White Then Black

[svanhoeven]

White Then Black
On checkered field,
Two armies stand.
^-- Maybe end this line with a semicolon instead of a period so the next two lines aren't orphaned prepositional phrases.
Of fierce warriors,
Of gentlemen.

No bloodshed,
But destruction wrought. <-- I think you can remove this period entirely.
As order breaks,
And equality falls.

Stand firm, behind your kingdom.
Dapper man, on dapper man,
The clock’s ticking, so
Brandish your blades!

Swiftly, with habitual gestures,
Both armies advance.
Field cold, as dapper men <-- Abbreviated a little too much, maybe "Field's cold, as dapper men"
Poke for chinks.

One, sent out a spy; <-- Per rowans, I think you should drop the comma.
Lowly soldier, with worldly load.
Hopes for the other
To not notice. <-- Instead of a choppy negation, maybe use "To overlook" or something similar?

One, sent out a scout; <-- Again, drop the comma.
Knight on horse, sturdy and fast. <-- A less awkward alternative to "Knight on horse" with the same rhythm would be "Mounted knight".
Maybe there’s
A point of entry.

^-- A suggestion on the previous two stanzas: instead of "One sent" and "One sent", you could make the image more concrete by using the actual colors in your title, i.e. "White sent" and "Black sent" (assuming you're trying to picture opposing moves).

Espionage success!

Wave of hand,
Pushing soldier forward,
Confidence overflowing.
A castle WILL fall.
^-- This is my favorite stanza, because I get a clear image of a piece's movement. I think it would be more dramatic if it said "A castle falls.", if you mean the rook is actually taken. Maybe you mean the rook is forked or something by saying it WILL fall. I'm not sure.

Ground shoots, from <-- Do you maybe mean "Ground shifts"? I think you can drop the comma.
Frosty to
White hot.
A siege at hand.

Trembling hand, clenches <-- I think you can drop the comma.
Into fist, desperate.
No resource,
No counter in sight.

Invasion incoming,
Gaping hole in armour;
The king falls, devastated.
No point struggling.

Dapper man, on dapper man;
One head high, the other down.
Acute battle, of minds with brawns,
Settled in thirty minutes.

On checkered field,
Two armies stand.
^-- Same comment as the first stanza, re: orphaned prepositional phrases.
Of fierce warriors,
Of gentlemen.

Once again.