Has anyone thought of simulating chess moves by using MediaWiki's delete and move features? The idea is to upload 26 images to depict chess pieces and empty squares. Then, one would create 32 templates showing the initial positions of the pieces (e.g. "Template:A1" would show a picture of a white rook), with a parameter for the square color, perhaps {{{squarecolor}}}. Finally, one would create a "Chess" page transcluding piece position templates 64 times, with the "#ifexist" parser function used to show empty squares in lieu of redlinked templates.
Then, one can start simulating chess moves by moving piece position templates, making sure to always uncheck "Leave a redirect behind" on Special:MovePage. When the target page already exists, it would be asked to be deleted, and deletion would then correspond to capturing a piece. The only exception is with the en passant pawn capture, where the move and the deletion may be done in either order. This is also the only time one needs to manually delete a piece position template. Finally, the only time one needs to edit a piece position template is when promoting a pawn. In this case, the edit and the move may be done in either order.