Introduction to Chess

Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. Played by millions of people worldwide, chess is believed to have originated in India before the 7th century. The game does not involve hidden information or elements of chance, relying entirely on tactical calculation and strategic foresight.

Setting Up the Chessboard

At the beginning of the game, the board is laid out so that each player has the white (or light) color square on the bottom right-hand side. The chess pieces are then arranged in the same way each time:

• Rooks go on the corners.
• Knights go next to the rooks.
• Bishops go next to the knights.
• The Queen goes on her own matching color square (White Queen on the white square, Black Queen on the black square).
• The King goes on the remaining square next to the queen.
• The eight Pawns occupy the second row (rank) directly in front of the other pieces.

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 them) and can never land on a square with one of their own pieces. However, they can be moved to land on a square occupied by an opponent's piece, which is then captured and removed from play.

• The King: Moves exactly one square in any direction (up, down, left, right, or diagonally). The King is the most important piece, but also one of the weakest.
• The Queen: Moves any number of vacant squares in any direction — straight or diagonally. She is the most powerful piece on the board.
• The Rook: Moves any number of vacant squares horizontally or vertically (straight lines only).
• The Bishop: Moves any number of vacant squares diagonally. Each player starts with two bishops: one light-squared and one dark-squared.
• The Knight: Moves in an "L" shape (two squares in one direction, and then one square at a right angle). The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.
• The Pawn: Moves forward one square at a time, except for its very first move where it can choose to move forward two squares. Pawns capture opponent pieces diagonally forward.

Special Rules in Chess

Chess has a few unique rules that might seem counterintuitive at first, but add immense depth to the gameplay:

• Castling: A special move allowing you to move your king two squares toward a rook, and then hop the rook over the king. This protects the king and activates the rook, but can only be done if neither piece has moved yet, no pieces are between them, and the king is not in check.
• En Passant: A special capture rule for pawns. If an opponent moves their pawn two squares forward to land adjacent to your pawn, you can capture it diagonally forward as if it had only moved one square. This capture must be made on the very next turn.
• Pawn Promotion: If a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, it must be promoted to any other piece (usually a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight) of the same color.

Win Conditions: Check, Mate & Draw

The ultimate goal of the game is to trap the opponent's king so it cannot escape capture. This is called checkmate:

• Check: When a king is under direct attack by an opponent's piece. The player must get their king out of check immediately.
• Checkmate: When a king is in check and has no legal moves to escape. This ends the game, and the player who delivered the checkmate wins.
• Stalemate (Draw): When it is a player's turn to move, their king is NOT in check, but they have absolutely no legal moves left on the board. The game ends in a draw.