: Re: Describing a chess game in a novel I have a scene in a upcoming novel where two people play a game of chess, and I realized how difficult it was to describe it. The problem is due to the

@Sue2132873

Vote Up Vote Down

If your reader plays chess, you have no need to describe every piece. They will assume, unless otherwise stated, that most of the pieces are still in their original position.

Using the names of particular gambits and positions might be distracting. Remember, it is a game between two players and at certain levels, playing the player is important too.

The pawn exchange in the centre of the board opened him up to an
attack, his black knight sacrificed for position. Might have been a
blunder, his opponent seemed more confident. He saw a possible check
and decided to take it - moving his rook into position at KB8 - he
liked the old notation. Protected obliquely by his bishop, might just
pull a win out of this situation and flip it. Unless there was
something he didn’t see. Reluctantly, he removed his fingers from the
rook, committing to the move. Why was he smiling?

(0)

Login to post a comment!