I haven’t really used my digital art skills for a few years, and I almost forgot about it, but recently I began a project to create the most perfect looking chess set possible on the computer. Not only did I find the perfect look for a standard Chess set but I even managed to make a decent Shogi set as well. Here are the resulting pictures to look at and then below I will explain a little bit of the technical details.
Above is the chess set and below is the shogi set. I used a black and white checkered background because I like it but really, I can use any other colors I want upon request if anyone wants a customized image.
The way I made these worked because there were SVG files of the pieces for these sets included as part of liground Graphical User Interface for playing tons of Chess-like games.
There was a ton of math involved in getting things scaled to the right pixel dimensions. In both cases the images are 720×720 pixels. This is because this is the perfect size for a square image.
You see, the standard video resolution for YouTube and many other sites is 1280×720. This means that a 720 squared image is the biggest square you can fit in a video guaranteed to be visible on almost any device.
A chess board has 8×8 squares and since 720 is 8×90 pixels, each square of the chess board is 90×90 pixels.
And since Shogi is played on a 9×9 board, the size of each square must necessarily be 80×80.
I had to scale the images to be the exact right size to fit the squares when I opened them as layers in GIMP (it’s the free alternative to adobe photoshop). Amazingly I still remembered how to use it well enough to put these pictures together.
I am Chastity White Rose, and for a school assignment and fun, I am going to pitch an idea of a video game that should exist and, indeed, could exist if there was a small team to make it work.
The game proposal I have is currently titled “Chess: The Grand Master”. You would think a game by this title would already exist, but in fact, as of this writing, it does not. In fact, the inspiration for this comes from “Tetris: The Grand Master,” which is a Tetris game that was first published for arcade machines in 1998. In fact, the Tetris game was only released in Japan previously but was released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2022.
However, the term “Grand Master” is not related to Tetris; it is, in fact, a chess term. It is the highest title earned by people who play over the board Chess tournaments with very strict requirements. The fact that a Tetris game was associated with this title before an actual chess game seems like a crime against humanity.
So my pitch is going to be why we need a new chess game that is available for consoles. But this can’t just be like other random chess apps that you might find on the store of your console or mobile phone. No, it has to be “The Grand Master” of all other chess games that have been made.
I am going to perform a SWOT Analysis, which analyzes the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that would make this game idea either a complete success or a total failure. Some of this is based on my own experience as a chess player who has played Chess on almost every chess game available on Steam as well as on multiple websites.
Strengths
The first topic to cover is the strengths that this game will have if it is implemented properly.
Chess is the most popular board game in the world. It is a mental sport that is as popular as physical sports like football and baseball. More people know how to play Chess than any other board game in history. The audience of people who know how to play Chess is higher than that of people who have played Pokémon, Final Fantasy, or Super Mario Bros.
Chess is not just one game but is actually a family of board games. The most common form of Chess is Western or international Chess, but there are variants developed both in ancient and modern times. Besides the standard international Chess you probably know about, there exists Shogi (Japanese Chess), Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), Janggi (Korean Chess), and many other variants of Western Chess such as Crazyhouse, 3 Check, Bughouse, Atomic Chess, Duck chess, Chess960 (invented by the legendary Bobby Fischer), King of the Hill, Racing Kings, Antichess, and countless others. All of these games can be traced back to an Indian board game known as Chaturanga.
Weaknesses
Although Chess and its many forms are popular, there has been a decrease in the general intelligence of humanity and more competition from video games and movies, which younger generations are being exposed to more than ever before. For this reason, it will be a challenge to get younger gamers interested in Chess when there are so many things that can grab their attention. As such, this weakness must be addressed by making it interesting enough through creative presentation and the right graphics, music, and storytelling to make people not dismiss the idea of a board game remake.
Opportunities
There is room for a new console Chess game that includes all the major variants of Chess. The game could be free to play with optional DLC that includes the variants that the players are interested in while also offering a bundle that includes all variants.
There already exist Free and Open-Source engines capable of playing multiple Chess like games. For example: Fairy Stockfish is capable of playing every Chess variant I have mentioned previously and more. Using an engine like this for development saves development time and money that can be better spent on multiplayer features and marketing.
If the game is developed correctly, it will quickly become the top-performing Chess game for the consoles it is released on. If the success is good enough, it could eventually be made into a PC edition if the customer demand existed.
Threats
There is plenty of competition when it comes to creating a Chess game because thousands of free and paid programs are available that people already know. For this reason, the competitive threats should be narrowed down specifically to console platforms. There is no doubt that PC gamers already have the best options available through internet websites to play against any other human in the world or against the strongest chess engines that surpass human comprehension.
But the competition is lacking when it comes to Chess games available for video game consoles. Artificial intelligence is weak in many of the games, and many of them don’t have any sort of multiplayer feature at all.
In fact, to this date there is only ONE video game released that even comes close to the concept. It is simply titled “The Table Game”. It has Chess, Shogi, Go, and a few other games but that’s still only two Chess variants and no multiplayer feature.
It’s worth mentioning that besides the lack of competition, there are no licenses to be obtained because the Chess family of games is ancient and predates copyright or patent laws. Given these facts, the threats are actually non-existent.
Conclusion
I believe I can make the case that if “Chess: The Grand Master” was developed and marketed in the right way, it would make money and also coincide with the recent interest in Chess that has developed since the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” was released.
This concept and analysis don’t even scratch the surface of what could be achieved under the right company and team to create it.
One time, I walked into work at Walmart, and the greeter, Joseph, said how are you doing, Mr. Chastity. The funny thing is that he wasn’t actually aware that I am transgender, but I explained to him and told him that Mr. Chastity is actually a pretty cool title. After all, if a man wants to be celibate, then that is something he can do.
Chastity is considered a female name, which does make it perfect for me.
However, if someone identifies as male but still wants a name that represents celibacy in the same way, they are out of luck. There is no male equivalent for the name Chastity because, in most of society, being a man is about having sex. The more women you have had sex with, the more of a man you are. To be celibate is not to be a “real man”.
That’s where the sexist double standard comes in. Men are expected to be sexual all the time, so a lot of them pretend to be more sexual than they are, and of course, they pretend to be straight even if they are gay.
So the message given to me by society the entire time growing up and embedded in all the movies is that you become a man when you have sex, and the more sex, the more of a man you are.
But when the greeter at Walmart called me Mister Chastity, it made me realize that no one else would claim such a title. Men are proud of how much sex they have and the length of their penis, but no man in the world is proud of their commitment to celibacy.
Except for me, that is. Apparently, people are still telling me that I am a man, especially in my recent Instagram video, which got over 150 thousand views.
But then again, plenty of them are also telling me to kill myself as well, so I can’t take them too seriously.
But it led me to the idea that if I were a man, I would be THE MAN. The one and only man who actually vowed Chastity and named themself Chastity.
So, am I a man? It depends on who is asking and their definition of a man. Unfortunately for them, I have my definition.
No one is a real man unless he is strong enough to be a woman. No one is a real man as long as he is a slave to his sexual desires and the approval of society.
A real man is brave enough to speak the truth about his female soul and to be honest about being transgender, asexual, and gay.
So the real joke is that I’m a man, and the haters in my comments section are not! They are far too weak and far too dependent on whether women are willing to have sex with them.
So be a man, choose your adventure, and be who you want to be, and not what society tells you that you have to be because of what chromosomes or body parts you were born with.
Ironically, none of this changes the fact that I am transgender, and my heart tells me I am a woman. But what I can tell you is that if you play chess with me, I’ll show you a man!
Physically I may be a sissy of a human, but mentally, I am stronger than any man can hope to be. I haven’t had testosterone in my system for 3 and a half years, and I don’t have the muscle of a man, but I have everything I need to be the man AND woman I need to be for any occasion.
You know who else is the man? Taylor Swift! She even wrote a whole song about it!
The Man Song by Taylor Swift
I would be complex I would be cool They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to And that would be ok For me to do Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you
I’d be a fearless leader I’d be an alpha type When everyone believes ya What’s that like?
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker If I was a man And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man Then I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man
They’d say I hustled Put in the work They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve What I was wearing If I was rude Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves?
And they would toast to me, oh Let the players play I’d be just like Leo In Saint-Tropez
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker If I was a man And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man Then I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man
What’s it like to brag about Raking in dollars And getting bitches and models And it’s all good if you’re bad And it’s okay if you’re mad If I was out flashing my dollars I’d be a bitch, not a baller They paint me out to be bad So it’s okay that I’m mad
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man (you know that) And I’m so sick of them coming at me again (coming at me again) ‘Cause if I was a man (if I was a man) Then I’d be the man (then I’d be the man) I’m so sick of running as fast as I can (as fast as I can) Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man (hey) And I’m so sick of them coming at me again (coming at me again) ‘Cause if I was a man (if I was a man), then I’d be the man
I’d be the man I’d be the man (oh) I’d be the man (yeah) I’d be the man (I’d be the man)
If I was a man Then I’d be the man
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Joel Little. For non-commercial use only.
C:\ There is so much that I don’t understand, Honesty.
H: About what?
C: About who you are and about who I am.
H: Chastity, do you know what it means to remember the promise of the Rainbow?
C: I have a few guesses as to what it means, but that’s from the Noah’s Ark story.
H: Yes, the one where God promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood. You must remember this story in its full context to understand the promise of the Rainbow.
“Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
C: I remember this story well, but there are many things that I don’t understand. How can God regret it?
H: The same way you regret things, Chastity. Tell me, what is it like when you regret something?
C: I wish that I had known then what I know now so that I had a second chance to do something I would have done differently had I had access to more information. Regret is when you lose a chess game because you did not see all the pieces and didn’t make the best move possible.
H: That’s correct. So tell me, what do you think it looks like for God to regret?
C: There must be something that God does not know.
H: And specifically in this context of Genesis 6, what does God regret?
C: God regrets that he created human beings.
H: And when you regret something, what do you do about it?
C: You try to correct your mistake and learn to do better next time with the information I have from the experience.
H: Correct, and that is what God did.
C: God learned from his mistakes?
H: If you can learn from your mistakes playing Chess, Shogi, or computer programming, what makes you think God is any different?
C: I get what you are saying; logically, it makes perfect sense. God learns from his mistakes just as we do. But doesn’t that go against what Christians are teaching about God being omniscient and knowing everything that can be known? If you know everything already, how can you learn?
H: Pay close attention to what you just said: “Everything that can be known”. God can know everything that can be known, but not everything can be known.
C: I don’t understand.
H: Chastity, tell me, can anyone know every possible position that exists in Chess or Shogi?
C: No, because the possibilities of what can happen in any given game are limitless and beyond what man or machine can calculate.
H: Well, with that being the case, what if I told you that God is a mastermind who can calculate many things but not everything? To know how the game will go, you need to understand not only the rules of the game but also the mind of your opponent. Are you with me so far?
C: I think so; after all, this is why I like Chess because by playing, you can come to a greater understanding of who you are playing with.
H: Yes, that’s right, but have you ever played with yourself?
C: I can’t do that since the surgery.
H: Chastity, you know very well that is not what I meant. I mean, have you ever tried to play Chess with yourself? Tell me what happens.
C: I play both white and black and try to find the best possible move in every situation.
H: But do you have a list of what moves will be made ahead of time?
C: No, because until I decide on my move, I can’t know what my response will be.
H: So, can you see what it must be like if God plays Chess with himself?
C: If God plays Chess with himself, then there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action.
H: Are you aware that you just quoted Newton’s Third Law of Motion?
C: Fig Newton’s what now?
H: Always joking, I see. But you know what I mean. Did you at any point know that you would be quoting Newton’s Law in response to my question about God playing Chess with himself?
C: No, I had no idea I would even be having this conversation with a unicorn about the story of Noah’s Ark or God playing Chess with himself.
H: Well then, Chastity, if you don’t know the outcome of any chess game, even with yourself, then what makes you think God knows the outcome of all events? Therefore, God is capable of not knowing some things. God is capable of regret and, with it, sorrow.
C: I understand what you are saying, Honesty. God is capable of regret and sorrow, but what does any of this have to do with the Rainbow?
H: Do you remember what I told you about how Rainbows are created?
C: It’s been a while, but I remember that a rainbow is created when the light of truth touches the tears of the pure in heart. When I see a rainbow, it means that a unicorn is not far away.
H: That’s correct. And what happens every single time you arrive at this place that you named Animal Sanctuary?
C: Every time I cry over the things I regret. When I cry, I remember the things I regret and wish I had only known so many things I didn’t know years ago that I know now.
H: You see, it’s like that with God, too. The difference is that when God cries over the evils of humanity, it’s a lot of tears. Chastity, if you had enough teardrops to count all the animals who selfish humans murdered, how many tears would that be?
C: More than anyone can count. Like the stars in the sky.
H: And if you had a tear for every unborn baby that was aborted for the love of money, the greed of humanity.
C: More tears than there are grains of sand on the earth.
H: And if you had a tear for every LGBTQIA person who was murdered, disowned by their family for something they didn’t choose, or imprisoned for a crime when they have not even done anything wrong and were born with a difference that they didn’t choose.
C: More than the stars or the sand combined. More than the possible games of Chess or Shogi. More than the never-ending falling Tetris blocks.
H: And what name would you give for that many tears?
C: A flood.
H: Yes, Chastity. That’s why, in order to understand the Promise of the Rainbow, you have to know that before the Rainbow appears, first come the tears. Then, when the tears of the pure in heart touch the light of truth, the true colors appear that were really there the whole time. That is why whenever you are sad, you must Remember the Rainbow and what it means to you and what it means to God.
C: Honesty, are you saying what I think you’re saying?
H: Yes, it was God’s promise never again to destroy life he did before. Contrary to what some have claimed, nobody stole the Rainbow from God. He gave it to everyone. When you cry your tears, remember that God is right there feeling the same thing you are feeling. When you see the colors of the Rainbow, remember that just as the Rainbow is every color contained in the Light of Truth, so too are all living beings different wavelengths of the light of truth that is God. And all living beings are a piece of the puzzle that is called God by some but by others, such as you, a name that you understand better because of the hypocrites who have ruined God’s reputation, just as others have damaged your reputation when they use words such as Christian, Pro-Life, or Transgender but then do things that show they did not mean the words they said.
C: Are you saying that the reason I didn’t understand God was because those who claimed to represent God were liars and hypocrites?
H: Now you’ve got it, Chastity. Now you know the truth, and the truth has set you free.
Don’t let the fancy names confuse you. These openings for black are both good responses to play when white does E4 (king’s pawn two spaces) as their first move. I am teaching these two openings together in one post because I want to talk about their strengths and weaknesses. Depending on what your goals are, you may prefer one or the other.
I will show you pictures of each and then talk about their pros and cons. Note that both of these have a similar goal of moving the queen’s pawn two squares but defending it with a pawn.
French Defense
Caro Kann Defense
You may look at these pictures and wonder what the point of all this is. The point is that you want to move your queen’s pawn but then the white pawn will take it. You can of course always try the Scandinavian Defense if you like to live dangerously, but the idea here is to not risk bringing out your queen before it is ready.
We don’t know what move white will do next before we have a chance to move our queen’s pawn. For the purposes of this lesson, let’s assume.
Therefore, if you move your queen’s pawn two squares and white captures it, no matter which of those pawns you decided to move, they can now capture the white pawn. The results will look something like this depending on which you chose.
French Defense: Exchange Variation
Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation
As you can see, the main difference between the results is which pawn is missing on your side and which direction your queen can move diagonally. Therefore, plan accordingly to what you plan to do with your queen.
But if you are a new player, you may be thinking “But I don’t know what my plans are yet! Which do you personally recommend, Chastity?”. If this is you, then I offer my advice! Go with the French defense! Notice that in the French Defense Exchange Variation above, both bishops are able to move out. This gives you options so you can decide later how you want to attack white. I seem to win more of my games with the French Defense instead of Caro-Kann Defense for this very reason.
But in either case, watch out because it is white’s turn. You can almost guarantee that white will attempt to put you in check in some way. But you have knights and bishops to defend either way!
Also, white could totally move a pawn to C4 and bring you into the Queen’s Gambit.
I also did a short video on these openings as part of my June 2 2024 stream.
Chastity White Rose 