Do you know your fianchetto from your fingerfehler? If so, you might be a chess player! Even non-players are familiar with chess terms that have infiltrated regular language (Checkmate, anyone?). Other more obscure terms are used only by aficianados. For example, a "bad bishop" is a bishop that cannot move because its path is blocked by pawns. A “dark bishop,” on the other hand, is a bishop that moves on the dark squares. A dark bishop can be a good or a bad bishop, depending on the pawn situation. A "fianchetto" is a maneuver which involves moving a knight pawn (the pawn directly in front of the knight) forward one or two spaces, then sending your freshly fianchettoed bishop out into the fray on its diagonal course. And finally, a "fingerfehler" is a German word for “finger mistake,” occuring when you accidentally touch the wrong piece or move it to the wrong spot. If a "fingerfehler" befalls you, you may say, 'J’adoube", French for "I adjust", acknowledging that you wish to adjust a piece on the board, not move it. Today, should you prefer to celebrate chess cinematically, some favourites are:
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Magnus
Brooklyn Castle
Queen of Katwe
Bobby Fischer Against the World
The Luzhin Defense
Pawn Sacrifice
The Queen's Gambit
♟️ ♟️ ♟️ 🎬 🍿

A tartan with a built in chessboard! The "game of kings" has been popular since its inception sometime in the 7th century and its earliest forms was known in India as chaturaṅga (translating in Sanskrit to the four divisions of the military]– infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry) and represented by pieces which would later evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. The rook takes its name from ancient Persian rokh/rukh and has also been called the tower, marquess, rector, and comes. Embedded in this tartan is the 8x8 chessboard and the perpendicular routes that the rook travels. The most common of the three special chess rules is called castling—a move that is normally used to improve the king's safety. Castling is the only move that allows two pieces, the king and a rook to move at the same time and exchange places. The shape of the rook as a castle or tower appears for the first time in the 16th century as a tower on the back of an elephant. In time, the elephant disappeared leaving only the tower which came to be almost universally represented as a crenellated turret although the famous medieval Lewis stone chess pieces have the rooks represented as stern warders, or wild-eyed Berserker warriors! 🏰 ♟️ 👑 🐴 🐘

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Gamer tartan alert! With AI driven platforms, graphics that are nearly indistiguishable from the real thing, open-world design, incredible gameplay mechanics, and immersive experiences, gaming has come a long way since the table-tennis game of "Pong" appeared in 1972. This 2016 tartan was created to honour the fourth anniversary of the founding of Clan Sverker, a gaming community that has long interwoven Celtic and Scandinavian history into its organisation. Clan Sverker is a World of Warcraft gaming guild focused on teamwork and camaraderie. They welcome players of all experience levels who are interested in participating in both casual and more challenging in-game activities. The name and logo of Clan Sverker are inspired by Scandinavian and Viking history. "Sverker" references a Swedish royal dynasty, specifically King Sverker I, who ruled in the 12th century. This evokes a sense of warrior culture, leadership, and strength, aligning with the clan's focus on teamwork and collaboration. The logo typically features Nordic or Viking imagery, such as shields, axes, or runes, reflecting their connection to Scandinavian heritage and warrior traditions. 💙 🤍 💛 🐻‍❄️ ⚔️ 🎮 ⚡ ⚡ ⚡

Gamer alert! October 18th, 1958 marks the debut of what is considered by many to be the first video game, "Tennis for Two" a simulated a game of tennis, using a Donner Model 30 analog computer and an oscilloscope for a display! Designed by American physicist William Higinbotham for display at the Brookhaven National Laboratory's annual public exhibition, this game was resurrected in 1972 by Atari as "Pong." Vintage gaming continued through Space Invaders, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Doom, Dragon's Lair, to an explosion of games in the 90's and 00's with the console wars, the Xbox arriving with the launch of the first of the intensely popular Halo series. This Xbox tartan was designed for the 20th anniversary of the launch of the original Xbox in Scotland and the UK in 2001. A limited amount of tartan covered Xbox controllers were made for lucky fans in the signature green and black! 💚 🎮 💚