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. Historical context A Game at Chess satirises historical events and figures of the early seventeenth century. Those depicted include members of the English court, the Spanish court, and prominent religious figures. James I, who reigned as King of England and Ireland from 1603 until his death in 1625, is depicted as the White King by Middleton. His son and successor, Prince Charles or Charles I, reigned after the play was written and is depicted as the White Knight. Elizabeth of Bohemia, James I's daughter, is also represented in the play as the White Queen. From Spain, Middleton depicts Philip IV, who reigned as King from 1621 to 1665, as the Black King. His sister Maria Anna of Spain is represented by the Black Queen. Don Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Conde de Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador who was deeply unpopular in England, is depicted as the Black Knight. Religious figures depicted include Archbishop of Split, Marco Antonio de Dominis, or the Fat Bishop, who left the Roman Catholic Church to join the Anglican Church, later returning to Rome. The play takes place at a time of heightened tension between England and Spain, and it alludes to negotiations between the two countries to wed Prince Charles to the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna. The royal families hoped that the Spanish match would at the very least resolve some of the conflicts between England and Spain that still lingered after the Thirty Years' War. Additionally, James I hoped that a marriage alliance would restore his daughter Elizabeth to the Bohemian throne. Protestant English citizens were antagonistic toward the prospect of a marriage between their prince and the Catholic Infanta. Many feared for the