Using a Deck of Cards for a Temporary Chess Set

An ordinary deck of playing cards is perfectly suitable for use as a temporary chess set.

Making a chess set from a deck of playing cards may be cost-effective if one is living in a Gulag, waiting in an airport because of a snowstorm cancellation of flights or stranded in Alaska without an outboard motor.

One has red and black cards to serve as red and black chess pieces. The king and queen choices are obvious, while the jacks may be bishops, aces serve as knights and tens act as rooks. Single digit cards are sufficient for pawns (with one spare).

Because one only needs one set of single digit pawns for each side there are enough left to serve as eight square markers across and down. If a pencil or piece of chalk is available then one may draw a grid from those cards.