Chess Olympics

How to play chess

HOW TO PLAY CHESS

Chess is the most popular game in the world! For the benefit of those who are yet to discover how beautiful and enjoyable the game is, the basics are described here. I’m sure you’ll find this article informative and helpful.

SETTING UP A GAME

The chessboard contains 64 squares of alternating colours. The game is played between 2 players, each having 16 pieces: 8 pawns, 2 each of rooks, bishops and knights, a king and a queen. The board is placed such that each player has a light coloured square at the bottom right hand side. The second row is filled with the pawns. On the first row, the rooks occupy the corners; the knights are right next to them followed by the bishops. Of the two remaining squares, the queen is placed on the one matching her colour and the king on the other.

MOVES

All the pieces move in a particular, specific way:

• The King: At once he can move only one square in any direction (up, down, right, left or diagonally). He can never move such that he may be captured. Being the most important piece of a game, he is also one of the weakest.
• The Queen: The most powerful piece, she can move in a straight line in any direction, for as far as possible.
• Rooks: They may move as far as possible, but only horizontally and vertically.
• Bishops: They can move as far as possible diagonally. Each bishop remains confined to one colour throughout the game.
• Knights: The only pieces which can move over other pieces, they move in the shape of an ‘L’, that is two steps in one direction, and then one in a direction perpendicular to it.
• Pawns: They move forward one step, and move one step diagonally while capturing. They may move two steps in their very first move. They may not move backward, and cannot move past or capture a piece directly in front of them.

PROMOTION

Pawns, if they reach the opposite end of the board may be promoted. A pawn may be promoted to any piece, and is generally promoted to a queen.

CASTLING

It is a special move involving the King and a rook. It allows the King to move to a relatively safer position, and also brings the rook into play. If it’s the very first move of both the King and the rook, and the board between them is empty, the King can move two steps in the direction of the Rook, and the Rook jumps over the King to the square adjacent to him. The only condition is that the King must not be placed in check and may not pass through a check.

Castling

CAPTURING & WINNING

A piece is captured when another piece legally moves to the square previously occupied by it. A player wins the game by creating a checkmate on the opposing king. A check happens when the king is in a position to be captured. It can be evaded in three ways: moving the King, blocking the check, and capturing the piece causing the check. If a check cannot be evaded, a checkmate results and the game is over.

Checkmate

The game may also end in a draw:

• Stalemate: On a player’s move, his king is not in check but he doesn’t have any legal move available.
• Enough pieces are not available on the board to force a checkmate (such as a king vs. a king and a rook)
• Fifty consecutive moves without either player moving a pawn or capturing a piece.
• If the exact same position is repeated 3 times.
• The players may simply agree to a draw.