White and Black in Chess Games
The modern game of chess is a board game that is played between two players with a chess board. The chessboard is square-shaped and contains 64 squares arranged on an 8 by 8 grid. Each player during a chess match starts with sixteen different pieces. Each player has one king and queen, two rooks, knights, and bishops, and eight pawns. Every unique piece on a chess board has unique ways of traveling up and down the chessboard. Both player in a game of chess has the goal of using the pieces to checkmate the opponent’s king. This means that the king is under attack, and there is no possible move that will deem the king safe from the attack. If a king is in check, it means it is being attacked, but there is a move that will keep it safe, either by moving the king or another piece to block the attack.
The Black and White Pieces on Chess Boards:
The player with the white pieces is the player to move first on the chess board and this player is considered the “white” player. The second player, considered the “black” player moves on the chess board second. While both players are called the “white” and “black” players, the pieces are generally not always either white or black. The white pieces can be a light color and the black pieces may actually be a dark color, such as brown.
The Chess Board Itself:
Modern chess boards consist of 64 squares lined up in a 8 by 8 checkered pattern. Each light square is called a “white” square while each dark square is called a “black” square. Just like the pieces, each square on a chess board is not necessarily colored white and black, but rather they are light and dark contrasting colors. An example of this is that on most plastic chess boards, the squares are colored white and green, rather than traditional white and black. Also, on wooden chess boards, the squares are colored light brown and dark brown.
History of Light and Dark Colors in the Game of Chess:
History shows that chess boards in early games were divided into 64 squares, but the squares were all the same color. It was not until the thirteenth century that the Europeans brought the checked light and dark patterns to chess boards.
The tradition of always allowing white pieces to move first came much later than that. In 1749, chess books cited that black moves first. Also, in 1824, Johann Horny wrote a book in Germany that also stated that black is the first color to move on a chess board. In one of the most famous games played in chess history, called the “Immortal Game”, the black piece moved first.
Further into the 19th century, rule books stated that the player who moved first had a choice of color and subsequent games played after one another, the first moving players would alternate, with each player keeping his or her color. It was not until 1889 that Wilhelm Steinitz claimed that the player chosen to move first had the white pieces.