Summary
The White Knight and the White Duke are at the Black Court, which is decorated lavishly. The Black Bishop's Pawn, out of his disguise, tells the White Queen's Pawn that he was the man with whom she spent the night. The White Queen's Pawn insists she spent the night alone, and the Black Queen's Pawn reveals her bed trick to the Black Bishop's Pawn. The White Bishop's Pawn and the White Queen capture the Black Bishop's Pawn and the Black Queen's Pawn. They are sent to the bag.
The Black Knight's Pawn tries to heed the advice of the Fat Bishop and murder the White Bishop's Pawn. However, his efforts are thwarted when the White Queen's Pawn captures him and sends him to the bag.
Meanwhile, the White Knight dines at the Black court. The Black Knight boasts about their extravagant meal, but the White Knight says the meal has left him unsatisfied. The Black Knight tells the White Knight he can have whatever he wants from the Black House, provided he switch allegiances, and the White Knight tells him that he only desires ambition and sex. Pleased, the Black Knight describes the Black House's sexual promiscuity and its desire to rule the world unhindered. Having unknowingly confessed his crimes to the White Knight, the Black Knight is captured and the game is won. The White King appears on stage with the rest of the White court as the remaining Black pieces are sent to the bag.
Analysis
The final act of the play features the triumph of the White House over the Black House through a series of revelations. Because of the overarching allegory of the play, the victory of the white players manifests as sending the black players to the "bag." Critics of early modern English theater presume that there must have been a large prop bag on stage during the performance, signifying the container for defeated pieces during an actual chess match. Within the context of the allegory, critics have also argued that the "bag" is a symbol for Hell—the players who are sent to the bag are immoral, deceptive, and villainous, and the finality of the bag suggests that they will be punished in some way. Of course, this ending suggests once more that the Spanish Catholics are part of the "wrong" religion, and that the Protestantism of England reigns supreme.
Also prominent in the final act of the play is the White Knight, who plays a major role in the ultimate victory of the White House over the Black. Largely a minor character for the majority of the performance, the White Knight becomes the hero in the last act of the play as he uses his own form of deception to trick the Black Knight into confessing the many crimes of the Black House. This is significant both in terms of the plot – the White Knight turns the tables on the Black House and eventually sends them all to the bag – and in terms of English history. A Game at Chess was performed in 1624, just one year before Prince Charles became King Charles I. As such, the play presents the prince as a crafty and heroic savior of the White House, thereby instilling him with kingly qualities in advance of his ascension to the throne. While the White King (King James I) appears at the end of the play to celebrate the victory, it is ultimately Prince Charles who wins the game for his country.
