Chess Strategy | Page 7

mate. (Compare page 63.)
If a player resigns his game before he is actually mated, he
acknowledges that in the end mate is unavoidable, and the game is

counted as a loss to him.
A game is null and void if it is shown that a mistake was made in
setting the board or men. The same applies when in the course of the
game the position and number of pieces have been altered in a manner
not in accordance with the proper course of play, and the latter cannot
be re-constructed from the point where the error was made.
If a player having the move touches one of his pieces he is under
compulsion to move it; if he touches a hostile piece he must capture it,
provided that the piece can be properly moved or captured in either
case. This rule is of no effect if the piece so touched cannot be moved
or captured, as the case may be. So long as the hand has not left the
piece to be moved, the latter can be placed on any accessible square. If
a player touches a piece with the sole object of adjusting its position, he
must apprise his opponent of his intention by saying "J'adoube"
beforehand. It is best to move the King first when castling. If the Rook
is moved first, and unless the King is played almost simultaneously, a
doubt might arise whether castling or a Rook's move only was
intended.
If a player has castled illegally, Rook and King must be moved back,
and the King must make another move, if there is a legal one. If not,
any other move can be played. A player who makes an illegal move
with a piece must retract that move, and make another one if possible
with the same piece. If the mistake is only noticed later on, the game
should be restarted from the position in which the error occurred.
II. NOTATION
A special notation has been adopted to make the study of games and
positions possible, and it is necessary for students of the game to
become thoroughly conversant with it. The original and earliest
notation is still in use in English, French, and Spanish speaking
countries. It is derived from the original position in the game, in that
the squares take the names of the pieces which occupy them. Thus the
corner squares are called R 1 (Rook's square or Rook's first), and to
distinguish them from one another QR1 or KR 1 (Queen's or King's

Rook's square). The squares immediately in front are called QR2 or
KR2. A distinction is made between White and Black, and White's R 1
is Black's R 8, Black's R 2 is White's R 7, White's K B 3 is Black's KB6,
and so on. K stands for King; Q for Queen; B for Bishop; Kt for Knight;
R for Rook; and P for Pawn. In describing a capture, only the capturing
and the captured pieces are mentioned, and not the squares.
When confusion is possible, it is customary to add whether King's side
or Queen's side pieces are concerned, e.g. KRx Q Kt. In this notation it
is necessary to bear in mind which Kt is the Q Kt, which R is the KR.
This becomes increasingly difficult as the game goes on and pieces
change their places. Many sets of chessmen have one Rook and one
Knight stamped with a special sign, to show they are King's side pieces.
This is not necessary in the case of Bishops: a white KBis always on
white squares, a white QBon black squares.
A more modern notation is the algebraic notation, which has been
adopted in most countries. It has the advantage of being unmistakably
clear, and also more concise. Here the perpendicular lines of squares
(called files) are named with the letters a-h, from left to right, always
from the point of view of White, and the horizontal lines of squares
(called ranks) with numbers 1-8 as before, only with the distinction that
the rank on which the White pieces stand is always called the first; thus
the square we named White's QB2 or Black's QB7 is now called c2 in
both cases. Black's QB2 (White's QB7) is always c7. In capturing, the
square on which the capture takes place and not the piece captured is
noted, for the sake of uniformity. In the case of pawn moves, the
squares only are noted.
O--O stands for castles on the King's side; O--O--O stands for castles
on the Queen's side; : or x stands for captures; + for check.
In the following opening moves, both notations are used for the
purpose of comparison:
1. P-Q 4