Gameplay
As often as fidchell is mentioned in legend and myth, however, we are still largely in the dark about exactly how it was played. There are two main theories regarding the rules and board layout of fidchell. The first, and most common, is that fidchell is a variant of the Welsh game tawlbwrdd, itself descended from the Norse tafl games. These games, along with the Irish brandub, are played on a grid, often seven squares by seven, with the king in the middle. The king has a number of defending pieces around him at the beginning of the game, and they are surrounded by twice as many attackers. The object is to make a clear path for the king to the edge of the board, while the attackers must attempt to surround, and thereby capture, the king.
This theory is supported by an artifact found in Balinderry, Ireland, consisting of a wooden board with a seven by seven grid, marked off by holes similar to those found in a cribbage board, which has Celtic symbols on it. This artifact is almost certainly a tafl variant, and perhaps even a Brandub board, and most commentators assume that it is the type of board upon which one would have played fidchell. Reconstructions of probable rules proceed from there.
However, there are a few difficulties with this commonly accepted view. First, the tafl variants are usually played with unequal numbers of pieces, the attackers being twice as numerous as the defenders. Fidchell seems almost certainly to have been played with equal numbers on both sides. Secondly, some claim that the tafl games, especially tawl-bwrdd, were often played with a die, made of a sheep’s knucklebone, and this feature seems conspicuously absent in fidchell. In fact, in Wales, there is a clear distinction between tawlbwrdd and gwyddbwyll, which, if carried across to Ireland, would tend to indicate a similar distinction between fidchell and brandub.
Read more about this topic: Irish Chess