Chess Rules - How to Castle Castling Castle Maneuver Diagram Castling is a special defensive maneuver. It is the only time in the game when more than one piece may be moved during a turn. This move was invented in the 1500s to help speed up the game and to help balance the offense and defense. The castling move has some fairly rigid restrictions: It can only occur if there are no pieces standing between the king and the rook. Neither king nor the rook to be castled with may have moved from its original position. (The other rook may have already moved.) There can be no opposing piece that could possibly capture the king in his original square, the square he moves through or the square that he ends the turn. The king moves two squares toward the rook he intends to castle with (this may be either rook). The rook then moves to the square through which the king passed. Hopefully, the diagram to the left makes this clear. If the king castles queen-side the rook must move three squares. However on the king-side the rook only moves two squares. Strategy Note: Castling is a great aid in defensive strategy.

It also has a tendency to bring a powerful rook into play when under normal circumstances it might be stuck behind a wall of pawns. How to Make an En Passant Move Rules of Chess: Castling FAQ External Links Rules of Chess: Castling FAQ This webpage gives the answers to some frequently asked questions about the official rules of chess regarding Castling. For the full rules of chess, see another webpage . What is castling? Castling is a special type of chess move. When castling, you simultaneously move your king, and one of your rooks. The king moves two squares towards a rook, and that rook moves to the square at the other side of the king. For more details, see the rules of chess , or the answers to the questions below. When are you not allowed to castle? There are a number of cases when castling is not permitted. Your king has been moved earlier in the game. The rook that castles has been moved earlier in the game. There are pieces standing between your king and rook. The king is in check. The king moves through a square that is attacked by a piece of the opponent. The king would be in check after castling.

Can you castle, if your king has been put in check in an earlier move but is not currently in check, and the king has not been moved? Yes. Having been in check earlier in the game does not prevent you from castling, as long as the conditions mentioned above are fulfilled. Or, in a longer form: Can a king castle after having been in check Can a player castle if his king was checked earlier in the game? (when the player was checked, he responded by placing another piece between his king and the opponents attacking piece; he did not move the king.) Put another way, does being checked automatically disqualify a player from castling later in the game? (Remember, the king has not moved,the opposing piece was simply blocked by another piece.) The player can still castle in this situation. The rules of chess state that castling is illegal, when the king or rook has moved earlier, and when in or through check. Having been in check which was removed by interposing another piece, or by taking (not with king or rook that is involved in the castling, of course) the checking piece does not prevent the player from castling later.

Is it allowed to castle which a rook that is attacked or goes through check? While castling (on the queen side) ,can I castle if my rook passes through check. I'm allways reading that the king may not castle out of ,(through),or into check. I know the rules allways specify ,the king cannot pass through check,but can the rook pass through. The rook can pass check, or better worded, through an attacked square. I.e., when all conditions that allow castling are met (rook and king have not moved, squares between rook and king are empty, king does not castle from, through, or to check), then castling is allowed, and it is of no importance whether the rook is attacked or goes via an attacked square. So, when white castles long, a black attack to a1 or to b1 does not make that castling is no longer allowed. In the diagram above: suppose white king and rooks have never moved. Castling long is legal for white, but in fact the worst move he can make! Can queens castle? How many squares do the king and rook move when castling?

There are two types of castling: Short: On the `kingsside'. Long: On the `queensside'. In both cases, the king moves two squares; the rook moves either two or three squares. Here is an example of short castling. First, white castles short, then black castles short. And here is an example of long castling. First, white castles long, then black castles long. Can the King and Rook castle if the rook is threatened by another piece? None of the squares that the king moves through is attacked. Yes: In this case, castling is allowed, assuming, of course, that the king and rook haven't moved and the squares between king and rook are empty. How is castling written in chess notation? Kingside castling (moving the king from e1 to g1 or from e8 to g8) is notated: 0-0. Queenside castling (moving the king from e1 to c1 or from e8 to c8) is notated: 0-0-0. Is it correct that a king may not capture when castling? Indeed.

In the above diagram, white is not allowed to castle. By the way, the rook is also not allowed to capture when castling. Written by Hans Bodlaender. WWW page created: April 8, 2002. Last modified: December 18, 2005. ﻿ "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 . 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. Chess is Fun How does the King move and capture?

The king can move one square in any direction. The king can also capture an opponent's piece if it is on one of those squares... assuming of course that the opponent is not defending this piece! The king can NEVER move on to a square that the opponent controls. Doing so would move the king into check. . . . . The first example illustrates how the king moves. It can move to any square marked with an "X" In the second diagram, the king can move to any of the marked squares or capture the black rook because the rook is one square away and is undefended. But the king may not move to one of the squares controlled by the black rook even though the rook is undefended. In the third diagram, the black rooks defend each other. The white king has only one legal move because the king cannot move to a square controlled by the enemy rooks. Finally, it is important to add that if the king is under attack (in check), the next move MUST make sure that the attack has been stopped. There are three possibilities. The king must move out of check. Or... the attacking piece must be captured. Or...

a piece must be moved between the attacker and the king in order to eliminate the direct attack. If the king is under attack AND there is no immediate way to end the attack, the game is over. CHECKMATE! Castling The king is permitted to take part in a very special move, the only chess move that actually involves two pieces at the same time! In the following diagram, the white king can castle on either side of the board. To castle, move the king two squares toward the rook, and then move the rook to the square immediately on the other side of the king. For castling to be legal, make sure (1) that your king and rook have never moved. (2) that your king is not under attack. You may not castle out of check. (3) that your king is not passing through or arriving upon a square controlled by the opponent. (4) that all of the squares between the king and rook are vacant. You may castle if your rook is under attack. You may even castle if your rook passes through a square controlled by your opponent. Here's where the king and rook end up after castling on each side of the board. So why castle?

See below under the section "King strategy" Skillsology | The Basics of Castling in Chess The Basics of Castling in Chess We at Skillsology try our best to take as many of our courses as possible. So this week I turned my attention to our brand new chess course written by Grandmaster Simon Williams. I have messed around with chess in the past but never played seriously. I decided to start with some of the basics which is where I came across a pretty nifty move called Castling. It’s the only time you are allowed to move two pieces at the same time in the game which makes it pretty cool and definitely worthy of a blog post. What is Castling? According to the Laws of Chess from the World Chess Federation, Castling is when “the king is transferred from its original square two squares towards the rook on its original square, then that rook is transferred to the square the king has just crossed.” ( It basically means you can move your King squares towards your Rook and then jump the Rook over the King so that it sits the other side of it. You get two moves in one and it’s a great way to protect your King.

Kingside & Queenside Castling You can Castle with either Rook, doing so on the side of your King is Kingside Castling and on the side of your Queen is Queenside. The actual moves here are very similar, the only difference being that when Castling on the Queenside the Rook travels an extra square to jump over the King and the King is two squares away from the edge of the board rather than one square away. When can’t you Castle? 1. If there is anything between the King and Rook. This might be an obvious one, but you can’t Castle if there is any other piece between the King and the Rook you are looking to Castle with. You need a straight line of sight to Castle. 2. If you are in Check. You can’t Castle if you are in Check. It would be a nice move to get out of Check but unfortunately it isn’t allowed. 3. If your King will move through Check to Castle. Slightly more complicated but you also cannot Castle if your King would move through a Check position in doing so. So if you have to move your King through a square that an opposition piece could take in order to Castle, then you are not allowed to Castle. 4.

If the King or Rook you wish to Castle with has been moved. This is an important one. If the King has been moved (at all!) then you cannot Castle. If the Rook you want to Castle with has been moved at all (even moved forward and then back to position) then you cannot Castle with that Rook. You can, however, still Castle with the alternative Rook providing the King and that rook haven’t been moved. If you are still unsure as to what to do I have posted up Simon’s video on Castling from the Skillsology chess course below. He explains things much better than I do, so enjoy! Take a look at the Skillsology Chess Course – available now for only £29 The United States Chess Federation - Learn to Play Chess The United States Chess Federation II. Piece Movements Part 1 - The King and the Rook III. Check and three ways to get out of check IV. Piece Movements Part 2 - The Bishop and the Queen V. Piece Movements Part 3 - The Pawn and the Knight VI. Special Moves- Castling, Pawn Promotion, and En Passant VII. Scoring and Drawing VIII. Tournament Rules I.

Setting up the pieces Chess is played on an 8x8 board. White moves first. When you set up the board, remember the following things: a. "White is right!" Make sure the right corner of the board is on a White square. Many movies, T.V shows, and even art exhibits with chess sets get this wrong. b. Queen on her color! If you are White the queen should be on a White square. If you are Black, the queen should be on a Black square. The letters on the bottom (a-h) of the board correspond to files. The numbers on the side of the board refer to ranks (1-8). Each square has a name. The red square is called e5. Question 1: What is the green square called? Using these names to record your chess moves is called "Algebraic Chess Notation" Strong players invariably do this, so that they can learn from their games. II. Piece movements Part I- The Rook and The King 1. The Rook: Let's start with the moststraightforward piece. The rook can move horizontally and vertically as many squares as it wants. The rook can move to any of the starred squares.

The rook captures in the same way that it moves. If it's White's turn, he can take any of the three rooks. If it's Black's move, Black can use any of her rooks to take the White rook. The king has little mobility. But the king's value is unquantifiable, because it entrapment ends the game. It moves one square in every direction. The White king can move to any of the three starred score in the corner. The Black king can move to any of the eight starred squares. The king captures in the same way it moves, but unlike any other piece, the king cannot be captured. III. Check and three ways to get out of check Check is the heart and soul of the game, so let's go over it now- and then we can review it with each new piece we learn to move! When a piece threatens the king with capture (attacks), the king is in check. The White rook checks the Black king. A checked king must escape check in one of three ways. Here, the Black king can get out of check by moving to any of the starred squares. Fleeing is the first way to get out of check.

Question: Why can't he move to e6 or e4? The White king can simply capture the Black rook to get out of check. Question: How many squares can the White king flee to? Is it better to capture or flee here? Blocking is the third way to get out of check. Think of this as the king throwing one of his bodyguards in front of himself, to shield himself from injury. The Black rook on h5 can block the check by moving to e5. The king is never allowed to put himself in check. Two kings cannot touch. In other words, they can't be on adjacent squares. Diagram 1 (left) is NOT ALLOWED because kings move one square in each direction, and therefore would be putting themselves in check if standing right next to each other. You will never see this position in a real game of chess. In Diagram 2, the Black king may not move to g5, g6 or g7, because he would be putting himself in check. IV. Piece Movements Part II. The Bishop and The Queen The bishop moves diagonally as many squares as it wants. Bishops remain on the same color all game.

Explaining his divorce, World Champion Boris Spassky said, "We were like bishops of opposite colors." An apt analogy: Bishops of the opposite color live on the same board but never, ever have contact. The bishop on e4 can never have a rendezvous with the one on e5. The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She moves like the rook and bishop combined: diagonally, horizontally and laterally as many squares as she wants. Like the rook and bishop, she captures in the same way that she moves. The queen can move to any of the starred squares. The queen can capture any of the Black pieces with her next move. Let's review check with the bishop and queen. The Black bishop is checking the White king. White can use any of the three methods to get out of check: Fleeing with the king, to f8, d8, e7 or f7. Blocking with the White bishop, by moving to d7. Using the queen to capture the bishop on c6. Let's say White is hungry and goes for the third choice. Now we have this position: Black can only flee here. His three choices are to flee to g7, g5 or h5.

Checkmate- Checkmate is when a king has no way to escape from a check. (There are no squares to flee to, no way to block or capture the checking piece.) Checkmate is the goal of chess and ends the game. Many chess lovers are drawn to the game by checkmate- it's a clear competitive purpose and to many, aesthetically pleasing. The Black king cannot capture the White queen, because the White bishop backs her up. The king cannot flee nor block. The Black king cannot escape from the rook check and move to g5,g3 or g4, because the White king is covering all thosesquares. Question: What do checkmated kings in diagram 1 +2have in common? V. Piece Movements Part 3 The Pawn and the Knight The pawn is the weakest piece on the board, but don't underestimate their importance. Philidor, the 18th century French chess champion, called pawns the "soul of chess." Learning the pawn's move is tricky. The pawn is the only piece on the board that does not move backward. A decision to barge ahead with a pawn is final, which is why such precision is required with pawns.

On their first move, the pawns can move forward one or two squares. Think of the two square push as the pawn's morning cup! After each pawn has moved, it can only move one square forward at a time. Either e3 or e4, the morning coffee jump is allowed! Tip: Most top players serve their pawns morning coffee. Once the pawn has already moved, it cannot move two squares. The e4 pawn may move to the green square e5 but it cannot have another cup of coffee and move to e6, nor can it move backwards, to e3. The pawn captures diagonally only. The pawn is the only piece that does not capture in the same way that it moves. In Diagram 1, the pawn on e5 can capture the knight on f6. The pawn cannot capture the pawn on e6. Diagram 2 shows the position after the pawn captures the knight. Now Black can take the f6 pawn with his g7 pawn. The knight is the trickiest piece to learn. Newcomers to chess often find the knight so hard to remember that they keep the knights in the back row. Such a scorned knight feels sad and depressed.

Don't let it happen to yours, because knights are the most special piece in chess. Author-philosophy-grandmaster Jonathan Rowson writes: "They are the curvy pieces that bring a circular aspect to an essentially linear game." The knight moves two squares one way, and then one square the other, in the shape of an L. The knight captures in the same way as it moves. The Black knight can go to any of the starred squares. The White knight can capture any of the three Black pawns. Notice that knights always switch the color of square they rest on- they're on a constant rotation between day and night shifts.Knights are the only piece that can jump over other pieces. However, they do not capture any pieces that they jump over. At the start of a chess game, the knights can jump out immediately over his own pawns, like in the diagram above. All the other pieces must wait for the pawns to free up space for them to move along diagonals, files and ranks. The knight in Diagram 1 can jump over the rook and bishop to capture the pawn on d5.

The only piece the knight takes in the process is the d5 pawn (Diagram 2), which was on its destination square. Part VI: Special Moves- Castling, Pawn Promotion and En Passant. Castling is a special move using one rook and the king. Castling is the only time in chess in which you can move two pieces at once. There are two varieties, queenside and kingside. . In this diagram, both White and Black can castle to reach the position below. White castled kingside and Black castled queenside. Remember that the King always moves two squares when castling. Many players forget this and move the king an extra square (to b8) when castling queenside. TIP: Top players castle nearly every game. It makes the king safer, and also gets the powerful rook out of the corner. Is Castling allowed? You can only castle, if all of the following are true #1- Your king has not moved yet #2- The rook you want to castle with has not moved yet #3- There are no pieces between the rook and the king #4- You are not being checked.

(You can't castle out of check!) #5- The process of castling will not put or land the king in check. Rule 5 is the trickiest: Even masters have asked questions about whether or not a king is moving through check while castling. Even if White has met the conditions of the first four rules, he cannot castle in the positive above, because on his way to g1, the bishop on b5 would check the king. Black on the other hand, is free to castle. The bishop on g3 hits b8, but the Black king does not have to go through this square to castle. Special move #2- Pawn Promotion Pawns cannot move backwards, so you might wonder what happens when they reach the last rank. They turn into any piece that you want, except the king. 99% of the time, players choose the most powerful piece on the board, the queen. For this reason, "queening" is just as popular a phrase as "promoting." In Diagram 1, both players can promote to make a queen in Diagram 2. White can promote by playing d8=Q.

The Black pawn on e2 can capture the knight on f1, or advance to e1, in both cases making a queen. You can promote to a queen even if you already have a queen. Some high-end chess sets even come with an extra queen. Special Move #3- En Passant En passant is French for "in passing". This rule can only be used in a very specific situation. If a pawn has reached the fifth rank as in diagram 1, (or the fourth rank for Black) and a neighbor enemy pawn takes a morning coffee jump (in diagram 2), the White pawn can capture the zealous enemy pawn (diagram 3) as if it had only moved one square. Part VII.- Scoring and Drawing. What's a chess point? In competitive chess every game is worth one point. Checkmate is one way to win the whole point, but you can also win if your opponent resigns or runs out of time. Draws A game can also end in a draw. Nobody wins or loses, and each player gets 1/2 a point. There are many paths that end in a draw. 1. Agreement- both players agree that the game is likely to be a draw. 2.

Insufficient mating material. 5. Both players run out of time 6. 50 Move rule Let's look at examples of each. Draw #1- Agreement Each side has a rook and a king. This is a perfect example of what's known in competitive chess circles as a "dead draw". If both players are confident that their opponents will not give up their rook, they'll agree and shake hands immediately. Draw #2-Insufficient Mating Material- A knight and a king or a bishop and a king are unable to checkmate a lone enemy king. Even after hours of play, the knight in Diagram 1 or the bishop in Diagram 2 will never mate the Black king. In either position, Black can claim a draw by insufficient mating material. Queens and rooks however, can mate a lone king. If there is a pawn on the board, you cannot claim insufficient mating material because that pawn can transform into a queen or a rook. Draw #3- Stalemate is a very important rule. If an opponent cannot move any of his pieces, including the king, the position is a stalemate and is scored as a draw. Both positions are stalemate because Black has no legal moves.

Notice that in Diagram 2 Black has several pawns, but it's still stalemate because he cannot move any of them. Who do you think is happy in each position? These positions are not stalemate: In Diagram 1, Black can move the pawn on a5. In Diagram 2, Black can move the king to h7. Draw #4- Repetition of Position- When a chess position is repeated three times, either player can claim a draw by repetition. The most common way to achieve three-move repetition is via perpetual check, as in the example below. In Diagram 2, The White queen lands on g6, delivering check to the g8 king. The Black king escapes to the only possible square-h8, and the White queen checks again on h6. The king moves back to g8, and White checks again on g6 forcing Black to return to h8. After three times, either player may claim a three-move repetition. Draw #5- Double Time Forfeit If both players run out of time, it's a draw. If both players have run out of time, but there's checkmate on the board, the checkmater wins the game. Position takes precedence over the clock.

Draw #6- 50 Move Rule- If no pawns or pieces have been traded for more than 50 moves, a game is determined to be a draw. This rule requires that the player who makes the claim write down his moves. For instance, in this position: White has two knights, and has been hopping around for hours, unable to checkmate you. If you'd been recording the moves, you can claim a draw after 50 moves. Chess Notation: When you become a member of the USCF, you'll see that a lot of thrilling chess games and stories are filled with chess notation. You also are required to take notation in most official chess tournaments, so it's great to get a firm handle on it as you start to play. Impress your friends by telling them that you're learning an ancient language called Aracaissaic. The pieces are abbreviated to the following letters: King- K Rule Changes That'll Never Happen, Part 2: Castling - Chess.com Chess.com Sep 15, 2009, 12:00 AM 24,234 Reads Fun & Trivia For the most part, the rules of chess are simple and easy to explain.

The object of the game, to trap the enemy king, is understandable to a five year old. The movement of the pieces is straightforward and clearly defined. The players take turns moving one piece at a time. When played reasonably well, the game has logic, aesthetics, and a pleasing flow. And then there is castling - the only move in which a king moves two squares, the only move where two pieces move on the same turn, the only move where a piece jumps over another piece that is in its direct path. Let's admit it right up front, the move is contrived and funny-looking. I'll bet a lot of people have wondered how such a bizarre-looking move ever got started. I know I have. Here's my guess on how the castling move was invented: Back in the 15th century, a certain king known as Richard the Corpulent offered a challenge to any member of his kingdom: a four game chess match. If the king lost, he would award half his kingdom to the successful challenger. If the king won, the challenger would be put to death. Now, within the kingdom there lived a blacksmith named John Surly. Undaunted by the dire consequences if he lost, he accepted the king's challenge.

The blacksmith had been playing chess for years in the village green and had never lost a game. He had also witnessed many games played by the king against members of his cabinet, and, while Surly had never seen the king actually lose, he had observed numerous games in which the king's opponents had missed crushing moves. So Surly took the challenge, confident that this was an easy road to riches. The match opened to considerable fanfare the next day as the king regally advanced his king's pawn. The game proceeded 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. d4 f6 7. Nc3 Rb8 8. Qd3 Ne7 9. h4 h5 10. Be3 Rxb2 11. de de 12. Qxd8+ Kxd8. At this point, the king eyed the black rook that had audaciously grabbed his b-pawn and now threatened the heart of White's camp. Something had to be done about that rook.

So, King Richard moved his king two squares to the left and simultaneously jumped his rook over the king, announcing check. Shocked, John Surly said, "Prithee excuse my impertinence, My Lord, but what the hell kind of move is that?" The king replied, "It is called castling. The king moves two squares toward a rook, whereupon the rook leaps over the king." And so the castling move was born. The next day, the king essayed the type of risky play for which he had invariably won spectacular games against his cabinet members. The game began 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d5 4. ed c6 5. dc Bc5 6. Bc4 O-O. "I shall castle," said the king as he made the last move. Here Surly thought for a bit, then decided that 7. Nd7 would be very clever, dropping his knight into the enemy camp to disrupt Black's attack. When King Richard replied 7...Nxc6, Surly played 8.

Nxc5, figuring it was more important to remove the active bishop, rather than a rook that was not an immediate threat. When the king played 8...Re8+, ignoring a chance to regain the piece by ...Qe7+, Surly decided he could keep all his extra material by playing 9. Be2. He was now feeling quite pleased with himself. The game continued 9...Nd4 10. Nc3 Bg4 11. f3 Rc8. Surly decided the knight now under attack needed to stay on c5 to watch e4, so he played 12. b4. King Richard, never one to reject a sacrifice, replied 12...Rxc4 13. bxc4 Ne4. At this point, Surly hit upon a wicked idea. He played 14. fxg5, and, after King Richard responded 14...Qh4+, the challenger played 15. O-O and commented smugly, "I am castling Your Highness, just as ye hath done in this game and the last." The king replied, "That is a nice try, Loyal Subject.

Unfortunately, castling is not allowed while one is in check." So the challenger was made to retract his last move. After 15. g3 Nf3+ 16. Bxf3 Nxg3+, he tried to stave off defeat by 17. Qe2, only to suffer the most ignominious of mates after 17...Rxe2+ 18. Bxe2 Ne4+ 19. Kd1 Nf2+ 20. Ke1 Nd3+ 21. Kd1 Qe1+ 22. Rxe1 Nf2#. When the crowd erupted in thunderous applause (not so much for the king's play as for the stage it set for tomorrow's game), the king could not resist saying to the Royal Executioner, "Better make sure your axe is good and sharp for tomorrow, Bruno." The crowd roared its approval. Down 0-2, Surly now had no chance to win half the kingdom and needed two straight wins to save his neck, in the most literal sense.

To make matters worse, the crowd for game 3 was enormous and quite rowdy, continuously chanting phrases like "Off with his head!" and "Whoomp, there it goes!". Also prominently in evidence was the Royal Executioner, to whom the king had granted a front row seat in Surly's direct line of sight. The game began 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bc4 Bb4 5. d3 d5 6. ed Nxd5. Here the king played 7. O-O with regal panache, eliciting wild applause. After 7...Nxc3 8. bxc3 Bxc3 9. Ba3 Bxa1 10. Qxa1, the crowd roared its approval and began doing the Tomahawk Chop. Understandably, Surly found the whole spectacle very unsettling. At this point, he icily said to the king, "Let me guess, Your Royal Largeness. I am going to castle here, and when I do you are going to tell me the move is illegal." The king replied, "That is correct, peasant.

One is not allowed to castle through check." Unnerved, Surly now committed the fatal error 10...Bg4 (and grammar buffs may wish to note here that this is the first instance in chess literature that the word "fatal" has been used accurately). The king played 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Qxe5+, bringing a big roar from the crowd. This led to 12...Kd7 13. Qd4+ Kc8 14. Qxg4+ Kb8 15. Ba6 and an even bigger roar from the crowd. After 15...c6 16. Rb1 b6 17. Qf4+ Qc7 18. Bd6 Rc8 19. Bxc7+ Rxc7 20. Re1 Surly was helpless. Pandemonium ensued. Surly was grabbed, dragged to the chopping block, and beheaded. His head was placed on a pike and paraded through the town square as the king waved graciously to his adoring public.

A few days later, the rules of chess were amended to include the new rule called castling, along with the circumstances under which castling is allowed. Okay, time to return to the present. You'll recall this article began with the observation that the castling move is contrived and funny-looking. In spite of that, castling is played in most openings, since the move gets the king out of the center and brings a rook into the game, solving two positional problems in one fell swoop. And that's the real problem I have with castling. It's not that the move is contrived so much as it's too convenient. If the starting position presents a few problems, good. Chess is about solving problems. Abolish castling and there'll be more early attacks, more kings caught in crossfires around move 15, more tactics in the opening. All right, learned colleagues, I know what you are going to say. This is another rule change that absolutely, positively, will never get adopted. Grandmasters would need years to learn new opening theory. Books would have to be revised. Entire openings would have to be re-evaluated. The change would cost millions.

So, regardless of how many players like the idea, the change won't happen, no way, nohow. 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 Rules Chess Rules 3.3. Game Draw 3.1.

The Rules of Chess Chess is played on a square board of eight rows (called ranks and denoted with numbers 1 to 8) and eight columns (called files and denoted with letters a to h) of squares. The colors of the sixty-four squares alternate between light and dark, and are referred to as "light squares" and "dark squares". The chessboard is placed so that each player has a white square in the near right hand corner, and the pieces are set out as shown in the diagram, with each queen on a square that matches its color. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces: each player's pieces comprise one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. One player, referred to as White, controls the white pieces and the other player, Black, controls the black pieces; White is always the first player to move. The colors are chosen either by a friendly agreement, by a game of chance or by a tournament director. The players alternate moving one piece at a time (with the exception of castling, when two pieces are moved at the same time).

Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square, or one occupied by an opponent's piece, capturing it and removing it from play. With one exception (en passant), all pieces capture opponent's pieces by moving to the square that the opponent's piece occupies. The queen can move any number of vacant squares diagonally, horizontally, or vertically. 3.1.5. Knight The knight can jump over occupied squares and moves two spaces horizontally and one space vertically or vice versa, making an "L" shape. A knight in the middle of the board has eight squares to which it can move. Note that every time a knight moves, it changes square color. 3.1.6. Pawns Pawns have the most complex rules of movement: A pawn can move forward one square, if that square is unoccupied. If it has not moved yet, the pawn has the option of moving two squares forward, if both squares in front of the pawn are unoccupied. A pawn cannot move backward.

When such an initial two square advance is made that puts that pawn horizontally adjacent to an opponent's pawn, the opponent's pawn can capture that pawn "en passant" as if it moved forward only one square rather than two, but only on the immediately subsequent move. Pawns are the only pieces that capture differently than they move. They can capture an enemy piece on either of the two spaces adjacent to the space in front of them (i.e., the two squares diagonally in front of them), but cannot move to these spaces if they are vacant. If a pawn advances all the way to its eighth rank, it is then promoted (converted) to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. In practice, the pawn is almost always promoted to a queen. 3.1.7. Remaining movement rules With the exception of the knight, pieces cannot jump over each other. One's own pieces ("friendly pieces") cannot be passed if they are in the line of movement, and a friendly piece can never replace another friendly piece. Enemy pieces cannot be passed, but they can be "captured". When a piece is captured (or taken), the attacking piece replaces the enemy piece on its square (en passant being the only exception).

The captured piece is thus removed from the game and may not be returned to play for the remainder of the game. The king cannot be captured, only put in check. If a player is unable to get the king out of check, checkmate results, with the loss of the game. Chess games do not have to end in checkmate — either player may resign if the situation looks hopeless. Games also may end in a draw (tie). A draw can occur in several situations, including draw by agreement, stalemate, threefold repetition of a position, the fifty move rule, or a draw by impossibility of checkmate (usually because of insufficient material to checkmate). 3.2. Timed Games Games can be played with a time-limit by setting a move time when creating a new game. In timed games each player has a certain amount of time available for deciding which moves to make, and the time remaining for each player decreases only when it is their turn to move. 3.3. Game Draw A game that ends without victory for either player. Most drawn games are draws by agreement based upon the rules. The other ways that a game can end in a draw are stalemate, three-fold repetition, the fifty-move rule, and insufficient material.

A position is said to be a draw (or a drawn position) if either player can, through correct play, eventually force the game into a position where the game must end in a draw, regardless of the moves made by the other player.

Question: In chess, how many squares does the King move when castling?
Answer: 2