page_title: A Game at Chess
section_title: Act I
hierarchical_section_title: A Game at Chess / Synopsis / Act I
caption_attribution_description: Ignatius Loyola
context_page_description: A Game at Chess is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre. The play is notable for its political content, dramatizing a conflict between Spain and England.
  The plot takes the form of a chess match, and the play includes some genuine chess moves. Instead of personal names, the characters are known as the White Knight, the Black King, and so forth. Yet the play unmistakably alludes to Anglo-Spanish diplomacy under King James, especially the failed marriage negotiation between Prince Charles and the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna of Spain. The play is satirical of King James I of England, and it was shut down after only nine days.
context_section_description: The Jesuitess Black Queen's Pawn attempts to corrupt the Virgin White Queen's Pawn. Faking tears, she says she pities the White Virgin Queen's Pawn, who she says will be "lost eternally," despite her beauty, because she is too loyal. The Jesuit Black Bishop's Pawn enters, attempting to corrupt the Virgin White Queen's Pawn. He encourages her to confess her sins to him. The Virgin White Queen's Pawn confesses that she considered entering into a  relationship with the White Bishop's Pawn, but he was castrated by the Black Knight's Pawn. The Black Bishop's Pawn gives her a manual on moral instruction, and she exits.
  The Black Knight's Pawn and his castrated victim, the White Bishop's Pawn, exchange insults. The Black Knight Gondomar enters and notes that the "business of the universal monarchy" (i.e. the business of the Catholic Church) is going well, primarily because of his ability to trap souls through charm and deception. The White King's Pawn—a spy employed by the Black House—enters and issues a report. The Black Knight Gondomar calls the spy a fool after he leaves.
caption: Ignatius Loyola appears as a ghost
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