A strange little side quest
If Master Chess sends you down a curiosity rabbit hole, start here. Chess changed dramatically in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries when the queen became the board's most powerful piece. That is only half the story. Arthur Wynne published a diamond-shaped 'Word-Cross' in the New York World on December 21, 1913; the name later shifted to 'Cross-Word' and then 'crossword'. That gives Master Chess a little more company than it first appears to have.