Geo-Chess Black 12 Traditional Geocache
General Disarray: As there's been no cache to find for months, I'm archiving it to keep it from continually showing up in search lists, and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Bring a writing utensil. The cache is NOT hidden in the bird's nest. The line-of-sight to the sign is best during the winter.
The game of chess has its roots in an Indian game of strategy. Over the centuries, the ancient game changed until it evolved into its current form in the 1400’s in Europe. I think it’s time for another update in the rules. Welcome to GEO-Chess.
I have pulled my inspiration for this new board game from several sources – Geo-Poker, puzzle caches, and a similar game in NC, to name a few. Here are the rules.
1. Geo-Chess can be played in two ways. Phone a friend and challenge them to see who can capture the king first. One player captures white, the other captures black. Then you can play chess twice! Or you could log the caches in the usual manner (I might call you boring, though).
2. There are 14 traditional caches for each color (32 total caches hidden) – the queen and king require these first 14 to be found before you can pursue them. After all, the queen protects the king to the death! At each cache, look for an official business sign with a chess piece somewhere in the name (more on chess piece signs below). At the top of each log will be a number and a letter. Record the sign and both letter and number to find the queen and then the king later.
3. The coordinates to the queens will use the numbers associated with each cache. The kings will use the decoder found in the queen caches to decipher the letters.
4. Because this is a competitive game, I have attempted to spread each color out evenly and tried not to cluster pieces. The caches are approximately centered around NW16th and N Pennsylvania. They are scattered from Edmond to I-240 and from Midwest City to Lake Overholser.
5. To add spice, I have not told you which piece you will find at each location. For example, Black 1 could have a pawn, while Black 2 has a rook.
6. Once you have all 14 business signs, organize your list so that the bishops are arranged alphabetically, the pawns are alphabetical, etc. Then assign them a number – Pawn 1 (Arthur’s Pawn Shop), Pawn 2 (Cash American Pawn), Pawn 3 (Joe’s Pawn and Bargain), etc.
7. If you want confirmation that you have the right alphabetical order, feel free to email me. Keep in mind, if you are playing against someone else, they may capture the king while you wait for me to answer!
In the game of chess, pawns fill the entire first row. There are 8 pawns for each color. They can move either two spaces forwards in their first turn, or one space forward. But pawns, like the infantry they represent, have had many names through the centuries. You are looking for PIKEmen, GUARDs, SOLDIERs, or just plain PAWNs.
ROOKs hold down the corners. They move horizontally or vertically as far as possible without jumping over other pieces, making them lethal for long-range checkmate. There are two rooks for each color. Growing up, I always called them CASTLES because that’s what they always reminded me of, even when I learned the real name. When chess reached ancient Persia, the Persians dubbed them “rokh” or CHARIOTS.
KNIGHTs are one of the handiest pieces in chess because they don’t move in straight lines and they can go over pieces in an L-shape. There are also two of these for each color. The most common representation for a knight chess piece is a HORSE.
The origin of the BISHOP piece with its deep groove was the Staunton Chess Set in the late 1800’s. Who knows how they came up with the idea to turn the mitered cap of the clergy into a chess piece! These pieces move diagonally, and always on the same color they started on. There are two bishops for each color.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx FJ guebhtu gur gerrf be jnyx qvntbanyyl gb gur pbeare