Chess (game)

Chess was a board game and "one of the four universal games" of Faerûn along with draughts, dice, and Talis.

Description
In Faerûn, chess was played on a checkered board with six types of pieces: pawns, rooks, knights-errant, priests, queens, and kings.

Sets
While the more common chess sets were made of carved and dyed wood, finer sets were often made of more exotic materials. These included ebony and ivory for the pieces and marble for the board.

Chess sets often used well-known figures, such as rulers or deities, for the king pieces. For example, in addition to traditional sets, a selection of specialty sets were available from Aurora's Emporium:
 * The "Avatar Set" : This hardwood set included figures from the Time of Troubles.
 * {| border="1" frame="hsides" rules="rows" cellpadding="5" width="300px"

! valign="bottom" bgcolor="Silver" align="center" width="34%" | ! valign="bottom" bgcolor="Silver" align="center" width="33%" | White ! valign="bottom" bgcolor="Silver" align="center" width="33%" | Black
 * align="right" | King
 * align="center" | Elminster
 * align="center" | Cyric
 * align="right" | Queen
 * align="center" | Mystra
 * align="center" | Razor's Edge
 * }
 * The "Horde Set" : This stone and iron set included figures from the war against the Tuigan.
 * {| border="1" frame="hsides" rules="rows" cellpadding="5" width="300px"
 * }
 * The "Horde Set" : This stone and iron set included figures from the war against the Tuigan.
 * {| border="1" frame="hsides" rules="rows" cellpadding="5" width="300px"

! valign="bottom" bgcolor="Silver" align="center" width="34%" | ! valign="bottom" bgcolor="Silver" align="center" width="33%" | White ! valign="bottom" bgcolor="Silver" align="center" width="33%" | Black
 * align="right" | King
 * align="center" | Horde leader
 * align="center" | Azoun IV
 * align="right" | Queen
 * align="center" | Horde leader
 * align="center" | Alusair
 * align="right" | Other Pieces
 * align="center" | horsemen
 * align="center" | Vangerdahast
 * }
 * align="center" | horsemen
 * align="center" | Vangerdahast
 * }
 * }

Chess Piece Gallery
The following are sample chess pieces from a variety of sets:

Regional Variations
In Calimshan, a piece must be moved once it has been touched, but that rule was not used in Cormyr. In Cormyr, a player needed to announce their move out loud.

Reputation
Chess was the most challenging of four "universal" games. Nobles often played chess as a diversion in the winter months when not at war.

The goddess Red Knight used a red knight-errant piece as her holy symbol.