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This manuscript was begun and completed in the city of Seville in 1283, making it one of the last works commissioned by Alfonso X. It is a compendium of games composed of three parts: chess (folios 1r-63v), representing intellect; dice (folios 65r-71v), representing chance; and tables (folios 72r-79v), representing a combination of both. At the end of the manuscript (folios 81r-97v), new games such as alquerque, tables, and astronomical board are also included.
The manuscript represents the most important extant testimony about games in the Middle Ages. Within 98 pages, it describes, details and comments on many rules and problems for several games.
Each game is linked to different social classes and attitudes, thus also serving as an exemplary tool. The manuscript is richly illuminated; in scenes of great creativity and detail, we observe the players, both men and women, immersed in their games, which we can follow through the depiction of the boards and their pieces in a distorted perspective. Characters from diverse territories, cultural backgrounds, and social classes display their skills in the game, including the monarch and other members of the court.
The Book of Chess begins with a prologue on folios 1r to 3r. The picture shows folio 1r featuring the text with a large initial P, and a miniature above it. The miniature depicts two scenes in a Gothic setting, the first showing the king, the author of the book.
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