BASIC RULES
The ultimate aim in the game of chess is to win by trapping your opponent's
king. (This is called checkmate - more on this later.)
White is always first to move and players take turns alternately moving one
piece at a time. Movement is required.
Each type of piece has its own method of movement (described in the
following sections). A piece may be moved to another position or may
capture an opponent's piece. This is done by landing on the appropriate
square with the moving piece and removing the defending piece from play.
With the exception of the knight, a piece may not move over or through
any of the other pieces.
In tournament play, once a piece has been touched by a player, it must
be moved. In sandlot chess this rule is not always strictly adhered to.
MOVEMENTS DESCRIPTION
King's Movement
Though not the most powerful piece on the board, the king is the most vital,
for once he is lost the game is lost (more about this in the end game section).
The king can only move one square in any direction. There is only one
restriction on his movement - he may not move into a position where he
may be captured by an opposing piece. Because of this rule, two kings
may never stand next to each other or capture each other.
The Queen's Movement
The queen is, without doubt, the most powerful piece on the chessboard.
She can move as many squares as she desires and in any direction (barring
any obstructions). She can cover healthy percentage of the board.
She captures in the same way that she moves, replacing the unlucky
opposing piece that got in her way. (She must, of course, stop in the square
of the piece she has captured - unlike the knight the queen does not jump
other pieces.)
Rook Movement
The rook, shaped like a castle, is one of the more powerful pieces on the
board. The rooks, grouped with the queen, are often thought of as the
"major pieces". Rooks are worth a bishop or a knight plus two pawns.
The rook can move any number of squares in a straight line along any
column or row. They CANNOT move diagonally. The simplicity of the
rook's movement is indeed what makes it powerful. It can cover a
significant area of the board and there are no areas which an opponent's
piece - moving one square at a time - can slip through.
The rook may also make a move in conjunction with the king. This
maneuver will be explained in the section called castling.
Knight's Movement
The knight is the only piece on the board that may jump over other pieces.
This gives it a degree of flexibility that makes it a powerful piece.
Since obstructions are not a bar to movement (unless there is a friendly
piece on the square where the knight would move) the knight's path of
movement has never been well defined.
The knight can be thought of as moving one square along any rank or file
and then at an angle. The knight's movement can also be viewed as
an "L" laid out at any horizontal or vertical angle.
Note that the squares to where the knight can move are all of the
opposite colored squares two steps away from his starting square.
Bishop's Movement
The bishop may move any number of squares in a diagonal direction until
it is prevented from continuing by another piece.
Each player begins with two bishops, one originally situated on a light
square, the other on a dark square. Because of the nature of their
movement, the bishops always remain on the same colored squares.
Bishops are a powerful piece (though less so than the queen or rooks). It
is roughly equal in power to a knight or three pawns. Nevertheless, the
bishop is a great piece to have in open situations when it can range the
board. The knight is better in cluttered situations where it can utilize its
ability to jump over other pieces.
Pawn Movement
There are eight pawns situated on each side of the board. They are the
least powerful piece on the chess board, but have the potential to become
equal to the most powerful.
Pawns cannot move backward or sideways, but must move straight ahead
unless they are taking another piece.
Generally pawns move only one square at a time. The exception is the first
time a pawn is moved, it may move forward two squares as long as there are
no obstructing pieces. A pawn cannot take a piece directly in front of him
but only one at a forward angle. In the case of a capture the pawn replaces
the captured piece and the captured piece is removed from play.
Should a pawn get all the way across the board to reach the opponent's
edge of the table, it will be promoted. The pawn may now become any
piece that the moving player desires (except a king or pawn). Thus a player
may end up having more than one queen on the board. Under normal
circumstances a player will want to promote his pawn to be a queen since
that piece is the most powerful and flexible. The new piece is placed where
the pawn ended its movement.
There is a separate rule regarding pawns called en passant that will be
described separately.
STRATEGY NOTE
It is generally thought to be unwise to bring the queen out
too early. The cluttered board makes her more vulnerable to entrapment.
The queen's power is so great that she is considered to be worth more
than any combination of three other pieces. Thus it would be better, under
normal circumstances, to sacrifice two rooks and a bishop (for example)
than to give up a queen.
Guard the king closely. His loss means loss of the game.
He is typically not a good piece to use on offense, but will be a help in a
carefully constructed defense.
CASTLING
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 1500's to help speed up the game and to
help balance the offense and defense.
The castling move has some fairly rigid caveats:
It can only occur if there are no pieces standing between the king and
the rook. Neither king nor rook may have moved from its original position.
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.
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.
EN PASSANT
Perhaps the most obscure and least used moves in Chess is called En
Passant. It can only occur when a player exercises his option to move his
pawn two squares on its initial movement. When this happens, the opposing
player has the option to take the moved pawn "en passant" as if it had only
moved one square. This option, though, only stays open for one move.
The en passant move was developed after pawns were allowed to move
more than one square on their initial move. This was done to make sure
they retained some of the restrictions imposed by slow movement, while
at the same time speeding up the game.
END GAME
The game ends when one of the players captures his opponent's king, when one of
the player's resigns or there is a stalemate.
When a player's king is threatened by an opposing piece, it is said to be "in check".
When a player places the opposing king in check he should anounce, "check". The
object of a player is not merely to place his opponent's king in check but to make
certain that every square where the king has a possibility of movement is also covered.
This is called checkmate. The king is considered captured.
Either player may resign at any time. This generally happens when a player loses
a major piece and the outlook for victory in his case appears bleak.
Stalemate is considered a tie. A stalemate occurs when a player's only move is to place
his own king in check, but it's current square is not threatened. As long as he can move
another piece or the king can move to an open square, stalemate may not occur.
Stalemate also results when the only two pieces on the board are Kings, regardless of
their position or the pieces remaining on the board make check mate impossible,
for example one cannot checkmate an opponent with only a king and a bishop.
When setting up, make sure that the light queen is positioned on a light
square and the dark queen is situated on a dark square. The two armies
should be mirror images of one another.
The light side always moves first. Each player's side of the chessboard is
determined by chance. Usually by one player placing a pawn in each hand
and closing his fists. Holding forth his fists the opposing player picks one.
Whatever color the pawn he chooses is the side he shall command.
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