'
Besides their conventional value, the pieces had a money value, which
was essential to be known by all who desired to win. The rook and
knight were estimated at about sixpence each; the queen, threepence;
the pawns, three-halfpence; and the 'side-pawns,' three farthings. The
value of bishops varied, while the king was beyond all price. The
regulations respecting odds were also well defined, in degrees from a
single pawn up to a knight and rook; but any one claiming the latter
odds was held not 'to count as a chess-player.' And it was not unusual
for works on chess to contain puzzling problems, representations of
drawn games, and well-combined positions. Some authors describe five
different kinds of chess: one had 10 x 10, or 100 squares; another was
oblong, 16 x 4, which employed dice as well as the usual pieces;
another board was circular, with a central spot for the king, where he
could intrench himself in safety; another represented the zodiac, with
spaces for each planet, according to the number of houses or mansions
assigned by astrologers. The ingenuity did not end here: chess was
made to illustrate dreams, and to embellish many amusing games and
recreations. Odes and poems were written upon it, and the poets at
times exhibited their skill in a play upon words--for instance:
'When my beloved learnt the chess-play of cruelty,
In the very beginning of the game her sweet cheek
(rukh) took my heart captive.
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