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! Names Of All Chess Pieces - Chess Glossary Article WaddenCC Photography Names Of All Chess Pieces If you've been hunting around for the Names Of All Chess Pieces, then hunt no more, as this page has what you're looking for ...

A game of Chess involves two opponents, each having a total of 16 pieces, made up of 6, er, characters. These are they: Names Of All Chess Pieces - Pawn - Being a war game, the Pawn is kind of like your common foot soldier - often the first ones into battle, while being more expendable than those of a higher rank, such as the Knight. In total, each player begins a game of Chess with 8 Pawns on the board. On a Pawns first move, it may move either 1 or 2 squares forward, depending on your opening strategy. However, thereafter, a Pawn may only move one square forward per turn and it can never move backwards. As for capturing, a Pawn can only capture on either one of the diagonal squares in front of its current position ... This means that when another piece is on a square directly in front - on the straight line, your Pawn is stuck and cannot move forward until the blocking piece moves, or an enemy piece is within legal range for capture.

Read More About The Pawn Names Of All Chess Pieces - Knight - The Knight is the piece that often looks like a horse - well, a horse's head (kind of like in The Godfather, but without the blood). Each player begins a game of Chess with 2 Knights on the board. We've said that it is often one of the Pawns that moves first, at the start of a game ... Often, but not always, as the Knight's ability to jump over pieces allows it to be the only other piece that can make a move at the very beginning of a game. The Knight is also unique in the way it moves ... Whereas other pieces go in straight lines - be it on the staights, or along the diagonals - the Knight moves in an L-shape. It goes either two squares forward and one to the left or right; or one square to the left or right and two squares forward ... Which you choose will, naturally, depend on potential for positional advantage, capture, to avoid being captured, or for lack of options when your other pieces are blocking certain squares within the Knight's legal range of movement.

Read More About The Knight Names Of All Chess Pieces - Bishop - At the start of a game, each player has 2 Bishops on the board. One patrols the light-colored squares; the other goes along the dark-colored squares. As for range of movement, the Bishops move only on the diagonals but are able to go from one corner of the board to the other, on their colored squares. This makes the Bishop a great, long-distance threat to your opponent - though, obviously, the flip side is your pieces are at an equal risk from the enemy Bishops. When it comes to realtive value, two Bishops are considered more valuable than either two Knights, or a Knight and a Bishop working together. Though, of course, the threat of the two Bishop pieces are only as good as the skill of the player who controls their movement. Read More About The Bishop Names Of All Chess Pieces - Rook - Each player gets 2 Rooks, at the start of a game of Chess. Their range of movement is along the straights - if they have the space, they can get from one side of the board to the other, in a single move. The Rooks are most effective in the middle of the board.

As they start a game in the corner squares, part of your opening strategy will be to, somehow, bring your Rooks inwards, while trying to mobilize your other pieces, ready for the carnage that takes place during the Middlegame stage. Two Rooks operating together can be more potent than a single Queen, if used wisely. The obvious threat is from the diagonals, which means one of the greatest threats to the Rook are from the Bishop and Queen, at distance; while at more close-range, Pawns that have good support can also prove hazardous to your Rooks. Read More About The Rook Names Of All Chess Pieces - Queen - The Queen is by far the most potent, attacking piece on the board. At one time, when the game of Chess was played in Medieval times, the Queen was restricted to one square move per turn and only on the diagonals. She was a much weaker piece back then. However, it must have been when PMT was fully recognized as a potential threat to man, that the Queen, in a game of Chess, suddenly took on a more devastating range of attacking options ... She combines the diagonal power of the Bishops, with the straight-line threat of the Rooks.

Read More About The Queen Names Of All Chess Pieces - King - Even with the Queen's attacking prowess, the King is your most precious piece on the board ... If it is attacked in such a way that there are no legally-safe places to move, your King will find itself in a situation known as "Checkmate" - and you'll lose the game, immediately. It doesn't matter if you have all your good pieces still on the board, if your King succumbs to Checkmate, it's gameover! So, use your pieces wisely, to protect your King, while you somehow exploit weaknesses in your opponent's setup. Does this mean a King is totally useless? It's vulnerable, for sure, but the King can work to secure a Win - though not on its own; you'll usually have a majority of pieces, over your opponent's ... The King can be used to capture stray Pawns and, as Kings cannot be next to each other, on the board, you can use your King to tactically cut off escape routes for the enemy King.

Read More About The King Teach Kids to Play Chess - ChessKid.com Learn to Play 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 for more than 500 years! The Goal of Chess You and your opponent are each in charge of an army. Your goal: to catch the other army's king (before they catch yours)! When you have him attacked and he can no longer escape, it's called "checkmate," and you win! You each start with a trusty army of 16: the King, Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights, and eight Pawns. 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, so it's only fair to take turns playing white and black. On each turn you get to move one of your pieces (except for one special move). Then it's your opponent's turn. And back and forth, you take turns until one of the kings is cornered... or your whole army is tired out! How the Chess Pieces Move Each of the 6 different kinds of pieces has its own shape for moving. Most pieces cannot move through other pieces-- only the knight can jump over anyone who gets in his way! Also no piece can ever move onto a square with one of their own pieces. However, they can be moved to take the place of an opponent's piece: that's how you capture the enemies! The King The king is the most important piece, since losing him means the end of the game. But he is also one of the weakest. So very often he needs his friends to protect him.

The king can move one square in any direction - up, down, to the sides, and diagonally. The king may never move himself onto a square where he could be captured (no losing on purpose). If your opponent ever moves their king onto a square where you can take it, don't grab the king and laugh "hahahaha, I win!" Instead, you should explain why they can't move there. Then your opponent can put the king back where it was, and choose a different move. Click on the ">" button in the diagram below to see how the king can move around the board. Check and Checkmate When another piece threatens to capture the king, it is called 'check.' When there is no way for the king to escape check, it is called 'checkmate.' As stated before, that is how you win. There are only three ways a king can get out of check: move out of the way, 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. The Queen The queen is the most powerful piece.

Like the king, she can move in any one straight direction - forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally - but unlike him, she's very speedy. In fact, she can move as far as you like as long as she does not move through any other pieces. And, like with all pieces, if the queen captures an opponent's piece, that's the square she stops on. 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 moves much like the queen: as far as it wants along straight lines, but only forward, backward, and to the sides (not diagonally). The Bishop The bishop is the "other half" of the queen. It moves as far as it wants, but only diagonally. You start with one bishop on a light square and one bishop on a dark square, and you will notice, only moving on diagonals, each one is stuck on the color it starts on. Bishops work well together because each covers the squares the other one can't.

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. People often say knights "hop" because of that special ability. Check out these knight hops: The Pawn Half of your starting team is pawns, so it's very important to understand how to use these little guys, even though they are not very strong. Pawns are unusual because they move in one way, but capture in a different way. When they move, they just go forward, but when they capture they go diagonally. Pawns can only move forward one square at a time, except for their very first move where they can move forward two squares or one. Pawns can only capture one square diagonally in front of them. They can never move or capture backwards. Because they move and capture differently, the pawn is the only piece that can get blocked by enemy pieces: if there is another piece directly in front of a pawn he cannot move past or capture that piece.

Promotion Now pawns may be small and weak, moving slowly and having trouble fighting against the faster guys on the board. But pawns still have big dreams! They want to be the hero who rules the chessboard and brings you victory. And pawns have one more special ability that can help make their dreams come true. If a pawn reaches the other side of the board it can become any other chess piece (called promotion), except a pawn or king. [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, because she is the most powerful piece. Only pawns may be promoted; no other piece can do this! En Passant The last rule about pawns is called "en passant", which is French, meaning "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 running past the other pawn's ability to capture it), that other pawn has the option of capturing the first pawn as if it only moved one space.

This special move must be done on the very next move 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, the only time you can move two pieces in one move. This combination move allows you to do two important things all in one turn: 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 to the other side of his king. (See the example below.) In order to castle, however, 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 kingside. Castling to the other side, through where the queen sat, is called castling queenside.

Regardless of which side, the king always moves exactly two squares when castling. 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). Draw by exhaustion! A player declares a draw if the same exact position is repeated three times (though not necessarily three times in a row) Fifty moves in a row have been played by each player, without anyone moving a pawn or capturing a piece. This means no progress is being made! If you've made it this far, you are ready to play! After this come extra rules for tournaments, variants, and some first advice for how to play chess well. Chess960 Chess960 (also called Fischer Random) is a chess variant that follows all of the normal rules of chess, except that the starting position of the pieces is randomly chosen at the start of each game.

There are two rules for placing the pieces: the bishops must be on opposite colors, and there must be one rook on each side of the king. The black and white pieces are in a mirrored position. There are exactly 960 possible starting scenarios that follow these rules (thus the name "960"). The only odd rule is with castling: the rules are mostly the same (king and rook cannot have moved and cannot castle through check or in check), with the additional rule that the squares between where the king and castled rook will end up must be vacant from all pieces except the king and rook. And instead of moving exactly 2 steps towards your rook, you always castle so that it looks like in normal chess: King goes to g1 when you castle "kingside" and to c1 when you castle "queenside." 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. (of course you can't "touch" a piece online, so this is a tournament rule which does not matter on our website).

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 what they are doing, 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. That's because when they first started having chess tournaments in the 1800s, some guys would just sit there and not move if they were in a losing position. This perfect strategy kept them from ever losing... and the tournament from ever finishing! Then they invented the chess clock, and it became normal at most tournaments. 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 stop their clock from running and 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). Click here to watch two players quickly playing a timed game of chess!

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 below 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 Check out our list of recommended books for beginners . There are also many resources on ChessKid.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! Illustrated rules of chess Las reglas del ajedrez (Spanish) Chess is a game, played by two players. One player plays with the white pieces, and the other player plays with the black pieces. Each player has sixteen pieces in the beginning of the game: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The game is played on a chessboard, consisting of 64 squares: eight rows and eight columns. The squares are alternately light (white) and dark colored. The board must be laid down such that there is a black square in the lower-left corner. To facilitate notation of moves, all squares are given a name. From the view of the white player, the rows are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; the lowest row has number 1, and the upper row has number 8. The columns are named, from left to right, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h.

A square gets a name, consisting of the combination of its column-letter and row-number, e.g., the square in the lower left corner (for white) is a1. black white Alternately, the players make a move, starting with the white player (the player that plays with the white pieces.) A move consists of moving one of the pieces of the player to a different square, following the rules of movement for that piece - there is one special exception, named castling, where players move two pieces simultaneously. A player can take a piece of the opponent by moving one of his own pieces to the square that contains a piece of the opponent. The opponents piece then is removed from the board, and out of play for the rest of the game. (Taking is not compulsory.) At the start of the game, the position of the pieces is as follows. Thus, at the second row, there are eight white pawns, at the seventh row, there are eight black pawns. At the first row, from left to right, we have a: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook.

Note that the queens start of squares of their own color, with a dark square in each players left hand corner. Movement of the pieces Rook The rook moves in a straight line, horizontally or vertically. The rook may not jump over other pieces, that is: all squares between the square where the rook starts its move and where the rook ends its move must be empty. (As for all pieces, when the square where the rook ends his move contains a piece of the opponent, then this piece is taken. The square where the rook ends his move may not contain a piece of the player owning this rook.) Bishop The bishop moves in a straight diagonal line. The bishop may also not jump over other pieces. Queen The queen has the combined moves of the rook and the bishop, i.e., the queen may move in any straight line, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Knight The knight makes a move that consists of first one step in a horizontal or vertical direction, and then one step diagonally in an outward direction. The knight jumps: it is allowed that the first square that the knight passes over is occupied by an arbitrary piece. For instance, white can start the game by moving his knight from b1 to c3.

The piece that is jumped over is further not affected by the knight: as usual, a knight takes a piece of the opponent by moving to the square that contains that piece. Pawn The pawn moves differently regarding whether it moves to an empty square or whether it takes a piece of the opponent. When a pawn does not take, it moves one square straight forward. When this pawn has not moved at all, i.e., the pawn is still at the second row (from the owning players view), the pawn may make a double step straight forward. For instance, a white pawn on d2 can be moved to d4. When taking, the pawn goes one square diagonally forward. There is one special rule, called taking en-passant. When a pawn makes a double step from the second row to the fourth row, and there is an enemy pawn on an adjacent square on the fourth row, then this enemy pawn inthe next move may move diagonally to the square that was passed over by the double-stepping pawn, which is on the third row. In this same move, the double-stepping pawn is taken.

This taking en-passant must be done directly: if the player who could take en-passant does not do this in the first move after the double step, this pawn cannot be taken anymore by an en-passant move. A double pawn step, and a following en-passant capture Pawns that reach the last row of the board promote. When a player moves a pawn to the last row of the board, he replaces the pawn by a queen, rook, knight, or bishop (of the same color). Usually, players will promote the pawn to a queen, but the other types of pieces are also allowed. (It is not required that the pawn is promoted to a piece taken. Thus, it is for instance possible that a player has at a certain moment two queens.) Before and after a promotion King The king moves one square in any direction, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. There is one special type of move, made by a king and rook simultaneously, called castling: see below. The king is the most important piece of the game, and moves must be made in such a way that the king is never in check: see below.

Castling Under certain, special rules, a king and rook can move simultaneously in a castling move. The following conditions must be met: The king that makes the castling move has not yet moved in the game. The rook that makes the castling move has not yet moved in the game. The king is not in check. The king does not move over a square that is attacked by an enemy piece during the castling move, i.e., when castling, there may not be an enemy piece that can move (in case of pawns: by diagonal movement) to a square that is moved over by the king. The king does not move to a square that is attacked by an enemy piece during the castling move, i.e., you may not castle and end the move with the king in check. All squares between the rook and king before the castling move are empty. The King and rook must occupy the same rank (or row).

When castling, the king moves two squares towards the rook, and the rook moves over the king to the next square, i.e., black's king on e8 and rook on a8 move to: king c8, rook d8 (long castling), white's king on e1 and rook on h1 move to: king g1, rook f1 (short castling). position before and after castling: white short, and black long Neither white nor black may castle: white is in check, and the black king may not move over d8 Check, mate, and stalemate Check When the king of a player can be taken by a piece of the opponent, one says that the king is in check. For instance, the white player moves his rook to a position such that it attacks the black king, i.e., if black doesn't do anything about it, the rook could take the black king in the next move: we say that the white rook gives check. It is considered good manners to say check when one checks ones opponent. It is not allowed to make a move, such that ones king is in check after the move.

If a player accidently tries to make such a move, he must take the move back and make another move (following the rules that one must move with the piece one has touched, see below .) Mate When a player is in check, and he cannot make a move such that after the move, the king is not in check, then he is mated. The player that is mated lost the game, and the player that mated him won the game. Note that there are three different possible ways to remove a check: Move the king away to a square where he is not in check. Take the piece that gives the check. (In case of a check, given by a rook, bishop or queen: ) move a piece between the checking piece and the king. Stalemate When a player cannot make any legal move, but he is not in check, then the player is said to be stalemated. In a case of a stalemate, the game is a draw. When black must move, the game is a stalemate Other rules Resign and draw proposals A player can resign the game, which means that he has lost and his opponent has won.

After making a move, a player can propose a draw: his opponent can accept the proposal (in which case the game ends and is a draw) or refuse the proposal (in which case the game continues). Repetition of moves If the same position with the same player to move is repeated three times in the game, the player to move can claim a draw. (When the right to make a certain castling move is lost by one of the players between positions, then the positions are considered to be different. For the fine points of this rule, see the official rules of chess .) One case where the repetition of move occurs is when a player continues to give check forever. See an explanation with animated gif . 50 moves rules Chess - Carolus Chess Chess Playing Chess Chess became the most popular board game among the social elite of the European Middle Ages. Since that time, Chess has retained a special rank among the board games of the world. It is considered a game for intellectuals and strategy purists. Chess terms have penetrated many different languages. In English, terms like "checkmate", "stalemate" and "being rooked" have become part of the lexicon.

This is an indication of the overall popularity of the game, which is played by grandchildren and grandmasters alike. There are many versions of Chess, which has been adapted to local tastes in virtually every part of the world. The game was created in Southwest Asia over two thousand years ago. From this central point in the world, Chess dispersed throughout Eurasia. The History of Chess It is hard to determine exactly when and where chess was invented. Because it is considered such an intelligent game, many nations have claimed to have invented it. There is enough contradictory evidence for it to remain an open debate. Most scholars believe the game originated in India. The early names for Chess in several countries show a Sanskrit etymology. These countries where chess was played early on, places such as Persia, Arabia and Greece, likely borrowed the game from Indians. The Indian version of Chess is named Chaturanga, and dates at least to the 6th century A.D. Early versions of the game include playing pieces associated with the horse, the elephant and the camel. India was the only place all three animals were widespread. Others point to a game played in ancient China as early as the 2nd century B.C.

This game, called Xiangqi, is quite similar to early chess in several different ways. In the western languages, Xiangqi is referred to as Chinese Chess. The game probably influenced the early designers of chess, though the debate as to where the first true game that can be called chess was invented can be left to Indian and Chinese relations. The game appears to have come to Persia by way of India. The Persians taught the game to the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D., after the Muslim takeover of Persia. The Arabs spread knowledge of the game throughout the Middle East and the North African coast, as far away as Spain. It was through interaction with Muslims that Chess spread to Europe, first through the Greek civilization now known to historians as the Byzantine Empire. After western Europeans invaded the Middle East during the Crusades, Chess became the game of choice for European soldiers and rulers. By the Late Middle Ages, Chess was the most popular board game in Europe. It was considered a necessary primer in strategy for warriors on the continent. Never mind what Chess may have taught potentials commanders about the sacrifice of pawns on the battlefield. What we know as modern Chess was formulated in 15th century Italy.

Like many other products of the Italian Renaissance, this form of Chess spread quickly throughout the remainder of Europe. Chess writers often refer to the modern game as "Mad Queen Chess", because the Queen is such a powerful and overarching element of the game. Earlier versions limited the Queen's power. Since this game achieved official status in Europe, it has remained the standard for international chess competitions to this day. Though there are many variations worldwide, tournament chess and its many grandmasters use the standardized version. Today, there are many chess clubs and federations in the world. Governing bodies issue world rankings and declare world champions. To be the reigning world champion of Chess is to hold the most prestigious title in board games. Only a handful of players have held the title in the past fifty years. The Game Board A chess board is 8 squares wide and 8 squares long. The board is therefore 64 spaces alternating between white and black squares. The playing pieces occupy one square apiece throughout the game. Pieces can be used to remove one another from the game through occupying the same space on the board. If a player is able to land one of his or her pieces on a square occupied by an opponent, then the opponent's playing piece is removed from the board.

The Pieces Each player begins with 16 different playing pieces. The pieces consist of six different ranks: 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, 1 queen and 1 king. Each rank has unique movement abilities, which make them more or less valuable than the other pieces. The playing pieces are placed in the same squares at the start of each game. Both sides have the same starting positions. The pieces are arranged around the King and Queen, as if to protect them. The King is the most important piece on the chess board. He can move in any direction, though he can move only one square at a time. If a player's King is captured, that player loses the game. The Queen is the second most important piece on the board. Like the King, she can move in any direction. Unlike the King, the Queen can move an unlimited number of space in any one direction. Her movement is stopped only when she encounters another piece on the board. She cannot jump other pieces. If the player chooses, the Queen can move any number of spaces between her position and the square in her maximum possible range. The Bishops sit as bookends for the King and Queen.

The Bishop can move diagonally in any direction. Like the Queen, it can move any number of spaces diagonally, at least until it encounters another playing piece. This makes the Bishop a dangerous playing piece, though more limited in its range of movement than the Queen. The Knights begin to the outside of each Bishop. The knight has the most unique movement in the game. It is the only piece which can jump over allies and opponents alike. It moves in an l-shaped pattern. It moves two spaces in one direction, then one space in another. For example, the Knight can move forward two spaces, then either to its left or right one space to finish the movement. Or the knight can move one space forward, then two spaces either left or right. It can move in any direction in this way, on a pivot from its starting point. The Rooks occupy the corners of the board, next to the Knights. A rook can move either forwards or sideways. It can move an unlimited number of spaces, so long as it does not run into another playing piece. The eight Pawns occupy the entire row in front of the other eight pieces. Pawns are the least powerful piece on the board.

A pawn can only move directly forward, and can only move one space at a time. There are two exceptions to this rule. One, pawns can move two spaces forward for their first move. Two, pawns can move one space diagonally, if it allows them to capture an opponent's piece. Pawns cannot move directly forward to capture an opponent's piece. Another Ability of Pawns If a pawn is able to reach the opponent's side of the board, the pawn can no longer move. Instead, that pawn can be swapped for any playing piece which has already been removed from play. Therefore, if a player has lost a Queen, then the pawn can be removed from the chess board and replaced with the queen. This piece is placed on the square where the pawn was sitting. This piece can be moved on the next turn, as if it was any other piece. Strategy The point of chess is to capture the opponent's king. Of course, there are many theories and stratagems for doing this. Volume after volume has been written about chess strategy. Advanced strategy is difficult to explain without diagrams and generally takes more space than we have here. The basic strategy of chess is to attrit another player's side, eventually taking several .

This might be done by luring an opponent into a trap and taking a key piece. It might be done by sacrificing a less important playing piece of one's own in exchange for an opponent's important piece. A common strategy is to sacrifice pawn in an attempt to force the opponent to commit a more important playing piece. The idea is to use misdirection to possibly hide which piece will move in to capture the exposed piece. Some players maintain a solid defense, hoping to force an impatient opponent to make a key mistake. Other players prefer to play an aggressive game, sending their pieces deep into enemy territory, forcing the opponent into uncomfortable or unfamiliar moves. Either of these styles can find success. Often a chess match is determined by this contrast in styles. Many matches have a key moment, where one side or another make a key mistake or a particularly advantageous move. Winning the Game In the end, players seek to remove some combination of an opponent's queen, bishops and rooks, which are the most dangerous pieces on the board. If an advantage can be gained in this way, a player can begin to close in on the opponent's king. Seldom is the king placed in check early in a game, unless there is a complete mismatch in the level of opponents.

Placing the King in Check When a King is in danger of being captured, then the King is in "check". This danger must be direct, so that a move must be made to take the king out of danger. This can be done by moving the king, moving one of your pieces to protect your king, or eliminating the piece that is menacing the king. There can be more than one pieces holding a king in check. Checkmate When a king is in check and there are no possible moves that will take the king out of danger, then a player has achieved checkmate. The playing holding the other king in checkmate is the winner of the match. Typically, it requires several pieces working in conjunction to achieve a checkmate. Stalemate A stalemate is a draw in the game of chess. In a stalemate situation, typically one player has had the better of the play, but cannot finish of the opponent. There are several conditions in which the stalemate rule applies. One, if the same position occurs three times at any point in the game. A position is simply when every piece on the board in is the exact same position. Two, if fifty moves in a row occur without even one piece being captured.

Three, if the king is not in check, but there are no other possible (legal) moves to be made. Variations of Chess Chess has been played through correspondence for generations. With the invention of the internet, chess is now played via email. Suicide chess is chess played backwards. A player seeks to have his or her pieces taken and the winner is the one who eventually loses a king. If a player can capture an opponent's piece, then that player must. Bughouse chess is played by teams, as if two games were being played at once. When a player at one of the tables captures a piece, that player hands it to their teammate, who then uses it in their game. Bullet chess is played with a timer. Each player has three minutes in which to make moves in the game. If, at any time, the timer runs out on one player, that player loses. Bullet chess is also called lightning chess. Blitz chess has the same rules as bullet chess, though it has a longer timer. Usually, the timer is set to fifteen minutes apiece. Though bullet and blitz chess seem to be shown in movies and television a great deal, they are not considered legitimate versions of chess by most serious players.

Of all games, chess is considered the most serious intellectual challenge. It is the favorite of generals and scholars alike. It has been said that the game is an art form. Others consider it a strategy war game, while others consider chess an intellectual or mathematical exercise. Beginner chess - Chess.com Chess.com Mar 6, 2016, 5:40 AM 926 Reads Chess Chess helps in english and maths This article is about the Western board game. For other chess games or other uses, see Chess (disambiguation) . Chess Part of a Staunton chess set (from left to right): a white king , a black rook , a black queen , a white pawn , a black knight , and a white bishop Years active c. 6th-century India to present Genre(s) ~1 minute Playing time Casual games usually last 10 to 60 minutes; tournament games last anywhere from about ten minutes ( blitz chess ) to six hours or more. Random chance Synonym(s) Western chess, international chess Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard , a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid.

Chess is played by millions of people worldwide, both amateurs and professionals. Each player begins the game with 16 pieces : one king , one queen , two rooks , two knights , two bishops , and eight pawns . Each of the six piece types moves differently. The most powerful piece is the queen and the least powerful piece is the pawn. The objective is to ' checkmate ' the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To this end, a player's pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, while supporting their own. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by voluntary resignation by the opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may also result in a draw in several ways. Chess is believed to have originated in India, some time before the 7th century; the Indian game of chaturanga is also the likely ancestor of xiangqi and shogi . The pieces took on their current powers in Spain in the late 15th century; the rules were finally standardized in the 19th century.

The first generally recognized World Chess Champion , Wilhelm Steinitz , claimed his title in 1886. Since 1948, the World Championship has been controlled by FIDE , the game's international governing body; the current World Champion is the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen . FIDE also organizes the Women's World Championship , the World Junior Championship , the World Senior Championship the Blitz and Rapid World Championships and the Chess Olympiad , a popular competition among teams from different nations. There is also a Correspondence Chess World Championship and a World Computer Chess Championship . Chess is a recognized sport of the International Olympic Committee ; [1] some national sporting bodies such as the Spanish Consejo Superior de Deportes also recognize chess as a sport. [2] Chess was included in the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games . Online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players. There are also many chess variants , with different rules, different pieces, and different boards. Since the second half of the 20th century, computers have been programmed to play chess with increasing success, to the point where the strongest home computers play chess at a higher level than the best human players.

Since the 1990s, computer analysis has contributed significantly to chess theory, particularly in the endgame. The computer Deep Blue was the first machine to overcome a reigning World Chess Champion in a match when it defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997. The rise of strong computer programs (known as "engines") which can be run on a hand-held device has led to increasing concerns about cheating during tournaments. Main article: Rules of chess Setup at the start of a game The official rules of chess are maintained by FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), chess's international governing body. Along with information on official chess tournaments , the rules are described in the FIDE Handbook, Laws of Chess section. [3] Setup 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 64 squares alternate and are referred to as "light" and "dark" squares. The chessboard is placed with a light square at the right-hand end of the rank nearest to each player.

By convention, the game pieces are divided into white and black sets , and the players are referred to as "White" and "Black" respectively. Each player begins the game with 16 pieces of the specified color, which consist of one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The pieces are set out as shown in the diagram and photo, with each queen on a square of its own color, the white queen on a light square and the black queen on a dark. Movement The player with the white pieces always moves first. After the first move, players alternately move one piece per turn (except for castling , when two pieces are moved). Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square or one occupied by an opponent's piece, which is captured and removed from play. With the sole exception of en passant , all pieces capture by moving to the square that the opponent's piece occupies. A player may not make any move that would put or leave his or her king under attack. A player cannot "pass"; at each turn they have to make a legal move (this is the basis for the finesse called zugzwang ).

If the player to move has no legal move, the game is over; it is either a checkmate (a loss for the player with no legal moves) if the king is under attack, or a stalemate (a draw) if the king is not. Each chess piece has its own style of moving. In the diagrams, the dots mark the squares where the piece can move if no other pieces (including one's own piece) are on the squares between the piece's initial position and its destination. Moves of a king The Rules of Chess Games : How to Play Chess Games Investment Contact us SiteMap The Game of Chess Chess - or the forerunner of the Modern Chess - is believed to have originated in India in the 6th century as a game of war, played by the upper castes, in which the pieces were divided into four military groupings: infantrymen (represented by the modern pawn; see below); cavalry (represented by the modern knight, shaped like a horse; also see below); elephant (represented, at least in its movements, by the modern bishop; and war chariot (represented by the modern rook).

From India the game went to Persia where its name was derived from the familiar Persian word Shah, originally meaning, as was the Indian word for this game, King, from which derives the modern word Chess. From Persia the game found its way north by a number of routes until in the year 1000 it was being played throughout Europe - from the Iberian peninsula in the West, where it was introduced by the Moors, to the Russian cities of the East, where it would later produce, as is still the case today, the greatest players in the world, and where Chess, consequently, is considered as much a sport as it is a game. Chess is a game of war between two armies, one of sixteen white pieces and one of sixteen black pieces, at the start arranged in two rows at opposite ends of the chessboard standing face to face. One chess piece can occupy only one space. In the front row of each side are the eight Pawns, followed in the back row by two Rooks at the ends; next to them the two Knights; then come the Bishops; and at the center the King and Queen, with the Queen on her own color.

The Chessboard consists of 64 squares, alternating in black and white, with a white square, by international standard, on the far right of the first row for both sides. The player who controls the white pieces moves first General Rules of Chess Game The main purpose in a game of chess is to try to kill, or in chess terms "checkmate," the opponent’s King. To accomplish this, the player must carefully plan to undermine and then attack the king's position. The first move is made by the player with the white pieces and the second move by the player with the black pieces. Every chess piece moves differently (please SEE below). A chess piece can move to another position or can capture one of the opponent’s chess pieces by moving one of his pieces to its square. Except for the Knight, chess pieces cannot move by jumping over other chess pieces that stand in their way. 1. Chessboard In addition to the 32 pieces needed to play Chess - 2 Kings, 2 Queens, 4 Rooks, 4 Bishops, 4 Knights, and 16 pawns, divided equally between the two players and placed directly opposite each other - the equipment most necessary to begin a game is the chessboard.

The chessboard is square with alternating squares of black and white. By international agreement, the square at the front right-hand side of the board for each player should be white. The 64 white and black squares can be considered as aligned in horizontal rows and vertical columns, as well as diagonal lines were pieces can move in straight line along one color. 2. Pawn The Pawn is the least powerful of all chess pieces, but very important in combination with other Pawns for defense, as well as for advancing into one's opponent's territory. The Pawn’s direction is usually straight ahead one square per turn. But from its original position, it may be moved forward either one or two squares as long as there is no obstructing piece. Pawns cannot move backward. The Pawn can capture another piece by moving forward one diagonal space, but cannot take the piece directly in front of it.

There is one other way the pawn can capture, it is called: - En Passant Any time a player has a Pawn on the fifth row in front of him, and the other player tries to pass next to it by moving a pawn two spaces forward from his second row to the fourth, the player can take that piece as if it had moved to the third row, by moving one diagonal space forward behind it. This is called taking "en passant" (in passing) and must be done immediately on one's next turn or the option is forfeited. - Pawn Promotion Besides En Passant, the Pawn has one other special ability; it is called Promotion. Promotion of a Pawn (black or white) to a more powerful piece can be accomplished, although with great difficulty, if it manages to reach the eighth row. At that moment, the player who has moved the pawn there can ask his opponent to exchange it for a more powerful piece, although not to another king).

Most players will choose another Queen (or to replace one that was lost) because it is the most powerful piece; but on rare occasion it can be right to ask for a different piece, such as a knight that might be able to check an opponent's king where even a queen couldn't. 3. Heroic A. Rook The Rook is one of the heroic chess pieces and can have a big influence in a chess game. If the Rook is paired with another Rook, or the Queen, these are among the most powerful of all attacking combinations in Chess. The Rook can move in a straight line along any column or row as long as there is no barrier. The direction of capture is the same, by landing on the same square as an opponent's piece. The Rook may not move in a diagonal line. - Castling If En Passant and Promotion are the special abilities of the Pawn, then Castling is the special ability of the rook, shared with King (see diagram) but can only be done if: * There is no other pieces between King and Rook. * King and Rook are still in original position and have never been moved.

* The King isn't in a position threatened by "check," or would be moving past such a threat. The purpose of Castling is generally to protect one's King and create opportunity for the Rook to get into the field of play. When Castling, the King should be moved first, then the Rook. Unlike the king, a rook that is threatened by another piece can still participate in castling, and can, as well pass through a position where it would be threatened where the king in castling cannot. B. Knight The Knight is the only piece that is able to pass over another chess piece. The directional movement of the Knight is based on the letter L. At each moving opportunity, the Knight has potentially eight squares it can move to or capture at. The intricate jumping moves of this heroic piece often confuse the beginning player. C. Bishop The direction the Bishop moves is diagonal. Each player has two Bishops to begin the game, one on a white square the other on a black square. The Bishop that is on the white square always moves diagonally on white squares. The Bishop that is on the black square always moves diagonally on black squares.

Because the diagonal squares are all of the same color, it is impossible for the Bishop located on a white square to be moved to a black square, or, conversely, for a Bishop located on a black square to be moved to a white square. D. Queen The most powerful chess piece is the Queen. This is because the Queen can move an unlimited number of squares in any direction. It means that she can move to threaten or capture from any position, moving straight or diagonally. The only thing she cannot do is jump over pieces, as can the knight. Losing this piece is the most devastating blow in chess a player can face. E. King Though the king is not nearly as powerful as one might expect from its title - only able to move one square at a time in any direction, and not where it is threatened by check - the two kings unable to meet at any time during the game for this reason - its position is vital to the game, and if not successfully defended all is lost. Only at the end of the game (see Endgame), when most of the powerful attacking pieces have been exchanged or lost, does the king's one-square-at-a-time pace take on importance.

End Game The End game in chess is that part of the game, following the Opening and Middle Game, when most of the more powerful pieces have been exchanged and the position of the pawns in relation to the king - up to this point of secondary nature - becomes supremely important, including the possibility of a player getting one of his pawns to the eighth row and having it promoted to a queen. The game that has previously been strategic and attacking now becomes positional, with the possibility of patiently exploiting even the smallest advantage that might have been gained during opening play. The Endgame is also the part of the game when both players may discover that neither has enough of an advantage, or even sufficient material, to proceed to a win. At which point both players may concede a draw (tie), or one player may offer a draw, and the other player may accept. If either player is unwilling to relinquish the possibility of winning, there are other conditions by which the game can result in a draw other than Stalemate (SEE previous section). One is Perpetual Check, in which a player continually places his opponent's king in check, but not mate, so that neither player can proceed to a win.

Another is when the same identical position has been reached three times, including by perpetual check. And finally, if there are fifty consecutive moves when no pawn has been moved and no piece taken, then the game automatically comes to and end and is declared a draw.

Question: At the start of a game of chess, there are 16 of which pieces on the board?
Answer: Pawns