The essence of chess on a 5×5 board, in five minutes.
All six chess pieces packed onto a 5×5 board. Capture the enemy king to win. A pawn reaching the far rank promotes to a queen. No castling or other complications — learn how the pieces move and you can play.
Chess descends from chaturanga in 6th-century India. In Persia it became shatranj, and "shāh māt" — the king is helpless — gave English checkmate. This 5×5 version was devised in 1969 and has since been solved by computer.
Put a knight in the centre. On a cramped board the knight’s crooked leap is close to unstoppable. Hold the middle with pawns and jump a knight into their half. Bringing the queen out early gets it trapped here.
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