The present world war has given great impetus to the game of
Chess. In the prison camps, in the field hospitals, in the
training camps and even in the trenches Chess has become a
favorite occupation in hours of leisure, not only because it
offers a most fascinating pastime, but mainly because it serves
beyond any doubt to develop what is now the most interesting
study for every soldier--the grasp of the principles underlying
military strategy and the ability to conceive and to carry out
military operations on a large scale.

Frederick the Great, Napoleon and Moltke, the great scientists of
war, had a decided liking for the game of Chess and owed to it
many an inspiration which helped them in laying out their
military plans. Indeed, no other game exists which offers such
complete analogies to war.

Two armies oppose each other on the Chess board, composed of
different units which may well be compared with infantry, cavalry
and artillery.

The success of the operations on the board, which represents the
battlefield, does not depend upon any element of chance, but
solely upon the ingenuity and the skill of the players who are
the commanders-in-chief of the forces.

Although a Chess game differs from a battle in that the material
strength of the opponents is equal, the order of events is the
same in Chess as in war. The troops are first mobilized and made