Which chess piece can only move diagonally? | Reference.com Which chess piece can only move diagonally? A: Quick Answer Bishops are the only chess piece to only move diagonally. Another way to consider the bishop's movement is that whatever color square it starts on, it must always stay on that color. Full Answer A bishop can be moved any number of spaces if a player chooses to move it, as long as it is moved diagonally. A bishop has a value of three pawns, according to the Capablanca & de Firmian valuation, which puts bishops at an even value with knights. This valuation is founded on the fact that the bishop can threaten between seven and 13 squares due to its movement options. Your Move Chess & Games: A Quick Summary of the Rules of Chess A Quick Summary of the Rules of Chess (How do I use this chess set, anyway?) So you now have your chess set and you're ready to go. One Problem: You don't know the rules yet! Never fear, we have included the basics of the gameplay below. No Purchase Necessary, of course. Now you'll know what to do with those chess serts that have been collecting dust in the closet.

The Rules of Chess Chess is one of the oldest and most popular board games in the world. Most Believe the origins of chess begin in either India or Asia many thousands of years ago. While chess sets have sometimes become fanciful pieces of artwork and decoration bringing elegance to most any home, chess endures first and foremost as a classic game of skill and strategy, with nearly limitless combinations and possibilities. Chess is surprisingly easy to learn, yet can take a lifetime of hard work to master! Part 1: The Chess Pieces The King The King is the most important chess piece on the chessboard. If he is checkmated (see objectives, below) the game is over! The King can move one space in any direction (see the diagram). He can never move in to "check" (where he is threatened by another piece). This means the king can never be in the space adjacent to the opposing King. The king can also castle. "Castling" is described in the special moves section below. The Queen The Queen is often considered the most powerful chess piece on the chessboard. She is placed next to the king, on her own color.

The game is not over when she is lost, but if your opponent has a Queen and you do not, you may find yourself at a considerable disadvantage! Like the King, the Queen can move in any direction. However, she is not limited to just one space - she can move any number of spaces in any direction, as long as she is not obstructed by another chess piece (see the diagram) Of course, if that obstruction is an opposing chess piece, she is free to capture it! The Bishop There are two Bishops for each player on the chessboard, situated next to Queen and the King, respectively. These chess pieces move along the diagonals of the chessboard. You can see that this means that the Bishop is bound to the color square it starts on. One Bishop starts on a white square, and one starts on a black square. They can move any number of spaces on the diagonals as long as they are not obstructed by another chess piece(see the diagram). Of course, if that obstruction is an opposing chess piece, they are free to capture it! The Knight There are two Knights for each player on the chessboard, situated between the Bishop and the Rook.

These chess pieces have the unique trait of being able to 'leap' over other chess pieces. They move in an "L" shape (see the diagram). If they land on an opposing chess piece, it is captured. The Rook (sometimes known as The Castle) There are two Rooks for each player on the chessboard, situated on the corners, next to the Knight. These chess pieces move up and down the rank and file of the chessboard, and can move any number of spaces as long as they are not obstructed by another chess piece (see the diagram). If the obstructing chess piece belong to their opponent, they are free to capture it. The Pawn Each player has eight Pawns, providing the first line of defense for their King. The Pawn has several unique attributes. In their first move, each pawn has the option to move forward one space or two spaces. After this move, they can only move one space forward. However, they are also the only chess piece that captures in a method different from how they move. To capture, the Pawn moves diagonally one space (see the diagram). The Pawn can never move backwards.

The Pawn also has a special move called "En Passant", which you can read about in special moves section below. If the Pawn reaches the opposite side of the chessboard, it has the unique ability to promote to another chess piece. The pawn can become a Queen, Bishop, Rook, or Knight. There are no restrictions to how many pieces of a given type you can have via promotion. Part 2: The Chess Board and how to set up your Chess Set A chessboard consists of 64 squares in a checkerboard pattern. There are light colored squares (referred to as white) and dark colored squares (referred to as black). There are 8 rows and columns, referred to as the "rank" and "file", respectively. The bottom right corner should be a white square. Setting up chess sets is fairly straightforward. The chess pieces are set up in an identical manner for both players. The Rooks are at the corners, the Knights are next, and then the Bishops. the middle two pieces are the King and the Queen. Remember, the Queen goes on her color. The entire second rank for each player is occupied by their Pawns.

Part 3: The Objective of Chess The objective in chess is to checkmate your opponents King, and there are three potential ways the game can end: First, you can checkmate your opponent. This means that the King is in check (under potential attack from an opposing chess piece) and the player can not make any legal move to remove the King from check. At this point, the game is over and the checkmated player loses. The amount of material on the chessboard is of no concern. Second, you and your opponent can reach a stalemate - the opponents King is not currently in check, but would be force to move in to check with their next move. Because you can never put your own King in check, you would have no legal moves to make. A stalemate does not mean the attacking player has won. Instead, it is a draw - neither player is victorious. In timed games, each player has a specific amount of time to make their moves. Once their time runs out, they lose, regardless of the material on the board.

That means that you could have only your King legt and deftly avoid mate attempts from an opponent with most of their chess pieces still on the chess board and still win the game if your opponent were to run out of time. Part 4: Special Moves Castling Castling is a special move in chess that involves the King and the Rook. This is the only situation in which you would move two of your own chess pieces in the same move. The King and the Rook move towards each other and swap places. To do this, move your King not one, but two spaces towards the Rook you are castling with. Then place the Rook on the opposite side of the King (shown in the diagram to the right). This can be done on either the King side or Queen side, however there are several prerequisites: The king and rook may not have moved, there must not be any obstructing pieces between them, and the King must not move through check in order to complete the move. En Passant This special move involves the Pawn. As mentioned earlier, this chess piece has the unique ability to move two spaces for its first move on the chessboard.

Some may use this as an opportunity to avoid capture from an approaching pawn by passing the opposing chess piece with that double move. If this is done, the other player may make an "en passant", or "in passing" capture. Although the pawn has passed the capture square of the opposing side, that player can move his or her chess piece diagonally, as it does in capture, to the square that the other player had skipped. The pawn that made the double move has been considered captured in passing, and is removed from the chessboard. How to Play Chess: Rules and Basics - Chess.com Chess.com Forums Learn to Play Chess It's never too late to learn how to play chess - the most popular game in the world! If you are totally new to the game or even want to learn all of the rules and strategies, read on! Getting Better at Chess History of Chess The origins of chess are not exactly clear, though most believe it evolved from earlier chess-like games played in India almost two thousand years ago.The game of chess we know today has been around since the 15th century where it became popular in Europe.

The Goal of Chess Chess is a game played between two opponents on opposite sides of a board containing 64 squares of alternating colors. Each player has 16 pieces: 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and 8 pawns. The goal of the game is to checkmate the other king. Checkmate happens when the king is in a position to be captured (in check) and cannot escape from capture. Starting a Game At the beginning of the game the chessboard is laid out so that each player has the white (or light) color square in the bottom right-hand side. The chess pieces are then arranged the same way each time. The second row (or rank) is filled with pawns. The rooks go in the corners, then the knights next to them, followed by the bishops, and finally the queen, who always goes on her own matching color (white queen on white, black queen on black), and the king on the remaining square. The player with the white pieces always moves first.

Therefore, players generally decide who will get to be white by chance or luck such as flipping a coin or having one player guess the color of the hidden pawn in the other player's hand. White then makes a move, followed by black, then white again, then black and so on until the end of the game. How the Pieces Move Each of the 6 different kinds of pieces moves differently. Pieces cannot move through other pieces (though the knight can jump over other pieces), and can never move onto a square with one of their own pieces. However, they can be moved to take the place of an opponent's piece which is then captured. Pieces are generally moved into positions where they can capture other pieces (by landing on their square and then replacing them), defend their own pieces in case of capture, or control important squares in the game. The King The king is the most important piece, but is one of the weakest. The king can only move one square in any direction - up, down, to the sides, and diagonally. Click on the '>' button in the diagram below to see how the king can move around the board. The king may never move himself into check (where he could be captured). The Queen The queen is the most powerful piece.

She can move in any one straight direction - forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally - as far as possible as long as she does not move through any of her own pieces. And, like with all pieces, if the queen captures an opponent's piece her move is over. Click through the diagram below to see how the queens move. Notice how the white queen captures the black queen and then the black king is forced to move. The Rook The rook may move as far as it wants, but only forward, backward, and to the sides. The rooks are particularly powerful pieces when they are protecting each other and working together! The Bishop The bishop may move as far as it wants, but only diagonally. Each bishop starts on one color (light or dark) and must always stay on that color. Bishops work well together because they cover up each other’s weaknesses. The Knight Knights move in a very different way from the other pieces – going two squares in one direction, and then one more move at a 90 degree angle, just like the shape of an “L”. Knights are also the only pieces that can move over other pieces.

The Pawn Pawns are unusual because they move and capture in different ways: they move forward, but capture diagonally. Pawns can only move forward one square at a time, except for their very first move where they can move forward two squares. Pawns can only capture one square diagonally in front of them. They can never move or capture backwards. If there is another piece directly in front of a pawn he cannot move past or capture that piece. Promotion Pawns have another special ability and that is that if a pawn reaches the other side of the board it can become any other chess piece (called promotion). A pawn may be promoted to any piece. [NOTE: A common misconception is that pawns may only be exchanged for a piece that has been captured. That is NOT true.] A pawn is usually promoted to a queen. Only pawns may be promoted. En Passant The last rule about pawns is called “en passant,” which is French for “in passing”. If a pawn moves out two squares on its first move, and by doing so lands to the side of an opponent’s pawn (effectively jumping past the other pawn’s ability to capture it), that other pawn has the option of capturing the first pawn as it passes by.

This special move must be done immediately after the first pawn has moved past, otherwise the option to capture it is no longer available. Click through the example below to better understand this odd, but important rule. Castling One other special rule is called castling. This move allows you to do two important things all in one move: get your king to safety (hopefully), and get your rook out of the corner and into the game. On a player’s turn he may move his king two squares over to one side and then move the rook from that side’s corner to right next to the king on the opposite side. (See the example below.) However, in order to castle, the following conditions must be met: it must be that king’s very first move it must be that rook’s very first move there cannot be any pieces between the king and rook to move the king may not be in check or pass through check Notice that when you castle one direction the king is closer to the side of the board. That is called castling kingside. Castling to the other side, through where the queen sat, is called castling queenside. Regardless of which side, the king always moves only two squares when castling.

Check & Checkmate As stated before, the purpose of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s king. This happens when the king is put into check and cannot get out of check. There are only three ways a king can get out of check: move out of the way (though he cannot castle!), block the check with another piece, or capture the piece threatening the king. If a king cannot escape checkmate then the game is over. Customarily the king is not captured or removed from the board, the game is simply declared over. Draws Occasionally chess games do not end with a winner, but with a draw.

There are 5 reasons why a chess game may end in a draw: The position reaches a stalemate where it is one player’s turn to move, but his king is NOT in check and yet he does not have another legal move The players may simply agree to a draw and stop playing There are not enough pieces on the board to force a checkmate (example: a king and a bishop vs.a king) A player declares a draw if the same exact position is repeated three times (though not necessarily three times in a row) Fifty consecutive moves have been played where neither player has moved a pawn or captured a piece Chess 960 Chess960 follows all the rules of standard chess, except for the starting position of pieces on the back rank, which are placed randomly in one of 960 possible positions. Castling is done just like in standard chess, with the King and Rook landing on their normal castled squares (g1 and f1, or c1 and d1). 960 plays just like standard chess, but with more variety in the opening. Some Tournament Rules Many tournaments follow a set of common, similar rules.

These rules do not necessarily apply to play at home or online Touch-move If a player touches one of their own pieces they must move that piece as long as it is a legal move. If a player touches an opponent’s piece, they must capture that piece. A player who wishes to touch a piece only to adjust it on the board must first announce the intention, usually by saying “adjust”. Introduction to Clocks and Timers Most tournaments use timers to regulate the time spent on each game, not on each move. Each player gets the same amount of time to use for their entire game and can decide how to spend that time. Once a player makes a move they then touch a button or hit a lever to start the opponent’s clock. If a player runs out of time and the opponent calls the time, then the player who ran out of time loses the game (unless the opponent does not have enough pieces to checkmate, in which case it is a draw). Basic Strategy There are four simple things that every chess player should know: #1 Protect your king Get your king to the corner of the board where he is usually safer. Don’t put off castling. You should usually castle as quickly as possible.

Remember, it doesn’t matter how close you are to checkmating your opponent if your own king is checkmated first! #2 Don’t give pieces away Don’t carelessly lose your pieces! Each piece is valuable and you can’t win a game without pieces to checkmate. There is an easy system that most players use to keep track of the relative value of each chess piece: A pawn is worth 1 A knight is worth 3 A bishop is worth 3 A rook is worth 5 A queen is worth 9 The king is infinitely valuable At the end of the game these points don’t mean anything – it is simply a system you can use to make decisions while playing, helping you know when to capture, exchange, or make other moves. #3 Control the center You should try and control the center of the board with your pieces and pawns. If you control the center, you will have more room to move your pieces and will make it harder for your opponent to find good squares for his pieces. In the example above white makes good moves to control the center while black plays bad moves. #4 Use all of your pieces In the example above white got all of his pieces in the game!

Your pieces don’t do any good when they are sitting back on the first row. Try and develop all of your pieces so that you have more to use when you attack the king. Using one or two pieces to attack will not work against any decent opponent. Getting Better at Chess Knowing the rules and basic strategies is only the beginning - there is so much to learn in chess that you can never learn it all in a lifetime! To improve you need to do three things: #1 – Play Just keep playing! Play as much as possible. You should learn from each game – those you win and those you lose. #2 – Study If you really want to improve quickly then pick up a recommended chess book. There are many resources on Chess.com to help you study and improve. #3 - Have fun Don’t get discouraged if you don’t win all of your games right away. Everyone loses – even world champions. As long as you continue to have fun and learn from the games you lose then you can enjoy chess forever!

Chess: Pieces - Chess.com Chess.com Apr 15, 2010, 3:19 PM 3,825 Reads 4 Comments I'm creating this for a couple of my friends and others that are new to chess. This is just to cover the basics of each piece. As well, with facts on each of the pieces there will be a video that explains it visually. 1. Pawns The pawn is the most numerous and (in most circumstances) the weakest piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the second rank from the view of the player. Movement: Pawns are unusual in movement and use. Unlike all the other pieces, pawns may not move backwards. Normally a pawn moves by advancing a single square, but the first time each pawn is moved from its initial position, it has the option to advance two squares. Pawns may not use the initial two-square advance to jump over an occupied square, or to capture. Any piece directly in front of a pawn, friend or foe, blocks its advance.

Capturing: Unlike other pieces, the pawn does not capture in the same way as it moves. A pawn captures diagonally, one square forward and to the left or right. Promotion: A pawn that advances all the way to the opposite side of the board (the opposing player's first rank) is promoted to another piece of that player's choice of a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. The pawn is immediately (before the opposing player's next move) replaced by the new piece. The choice of promotion is not limited to captured pieces. It is both legal and possible for one player to simultaneously have as many as ten knights, ten bishops, ten rooks or nine queens. Strategy: The pawn structure(or the way a player sets up his/her pawns) mostly determines the strategic flavor of a game. While other pieces can usually be regrouped more favorably if they are temporarily badly placed, a poorly placed pawn cannot retreat to a more favorable position. Because pawns capture diagonally and can be blocked from moving straight forward, opposing pawns often become locked in diagonal pawn chains of two or more pawns of each color, where each player controls squares of one color.

Isolated Pawn: Pawns on adjacent files can support each other in attack and defense. A pawn which has no friendly pawns in adjacent files is an isolated pawn. The square in front of an isolated pawn may become an enduring weakness. Passed Pawn: A pawn which cannot be blocked or captured by enemy pawns in its advance to promotion is a passed pawn. Double Pawn: After a capture with a pawn, a player may end up with two pawns on the same file, called doubled pawns. Doubled pawns are substantially weaker than pawns which are side by side, because they cannot defend each other, and the front pawn blocks the advance of the back one. 2. Knight The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight (armoured cavalry). It is normally represented by a horse's head, leading some to refer to it informally as a "horse". Each player starts with two knights, which start on the rank closest to the player. Movement/Capturing: The knight move is unusual among chess pieces. When it moves, it can move two squares horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally. The complete move therefore looks like the letter 'L'.

Unlike all other standard chess pieces, the knight can 'jump over' all other pawns and pieces (of either color) to its destination square. It captures an enemy piece by moving into its square. The knight's ability to 'jump over' other pieces means it is at its most powerful in closed positions. The move is one of the longest-surviving moves in chess, having remained unchanged since before the seventh century AD. Because of this it also appears in most chess-related national games. The knight moves alternately to white and black squares. Strategy: The knight is the only piece that can be in position to attack a king, queen, bishop, or rook without being reciprocally attacked by that piece. The knight is thus especially well-suited for executing a fork (a tactic that uses one piece to attack two or more of the opponent's pieces at the same time). 3. Bishop A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen. Movement/Capturing:The bishop has no restrictions in distance for each move, but is limited to diagonal movement.

Bishops, like all other pieces except the Knight, cannot jump over other pieces. A bishop captures by occupying the square on which an enemy piece sits. The bishops may be differentiated according to which wing they begin on, i.e. the king's bishop and queen's bishop. As a consequence of its diagonal movement, each bishop always remains on either the white or black squares, and so it is also common to refer to them as light-squared or dark-squared bishops. Good and Bad Bishop: A player with only one bishop should generally place his pawns on squares of the color that the bishop cannot move to. This allows the player to control squares of both colors, allows the bishop to move freely among the pawns, and helps fix enemy pawns on squares on which they can be attacked by the bishop. Such a bishop is often referred to as a "good" bishop. Conversely, a bishop which is impeded by friendly pawns is often referred to as a "bad bishop" (or sometimes, disparagingly, a "tall pawn"). However, a "bad" bishop need not always be a weakness, especially if it is outside its own pawn chains.

Fianchetto: A bishop may be fianchettoed, for example after moving the g2 pawn to g3 and the bishop on f1 to g2. This can form a strong defense for the castled king on g1 and the bishop can often exert strong pressure on the long diagonal. A fianchettoed bishop should generally not be given up lightly, since the resulting holes in the pawn formation may prove to be serious weaknesses, particularly if the king has castled on that side of the board. 4. Rook A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. The piece has been called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes, and is still sometimes popularly (but not under official chess terminology) called a "castle". Using the rook in a specialized double-movement with the king is still referred to as castling. Each player starts with two rooks, one in each of the corners nearest his own side. Movement/Capturing: The rook moves horizontally or vertically, forward or back, through any number of unoccupied squares. Like other pieces, it captures by occupying the square on which an enemy piece stands.

The rook also participates, along with the king, in a special move called castling. Strategy: In the opening, the rooks are undefended by other pieces, so it is usually desirable to connect one's rooks on the first rank by castling and clearing all pieces except the king and rooks from the first rank. In that position, the rooks protect each other, and can easily move to threaten the most favorable files. A common goal with a rook is to place it on the first rank of an open file, i.e. one unobstructed by pawns of either player, or a half-open file, i.e. one unobstructed by friendly pawns. From this position, the rook is relatively unexposed to risk but can control every square on the file. If one file is particularly important, a player may advance one rook on it, and move the other behind, doubling the rooks. A rook on the seventh rank (the opponent's second rank) is usually very powerful, as it threatens the opponent's unadvanced pawns and puts pressure in the enemy king. A rook on the seventh rank is sufficient compensation for a pawn.

In this position, the rook on the seventh rank enables White to draw, despite being a pawn down. Two rooks on the seventh rank are often enough to force victory, or at least a draw by perpetual check. These rooks are sometimes colloquially referred to as "pigs on the seventh", because they often threaten to "eat" the opponent's pieces or pawns. Rooks are most powerful towards the end of a game (i.e. the endgame), where they can move unobstructed by pawns and control large numbers of squares. They are somewhat clumsy at restraining enemy pawns from advancing towards promotion, unless they can occupy the file behind the advancing pawn. By the same token, a rook best supports a friendly pawn towards promotion from behind it in the same file. 5. Queen The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess and can move in any direction. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of their first rank next to their king. The white queen starts on a white square, and the black queen on a black square, thus the mnemonic "queen gets her color" or "queen on color".

Moving/Capturing: The reason the queen is more powerful than a combination of a rook and bishop, even though they control the same number of squares, is twofold. First, the queen is a more mobile unit than the rook and bishop, as the entire power of the queen can be transferred to another location in one move while transferring the entire firepower of a rook and bishop requires two moves. Second, the queen is not hampered by the bishop's inability to control squares of the opposite color to the square on which it stands on. A factor in favor of the rook and bishop is that they can attack (or defend) a square twice, while a queen can only do so once, but experience has shown that this factor is usually less significant than the points which favor the queen. The queen is at her most powerful when the board is open, when the enemy king is not well-defended, or when there are loose (i.e. undefended) pieces in the enemy camp. Because of her long range and ability to move in more than one direction, the queen is well-equipped to execute forks. Compared to other long range pieces (i.e.

rooks and bishops) the queen is less restricted and more powerful also in closed positions. Strategy: Beginners often develop the queen as soon as possible, in the hopes of plundering the enemy position and possibly even delivering an early checkmateScholar's mate. This strategy is disadvantageous against experienced players. With no other pieces developed, an attack by the queen alone can be easily repelled. Moreover, because the queen is too valuable to exchange for a lesser piece, the defender can often gain time and space by threatening an exposed queen and forcing her to retreat. Nonetheless, the Scandinavian Defense, which in the main line features queen moves by Black on the second and third moves, is considered sound and has been played at world championship level. Even the Parham Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Qh5!?), which is widely considered a chess opening suitable only for beginners. 6. King In chess, the King is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its capture is unavoidable (checkmate). If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must move so as to remove the threat of capture.

If it cannot escape capture on the next move, the king is said to be in checkmate, and the player which owns that king loses the game. Although it is the most important piece, it is one of the weakest pieces in the game (until the endgame). Movement/Capturing: White starts with the king on the first rank to the right of the queen. Black starts with the king directly across from the white king. With the squares labeled as in algebraic notation, the white king starts on e1 and the black king on e8. A king can move one empty or enemy-occupied square in any direction (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) unless such a move would place the king in check. As a result, the opposing kings may never occupy adjacent squares, but the king can give discovered check by unmasking a bishop, rook, or queen. The king is also involved in the special move of castling. As with all pieces except the pawn, it captures by moving onto a square occupied by an enemy piece.

Castling: In conjunction with a rook, the king may make a special move called castling, in which the king moves two squares toward one of its rooks and then the rook is placed on the other side of the king. Castling consists of moving the king two squares on its first rank toward either one of the original rooks, then moving the rook onto the square over which the king crossed. Castling is allowed only when neither the king nor the castling rook has previously moved, when no squares between them are occupied, when the king is not in check, and when the king will not move across or end its movement on a square that is under enemy control. Check/Checkmate: If a player's move places the opponent's king under attack, that king is said to be in check, and the player in check is required to immediately remedy the situation. There are three possible methods to remove the king from check: Moving the king to an adjacent non-threatened square Interposing a piece between the king in check and the attacking piece in order to break the line of threat (not possible when the attacking piece is a knight, or when in double check).

Capturing the attacking piece (not possible in double check, unless the king captures) If none of these three options are possible, the player's king has been checkmated and the player loses the game. Stalemate: A stalemate occurs when, for the player with the move: The player has no legal moves, and The player's king is not in check If this happens, the king is said to have been stalemated and the game ends in a draw. A player who has very little or no chance of winning will often try to entice the opponent to inadvertently place the player's king in stalemate in order to avoid a loss. Hope this has helped all that who read this wanting to know about chess. The credit to the one that made these videos is by thechesswebsite, which more of his videos going over gambits, traps, openings, etc. can be found on his YouTube channel: Rules of Chess Rules of Chess Rules of Chess Rules of Chess Here are the rules of chess, in our own words (as you'll be able to tell). Please keep in mind these are not the official chess rules.

These chess rules are intended to help our visitors and customers new to the chess game, get the chessboard setup correctly along with enough instruction and knowledge of the chess rules to have a legitimate and enjoyable game. We hope you find them useful. Object of the Chess Game It's rather simple, there are two players with one player having 16 black or dark color chess pieces and the other player having 16 white or light color chess pieces. The chess players move on a square chessboard made up of 64 individual squares consisting of 32 dark squares and 32 light squares. Each chess piece has a defined starting point or square with the dark chess pieces aligned on one side of the board and the light pieces on the other. There are 6 different types of chess pieces, each with it's own unique method to move on the chessboard. The chess pieces are used to both attack and defend from attack, against the other players chessmen. Each player has one chess piece called the king. The ultimate objective of the game is to capture the opponents king. Having said this, the king will never actually be captured.

When either sides king is trapped to where it cannot move without being taken, it's called "checkmate" or the shortened version "mate". At this point, the game is over. The object of playing chess is really quite simple, but mastering this game of chess is a totally different story. Chess Board Setup Now that you have a basic concept for the object of the chess game, the next step is to get the the chessboard and chess pieces setup according to the rules of playing chess. Lets start with the chess pieces. The 16 chess pieces are made up of 1 King, 1 queen, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, and 8 pawns. From the following diagram, you can identify the pieces and the general character of their shape and appearance and also the location or square the chess pieces start from according to the chess rules. Now the chessboard. The correct orientation, as per the chess rules, is with a black square on your left side as facing the chess board. One of the more common mistakes in setting up the chess board is reversing the king and queen chess pieces.

Remember, as per the chess rules, the queen is always on her own color while the king is always on the opposite color. How the Chess Pieces Move Now that you have the chessboard setup with each piece sitting on its correct square, you need to know the chess rules of how each chess piece moves. The following are diagrams and instructions for the move of each chess piece. Chess piece - King Having a king is mandatory even though he's pretty much worthless and really nothing more than a mere figure-head. But that's the rule of chess, like it or not, you have to have a king. The king is always the tallest piece on the chessboard and the king chess piece will usually have a cross-like object on top. By the rules of chess, his moves are pretty limited, he can only move one square at a time but he can move forward, backward, left, right and diagonally. Not to offer any particular strategy, but keep him safe and well protected! Chess piece - Queen Unlike the king, the queen is no figure-head. She's the most powerful chess piece you have on the chessboard. The queen usually looks like a queen in the sense that she'll have a crown, sometimes with nice sharp points.

According to the rules of playing chess, she can move vertically, horizontally, and diagonally just as many squares she wants (without jumping other chess pieces). So you'll want to be careful and not give her up too carelessly or without a steep price to your opponent. Chess piece -Bishop The bishop, well, I guess you could say the top of the chess piece looks sort of like a bishop hat. Most bishops also have a cut near the top resembling that of a mouth. There are two bishops, always one on a light square and one on a dark square. Chess rules say that bishops move just like the queen except they can't move forward, backward, left or right. Diagonally only just as many spaces as desired without jumping another chess piece. Because bishops move diagonally, they will always remain on their original square color as per the rules of chess. So if in the middle of a chess game you notice either your opponent or your bishops are on the same color square - something's gone very wrong. Chess piece - Knight The knight is the most unique chess piece you have! Not only does it usually resemble a horse, it is the only chess piece that can jump over another chess piece or pieces according to chess rules.

The knight's move is rather different. Think of the move as "L" shaped - two squares either forward, backward, left, or right and then left or right one square. This special feature, being able to jump, can make the knight a very useful chess piece early in the game. Chess piece - Rook The rook is also called the castle by some and it actually looks like a castle or at least a castle tower. The rook, as per chess rules, moves just like the queen except it can't move diagonally. Just forward, backward, left, and right but as many spaces as desired without jumping other chess pieces. Chess piece - Pawn The poor little pawns are put out in front right in harms way while the other guys are hiding back behind. As per the rules of playing chess, they're expected to advance out in front and take the brunt of an oncoming attack or serve as a shield. It seems rather unfair considering they're pretty defenseless. These chess piece are allowed to only move one square at at time by the rules of chess. However, in thier first move, they can move two squares if they want.

They can only move straight forward - no retreating for these soldiers according of the chess rules. And they can only capture one of the enemy by approaching diagonally. But, according t the chess rules, if one of these brave little soldiers can make it to the other side, they are rewarded with a promotion - to a queen! Some promotion that is! Chess Board Notation Those that take chess pretty seriously, actually keep track of all their moves and record entire games. In order to record moves, someone came up with the smart idea of labeling the columns with letters and the rows with numbers, thus each square is uniquely identified. As you can see, white has a tremendous advantage because he or she doesn't have to look at upside-down numbers and read the alphabet backwards. One of the more important reasons to be the white or light chess players side. Castling Castling can be a very effective strategy in the defense of your king and providing a safe-haven for him. The act of "castling" involves two chess pieces, the rook and king and there are two different ways to castle. Rather than trying to describe the two methods (which might get confusing), we'll rely on the diagrams below to guide you through the correct moves.

Now, there are special rules of chess and conditions that must exist in order to castle. The special conditions are: Neither of the chess pieces involved, your king or rook that is being castled, have been moved during the chess game. There are no other chess pieces between the king and the rook involved in the castling. Your king is not in check and neither your king or rook can be taken by your opponent's next move after castling. You can castle with either of the rooks as long as these special conditions are met. The moves involved in castling with the Queen side rook are different than castling with king side rook. This is quite natural given that there 2 spaces between the king and rook on the king side and respectively 3 spaces on the queen side. Below are diagrams showing both methods of castling: King Side Castling (white) Promotion Let's Play Now that you have the chess board all setup, you know how each chess piece moves along with the special chess rules, lets get the game underway. White always moves first and most players prefer to be white because you can achieve a slight advantage by moving first.

So what we recommend is you have a best out of three "rock-scissors-paper" to determine who keeps to be white. Or, if you prefer, you can cast lots by putting a different color pawn in each hand and then letting your friend choose one. From this point on, it's real easy, white makes the first move and then you just take turns moving chess pieces and trying to checkmate your opponent's king while taking as many chess pieces as you can along the way. But before that first move, there's a few more rules that we better go over. Don't Let Go (until you're sure)! This is a very important chess rule, when you move your chess piece and let go, you're beyond the point of no return. The move is final. Now, if you move it to a square and keep your finger on top while pondering the genius or folly of the move, it's okay to backtrack and decide on a different move. So be certain about your move before you let go! Check You know what checkmate or mate is, but we haven't yet explained the baby brother of checkmate called check. When a king has been attacked and can be taken on the next move but can escape, it is called check.

Just like when you announced you were going to castle, it's also considered good manners to tell your opponent he's in check "CHECK". Standing up for the announcement is optional. The Ending You know about checkmate, which ends the game, but there are three other possible endings to a game. One possibility is a stalemate or draw, meaning that with the given pieces left on the board, neither player can win. For example, a king against a king. There are no winning possibilities for either side in this situation. Another possible outcome is for one player to resign. A game can become so one-sided (both remaining pieces and position) that the advantage is too great for the other player to overcome. When this happens, the disadvantaged player can simply call "uncle" and give it up. But don't give up too easy, mistakes can always be made. The third possibility is a draw, even though a checkmate is possible. Connect With Us Chess Pieces and How They Move | Wholesale Chess The straight piece. That's the easiest way to describe the rook chess piece . In traditional sets, the piece looks kind of like a castle tower and begins each chess game as the outside corner pieces. Each player has two rook pieces to begin.

How A Rook Chess Piece Moves The rooks are the most simple-moving chess pieces on the board. Their movements are only straight, moving forward, backward or side to side. At any point in the game, the piece can move in any direction that is straight ahead, behind or to the side. Here are a few things to know about how the Rook chess piece moves: The rook piece can move forward, backward, left or right at any time. The rook piece can move anywhere from 1 to 7 squares in any direction, so long as it is not obstructed by any other piece. Castling The rook piece is the only piece on the board that can participate in a "castling" move with the King piece. This is a move where the King piece and the rook piece work together, allowing the player to move two pieces at the same time. We'll discuss castling later. When it comes to your chess set, the Knight chess piece is often the defining piece in the set. This piece offers the most chance for variety and uniqueness in a chess set and it is often the piece with the most detail.

When it comes to the game of chess, the Knight chess piece is often the favorite piece and most unpredictable piece in the game. Many a game has been ended because of the make-or-break tactics with the Knight. How A Knight Chess Piece Moves The Knight chess piece moves in a very mysterious way. Unlike Rooks, Bishops or Queens, the Knight is limited in the number of squares it can move across. In fact, its movement is a very specific movement. The piece moves in a shape similar to the uppercase "L". Here are the specifics: The Knight piece can move forward, backward, left or right two squares and must then move one square in either perpendicular direction. The Knight piece can only move to one of up to eight positions on the board. The Knight piece can move to any position not already inhabited by another piece of the same color. The Knight piece can skip over any other pieces to reach its destination position. Basic Tactics Most experts prefer their Knight pieces to be "close to the action". Because of their strange movement, they can often cover weaknesses that other pieces leave. Knight pieces are also best employed near the center of the board and they are often one of the first pieces to reach the center area of the board.

The Knight also has a unique ability to attack another piece without risking being attacked by the same piece (aside from other Knights, of course). The Bishop chess piece is easily the most forgotten piece of all the chess pieces. From the beginners' perspective, the piece cannot do a whole lot to help out your game, considering each piece can only cover half of the board at a time and is quite vulnerable to attacks from straight on. But the bishop does have his place in the game of chess. In most chess sets, the piece is very traditional. It is a tall, slender piece with a pointed tip that has a strange cut made into it. Usually, the design doesn't change much, unlike the Knight piece, which has a lot of flair in its design. How A Bishop Chess Piece Moves The bishop chess piece is stuck moving in diagonals. Each player starts out with two bishop pieces, each one residing on its own color of square. Between both pieces, you can cover the entire board, but one piece can only cover one half of the board, only the colors of squares it started the game on. The bishop can move in any direction diagonally, so long as it is not obstructed by another piece.

The bishop piece cannot move past any piece that is obstructing its path. The bishop can take any other piece on the board that is within its bounds of movement. Basic Tactics Bishops are usually considered stronger pieces toward the end of the game. Often, though, the pawns make it difficult to use the bishop piece during the early parts of the game. The bishop is considered excellent in defending a castled King, though and can be used to help pin pieces into areas of the board. Most experts would agree, though, that giving up a Bishop is better than giving up a Rook. Considered the most dangerous and versatile piece on the board, the Queen chess piece is also one of the most important. Unless you are an expert chess player, losing your queen piece can easily be the final blow before falling to your opponent. Most players are willing to sacrifice just about any other piece on the board in order to save their queen. So why is the queen so important? How A Queen Chess Piece Moves The queen chess piece is like a combination of the Rook and Bishop chess pieces.

Each player starts out with one queen piece (although any pawn that makes it to the other side of the board can be traded in for another queen, which is why some chess sets come with extra queens). The queen can move forward or diagonal in any direction. Here are a few notes: The queen can move in any direction on a straight or diagonal path. The queen cannot "jump" over any piece on the board, so its movements are restricted to any direction of unoccupied squares. The queen can be used to capture any of your opponent's pieces on the board. Basic Tactics Most players try to keep their queen defended because of its ability to move. It is a very useful piece in any chess game and is often involved in endgame strategy. Experts try to get the queen piece toward the center of the board as soon as possible in order to help defend that space and gain an advantage over their opponent. The queen can be used in a variety of defensive strategies and works well to defend the King no matter where the King is on the board, so long as the queen is nearby. The most dangerous piece to a queen is the opponent's knight pieces.

The queen may not be able to attack a knight piece directly that is attacking the queen, so players try to be wary of their opponent's knight pieces. Advanced players may be more likely to sacrifice their queen in an attempt to win a game, though this is quite rare. The last piece to discuss on the chess board is the King piece. This piece is the game winner. Once your king is check-mated, the game is over, and your opponent wins, regardless of the score. The King chess piece is the piece you must protect the most and you cannot live without. Many experienced players, though may find themselves utilizing their king in an attempt to gain an advantage over an opponent, something weaker chess players are very leery of doing. No matter how you choose to use your King piece, he must stay alive at all costs. How A King Chess Piece Moves King chess pieces are somewhat limited in their movement. They cannot go riding across the chess board as quickly as most other pieces and they are easier to contain than most chess pieces from an opponent's perspective. Here are a few rules to note: The king piece can move one single square in any direction. The king cannot move onto a square that is currently occupied by a piece from its own team.

The king piece cannot move to any square that puts them into a "check" position. The king piece can participate in a move known as "castling", where the piece can move up to three squares while exchanging places with a rook chess piece. Basic Tactics Safety first, is the motto most chess players abide by when moving and using their king piece. Experienced players can use their king piece to help set traps and capture opposing pieces, though the King is rarely the aggressive piece in this situation. Most players try to keep their king piece in one of their two corners where there are fewer directions from which an attack can come. Often, castling with a rook piece early in the game gets the King piece to the corner faster, keeping the piece safer from attacks. Chess piece - definition of chess piece by The Free Dictionary Chess piece - definition of chess piece by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Wikipedia . ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1.

chess piece - any of 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess chessman bishop - (chess) a piece that can be moved diagonally over unoccupied squares of the same color rook , castle - (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard king - (chess) the weakest but the most important piece knight , horse - a chessman shaped to resemble the head of a horse; can move two squares horizontally and one vertically (or vice versa) man , piece - game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games; "he taught me to set up the men on the chess board"; "he sacrificed a piece to get a strategic advantage" pawn - (chess) the least powerful piece; moves only forward and captures only to the side; it can be promoted to a more powerful piece if it reaches the 8th rank queen - (chess) the most powerful piece chess set - checkerboard and a set of 32 pieces used to play chess Translations Diagonal Chess Diagonal Chess This page is written by the game's inventor, David Howe .

Diagonal Chess David Howe invented in 1997 a diagonal chess variant. The idea to turn the board 45 degrees is not new: see e.g., Minotaur Chess . Diagonal chess can be played with a normal set of chess pieces and board. Below, you read the description of David Howe of his game. Description The board is set up as pictured below. Players should sit at opposing corners of the board, so that the board is situated diagonally between them. Forward movement is diagonal.

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | |...| |.p.| r |.n.| n |.k.| 8 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |...| |...| |.p.| p |.q.| b | 7 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | |...| |...| |.p.| p |.b.| 6 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |.P.| |...| |...| |.p.| r | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | R |.P.| |...| |...| |.p.| 4 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |.B.| P |.P.| |...| |...| | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | B |.Q.| P |.P.| |...| |...| 2

 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |.K.| N |.N.| R |.P.| |...| | 1 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - a b c d e f g h - Initial board layout (text) (visualize it tilted 45 degrees) Initial board layout (graphical) The rules of normal chess apply unless otherwise noted.

Pawns move forward diagonally, and capture horizontally and vertically (see diagram below). Pawns do not have an initial two square move. Castling is not allowed. Knights move as in normal chess, except diagonally (see diagram below). Pawn promotion. A white pawn that reaches a8, g8, h7 or h1 may promote to a Queen (or less). A white pawn that reaches b8, f8, h6 or h2 may promote to a Rook (or less). A white pawn that reaches c8, e8, h5 or h3 may promote to a Bishop or Knight. A white pawn that reaches d8 or h4 may only promote to a Knight. If a white pawn reaches h8 (on a legal move) then white wins the game. Similar rules apply for black. See the following diagram. Note, a player may still win by checkmating.

Q R B N B R Q * - +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | |...| $ |...| |...| |.k.| 8 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |...| |...| |...| N |...| | Q 7 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | |...| $ |...| |...| |...| R 6 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |...| |...| |...| |...| | B 5 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - | |...| |...| $ |...| $ |...| N 4 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |...| |...| x |.*.| |...| | B 3 +---+---+---+-|-/---+---+---+---+ - | |...| |.P-- x |...| |...| R 2 +

---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - |.K.| |...| |...| |...| | Q 1 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ - a b c d e f g h - The white pawn on d2 may capture on d3 or e2, or may move to e3.

The white knight on f7 may move to any of the $ squares. Promotion squares for white are indicated on edge of board. Pawn and Knight moves / Promotion squares Notes A design limitation of this game was to be able to use a normal chess baord and pieces, with no extra equipment. A Knight is limited to moving to either light or dark squares. This decreases the value of the Knight. Both Knight promotion squares are the same color. Not a big problem, but aesthetically unpleasing. Only seven pawns used. Would be nice to find a use for the eighth pawn. Written by David Howe. WWW page created: April 24, 1997. ﻿ "Buy It Now" Sales: This site is supported by advertising and by donations. You can help out by making a small donation or by using this site's affiliate links when you shop at ebay.com , Amazon.com , or the House of Staunton .

Question: In chess, what piece can only move diagonally?
Answer: Bishop