The game of chess is both the basis for the novel’s setting and a multi-layered symbol of order, power, and aspiration. The looking-glass world’s landscape is squared off like a chessboard, with brooks and hedges dividing the ground “up into squares” that “reached from brook to brook” (110). Alice notices this right away: “‘I declare it’s marked out just like a large chessboard! […] There ought to be some men moving about somewhere—and so there are!’” (110). Alice can only accomplish her goal of becoming a queen—the most powerful chess piece—if she moves through every square to reach the other side of the board. Thus, her journey along the chessboard showcases her aspiration to gain power, authority, and maturity; she will move from being a Pawn to a Queen. Finishing her journey to become Queen Alice can be seen as her winning a chess match. Her checkmate is that she has become queen of the land.

The symbol of chess extends through the whole novel, with nods to it in the setting, characters, and dialogue. Besides the chessboard environment, the characters are representative of chess pieces, including queens, kings, pawns, and knights. Each character has its own role within the game’s hierarchy, displaying the characteristics that fit their piece.