A Royal Game

A Royal Game. . , More than a thousand years ago, a board game with a king and queen, warriors, chariots, elephants, and other pieces having different powers was carried from Persia to Europe by Arab traders along the legendary Silk Road caravan route., Our modern Chess game is thought to have evolved from a game first played 4600 years ago in India., Costumed actors with the local Chess Live! Group sometimes play the chess characters, moving around the board under directions from players in the Morro Bay Chess Club or recreating classic chess games. , The Giant Chessboard is 16' x 16' with 64 black and white squares, each 2' x 2'. The 32 chess pieces range in size from the 22" pawns to the 33" king, and weigh up to 30 pounds each. A player lifts more than a thousand pounds during a single game., (sidebar:), Chess is a two-player game, each person starting with sixteen pieces: one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Knights, two Bishops, and eight Pawns., Chess pieces move in different ways and are used to capture the opponent's pieces. The object of Chess is to trap the opponent's King by attacking directly ("check") as shown by the dotted line at left, until there is no way for the King to move and no other pieces that can defend him ("checkmate")., King- The goal of Chess is to trap your opponent's King. King can move in any direction, but only one space at a time. , Queen- The most powerful piece in modern Chess, the Queen can move any number of squares in any direction. Queen starts on her own color. , Bishop- Bishops move diagonally on one color only, backwards or forwards, any number of squares. , Knight- The only piece able to jump others, a Knight moves three squares in an L shape, either one and then two squares or two then one square, backwards or forwards. , Rook- Rooks move horizontally or vertically only, either forwards or backwards, any number of squares. , Pawn- Pawns can move one or two squares forward on the first move, then one square forward at a time. To capture an enemy piece, Pawns must move one square diagonally., Morro Bay High School music teacher Wachtang 'Botso' Korisheli and master craftsman Wayne Bickford of Morro Bay made these chess pieces with recycled redwood from two 50 year-old City water tanks. The 32 chess pieces were cut from two 6" x 12" timbers that were glued together, then shaped on a special lathe Wayne made from an old car part. Members of the Morro Bay Chess Club helped sand and stain the pieces., The Centennial Stairway above the Chessboard is also made from the old water tanks, and the Pelican sculpture at the top is Botso's work. The Centennial Stairway and Giant Chessboard were dedicated in 1976 in honor of America's 200th birthday. Botso and Wayne are legends in Morro Bay for their many creative works over the decades.