The Pawn
The pawn is the simplest of pieces, and the most complex of pieces.
It is at times a soldier, at times a princess. It is an attacker
and a defender. When one first learns the game of chess, the pawn
tends to get in the way of the more powerful pieces, and the beginner tries
to get rid of the pawns as quickly as possible. But, then one comes
to realize the power contained in this little guy. You start with
eight pawns. These pawns can act as a wall to shield you from attack.
Or, they can serve as your army, to scout out the enemy terrain and launch
an attack. Pawns have a special power as well. When they get
to the end of the battlefield, they can become any piece they want.
After you've learned the basic ideas of the game, you come to realize that
pawns are perhaps the most powerful piece. These little guys with
their simplistic forward movements, form the backbone of your position
and define your war strategy. You come to guard the pawns with your
life, in the hopes that some day these pawns may grow up to be queens.
As you improve still more, you will come to appreciate the difficulties
in raising these pawns with such royal ambitions for them. You will
teach them to be soldiers who will die for the glory of the kingdom.
As you improve still more, you will be willing to sacrifice these soldiers
to gain ground on the battlefield, but you will also appreciate their hidden
potential to become leaders themselves. When you've worked hard,
studied long, fought battles for years and years, and at last you feel
you have mastered the war strategies of chess, you will come to realize,
that perhaps you are only a pawn yourself....