Chessography: A Cryptosystem Based on the Game of Chess

Abstract

Chess is one of the most strategic games played around the globe. It provides a player the platform to explore the exponential complexity of the game through their intellectual moves in the game. Though, the number of players, pieces, and board dimension and squares are finite, it is a game where the combination of moves for each player will change distinctly from game to game. Now, moving onto the field of Cryptography, which aims to achieve security for the data by encrypting it, and makes the plain text unintelligible for the intruders. Taking advantage of the numerous moves in the game of Chess, we can form an amalgamation of Chess game and cryptography. Chessography is the confluence of the game of Chess and Cryptography. Encryption will take place in the form of moves played by each player on the board. Resulting cipher text produced will be a Product Cipher, where the square positions on the game board will be substituted by new square positions during the move in the game and all the actual values dealt with, throughout the game will form the transposed cipher text. Chessography algorithm uses two keys, one fixed length and one variable length key called as ‘paired key’. Along with the strength of keys generated, this algorithm generates a very strong cipher text as each game of chess is different, so is the cipher text generated. The complexity in the game of chess forms the Chessography’s defensive strength to deal against various attacks during the data transmission.