THE IMMORTAL · ROUND 04
An immortal
game.
The complete game, at your own pace.
The Pirc Defence. Space, development, and the first questions.