THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: The Chess Game
Move-by-Move, Lewis Carroll's chess narrative explained.
This past month I read the original THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS again, and was gobsmacked and overwhelmed with uffish thought over how brilliant the writing and imagination of Lewis Carroll truly is. I’ve read both ALICE books several times since I was a child, and each time I come back, I am reminded anew how much my own books have been inspired and guided by his light — how much this story keeps inspiring me again and again to reach for greater heights. There is a holy moment of transcendence in the White Knight sequence in the middle of all the madness, and the whole book is such a frabjous work of wonder and delight — even more, I dare say, than its predecessor, the original ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND.
For years I’ve understood that the narrative and interactions of the various characters and sequences in THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS are based on a game of chess, but I never knew exactly how this worked. (I only learned how to play chess myself a few years ago.) Posting this question on Facebook prompted my friend Galen Fott to recommend Carroll scholar Martin Gardner’s THE ANNOTATED ALICE, which I immediately checked out from the library.
It’s a ginormous treasure of a book, not only for its research, commentary, and extensive footnotes on the history, origins, and inner workings of Lewis Carroll’s writing (and original John Tenniel illustrations) — but also the myriad of other illustrative renditions of Wonderland and the Looking Glass.
Clicking the image embed below will open up in Instagram, where you can see a selection of some pages & more images.
But also as sure as can be, studying the footnotes alongside my actual chess board assisted me in solving the moves of the game that Carroll built his story around, answering a riddle that has intrigued and puzzled me for so long.
So in case you too have always wondered how this works, follow along and I shall explain.
Here is the starting chess board, as indicated by Lewis Carroll in the book.
(Alice begins the story by moving kings and knights around while playing with her cats, which may explain the positioning of the pieces by the time she starts the game.)
Here is the board, as indicated in the book once the game starts with Alice conversing with the Red Queen. Alice is the White pawn.
Alice (White Pawn) and the Red Queen.
The Red Queen leaves Alice and advances to KR4, on the edge of the board.
Alice, being able to advance two squares on her first move, travels over Q6 in the railway car.
She lands on Q5, right next to the Red King. This is where she encounters the Looking-Glass Insects, forgets her name as she travels the wood with a fawn (who is apparently another white pawn who travels alongside her for a time, though having no bearing on the game), and meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee (who recite THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER and show her the Red King snoring in the adjacent square.) The Red King is asleep through the entire game, so he never moves. (It’s also suggested the elephants that Alice sees from a distance represent bishop pieces, although this has no effect on the game or its moves.)
The White Queen "runs wildly through the wood" from QB1 (her starting position — see starting board photo for reference) to QB4, to stand beside Alice.
Both Alice and the White Queen advance one square together, and the White Queen becomes a sheep.
The White Queen leaves Alice "for the other end of the shop" and moves to KB8...
...while Alice crosses another brook (each of her moves is indicated by her crossing a brook) and advances one more square.
In this square she encounters Humpty Dumpty (who explains the JABBERWOCKY poem to her), and also the White King, who is directly next to her, with the Lion and the Unicorn.
During the Lion and the Unicorn scene, the White Queen "moves across the country" to QB8.
Alice advances one more square, and the Red Knight moves from his starting position to stand beside her, declaring "You're my prisoner."
The White Knight moves from his starting position and takes the Red Knight.
After conversing for a time and singing for Alice, the White Knight departs back to his starting position, Alice waving at him with her handkerchief and hoping it encourages him.
Alice advances to the final square and becomes a Queen (for once a pawn reaches the edge of the board, they can become any piece the player desires.) The Red Queen moves across her position on the board to the King's square beside her, so both Queens are on either side of Alice.
Chaos ensues in the final banquet scene, and The White Queen moves to QR6 when she disappears into the soup. (This results in an automatic check for the White Queen to take the White King, but she doesn’t realize this, for the White Queen is not very bright.)
Alice wins the game by taking out the Red Queen, an automatic checkmate for the Red King.
And that’s the game! Calloo Callay! Break out your own chess board and try it yourself as you read along Through the Looking Glass.
But first, be sure to believe six impossible things before breakfast.