The game of chess has become an extremely popular game of leisure and competition. There are many people who play in tournaments around the world and many people who play just for a good time. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert there are official chess rules that need to be learned and followed if you are going to play. Let’s take a quick look at some of those rules.
Chess Pieces
In the game of chess there are a number of different pieces, each having a specific role in the game. Half of the pieces are black and the other half are white. Each team has its own pieces, black or white depending on which you have picked. Chess is made up of 16 pieces; one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights, and eight Pawns.
The King may move one square in any direction (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal). The king is also allowed one special move in every game which is known as castling. In castling the king can move two squares to the right or left. It is not allowed however in certain circumstances which are:
1. When the king is in check
2. When the king of rook have already made their move
3. When the move of the rook is blocked
4. When the king or rook (after castling) are exposed to being captured
The Queen can move any number of vacant spaces horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
The Bishop can only move diagonally across the board but unlimited number of spaces.
The Knight can only move to the nearest square not on the same rank. It moves in an L shape direction; two squares like the rook, and then one square perpendicular to the first move.
Pawns have a more complex movement of rules. They can move forward one square if it is unoccupied. It also has the option of moving two squares forward if both squares are not occupied. A pawn cannot move backwards. Pawns are also the only pieces that capture differently than the others from how they move. They can capture the opponent’s pieces on either side of the two spaces adjacent to the space in front of them, but cannot move to those spaces if they are empty. Once a pawn has reached its eighth rank, it is converted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.
The main objective
The objective of the game is to capture the king; this is otherwise known as check or check mate. As players continue to place and move pieces across the board, one or the other will eventually find themselves in a position which threatens the other players King piece. This is called “check. ” The other player must then try to move their king before it is eliminated from the game, and thus ending the game. When the King is placed in check mate and cannot be blocked or moved it is in “check ” and the game ends. If you find your king in this position there are a few things to do.
1. Move your king to a square that isn’t being threatened.
2. Capture the piece that is threatening you.
3. Place a piece between the king and the opponent’s piece.
Now that you have been told the official chess rules you can begin to play. They can sometimes be confusing at first, but as soon as you get the hang of playing you will be hooked. The next step is figuring out a good strategy.
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