Chess For Dummies®

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Bishops: Go as many squares as possible diagonally. Like the rook, they have to stop at the square just before one of your own pieces, or capture an opponent's piece and stop there.

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. Try to get into your opponent's head to figure out their strategy. Every time your opponent makes a move, ask yourself why they made that move. If you can figure out what they're trying to do, you might be able to do something to disrupt their plans—or at least make them more difficult to pull off. [15] X Research source The different chess pieces, from left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, king. | Image credit: Agzam/Pixabay How to move chess pieces If an opponent’s pawn would have been able to legally capture the moving pawn had it only moved one square instead of two, the opponent can declare en passant on their next turn and move their pawn diagonally onto the square that the pawn passed through - capturing the pawn as if it had only moved one square. The only time a pawn may move diagonally is when capturing an opponent’s piece. Pawns may capture an opponent’s piece on either of the diagonal spaces to the left or right ahead of the piece. As part of capturing the piece, the pawn will move diagonally to replace the captured piece. A pawn cannot capture an adjacent piece on any other square, or move diagonally without capturing.

Frequently asked chess questions

Before you can play a game of chess, you need to know how to move the pieces (legally). A chess piece’s power is tied to its mobility. The more mobile a piece is, the more powerful it is: Once you know the basics of how to play chess, there are hundreds of books and other resources out there to help you discover the deep strategy and near-endless variations possible during games - as well as local tournaments that can help you refine your play and tactics. There are a few special rules in chess that may not seem logical at first. They were created to make the game more fun and interesting. How To Promote A Pawn In Chess The rooks are particularly powerful pieces when they are protecting each other and working together! An exception to this is if a pawn is yet to be moved during the game. If a pawn has not yet moved, it may be moved two squares forward as a single move. Both squares must be empty. The player can also choose to move the piece a single square.

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. Chess is one of the oldest board games ever. It has been played and loved for centuries, but in recent years it's surged in popularity with scores of new players looking to learn the chess rules. I found it to be a super cool book, myself. I was at the local coffee shop/bookstore and it was sitting on a table, so I took a gander. I was actually really surprised at all the information in it! Stuff about world champions, history, etc. Try to think a move or two ahead. Chess isn't a game that you can play one turn at a time. Consider all of the pieces and their possible moves, then make your move based on what might happen a move or two down the road (seasoned chess players call this "calculating"). This takes a lot of practice, so don't worry if you can't do it at first. [11] X Research sourceThere are thousands of potential board layouts from hundreds of openings and variants. | Image credit: Steve Buissinne/Pixabay How to promote a pawn? En passant must be declared and made as the opponent’s next turn to be legal - otherwise, the player with the chance to capture the pawn loses the opportunity. 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. How to Move the King in Chess Put the bishops (pieces that are typically topped with a teardrop shape) on the board next to the knights.

table with a family member or friend, this hands-on guide is sure to capture your interest (and your opponent's queen), getting you up to speed on the game and its components and giving you the know-how you need to put the principles of play into action from the opening to the endgame. While there is no one agreed-upon best move in chess, it's important to try to control the center right away. This usually results in most players playing one of their central pawns (in front of king or queen) forward two squares with either 1. d4 or 1. e4. Some other players prefer 1. c4 or 1. Nf3. Most other moves are not as good. Bobby Fischer believed that moving the king-pawn 1. e4 was best. 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. Castling is permitted when a player’s king piece and a rook have not yet moved during the game. Castling can be performed with either rook, as long as they haven’t moved - in other words, they are still in their starting corners on the edge closest to the controlling player.

Chess rules for beginners

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. 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) excluding a king (or pawn, for that matter).