Chess might popularly seem like a game played by royalty ages ago or one in which eggheads and computers specialize today. But millions of people enjoy the game and learning to play does not take a grandmaster. Delve inside for the rules to chess and you can become a player in minutes.
Some Grandmasters Play in Their Heads; You'll need a board.
The first thing you need to play chess is a way in which to play the game. The game is composed of 32 pieces played on a black and white (or any other set of colors) board, exactly like a checkers board. If you do not have a board and pieces, you can purchase one at basically any department store for several dollars. One of the greatest things about chess is that the combinations are limitless, but the equipment needed to play is a one-time, nominal fee. Few games exist that can offer as much repeated game play for such a small price.
In the above heading I noted some grandmasters execute games only in their heads, visualizing the pieces, and that you would need a board. But I lied (somewhat)! Chess is such a simple game that you can play online at dozens of websites. If you own a computer and have a connection to the Internet (which I assume since you are reading these words) then a game is only a website away. Search for chess-specific sites or hop onto one of several all-purpose game sites (like yahoo.com) and you can play for free.
The Pieces
As noted in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer, each player can effectively think of himself or herself as the king. The object of chess is to capture the other side's king, so basically you protect the king as if it is yourself. Fortunately you are not alone on the battlefield. 15 other pieces exist to protect your King and to attack the other side. The bad news, of course, is that the other side has the same 16 pieces.
If you have never played before, the pieces and their moves can seem very confusing. Most of the movement done by a chess piece is extremely simple. The 16 pieces that make up each side are:
8 Pawns
2 Rooks (sometimes called "castles")
2 Knights
2 Bishops
1 Queen
1 King
If you have a chess board and pieces available, getting them out and going through these steps as you read might be very helpful. Each game begins with the setup of each side's pieces. Each player places all 16 of his pieces on the two rows closest to him or her. Before you begin a game, make sure that a black square is in the bottom left-hand corner (this is a rule that keeps all games uniform). As we explore where each piece begins the game, we will also examine how each piece moves. To begin, let us define a move. Each turn a player can move only one piece. That piece must follow the rules for how that piece is able to move (see below for each piece's abilities). You can move your piece to any open space, unless it is obstructed by another piece. Any piece can "take" an opponent's piece by moving to the square on which the opponent's piece sits, as long as your piece can legally make it to that square. If you take, or capture, the other player's piece, it is removed from the board for the remainder of the game.
Pawns
Pawns are the most numerous (and usually smallest in physical size) piece in chess. Each player gets 8 and at the start of each game they take up the entire second row. Think of pawns as the initial shield to thwart advances and the first line to make your attack. Each side has more pawns than any other piece, but unfortunately the pawn is the weakest in the game. Generally, a pawn can move forward one space. This rule is only different in two instances. The first time each pawn is moved from its opening spot, you can choose to advance it either one space forward or two spaces forward. Once it has moved from this spot, the pawn must follow the one space ahead rule. The only other time a pawn can move differently is if it is in a spot to capture another piece. A pawn can capture a piece only one diagonal spot in front of it. Therefore, each pawn has two squares that it can capture. If an enemy piece moves to the spot diagonally to the left-front or right-front of your pawn, you can move to that spot and remove the enemy piece from the board. Pawns can never move backward.
Rooks
Most likely your rooks appear as castles. These two pieces are placed on the extreme outsides of the back row. Excluding the king, who is invaluable, the rook is considered the second most powerful weapon in your arsenal. A rook is able to move either horizontally or vertically and can do so for as many spaces as you like. If you want to move your rook from one corner of the board to the other and the lane is open, you can do it. Unlike the pawn, a rook captures another piece in the same way in which it moves. If an enemy piece is ahead of your rook vertically or horizontally, you can move your rook to that spot and remove the enemy piece from the board.
Knights
If you are a fan of horses you are in luck. Dig through your pile of chess men and find the two shaped like horses; these pieces are your knights. At the start of a game, knights are placed just inside of each rook. Knights are the pieces most likely to confuse a beginning chess player. Their move basically takes the shape of the letter "L." A knight can move in any direction - front, back, left, or right - two spaces and then an additional space to the left or right of that space. The movement can become beguiling because the final space is made relative to the direction you first moved. For instance, if you moved your knight to the right two directions your final one space would be made up or down in relation to the whole board. Any way you trace the movement, however, must look like the letter "L." A knight is also the only piece that can jump over other pieces. If a piece is in the path of a knight, it can jump over that piece. The only spot that needs to be open for a knight to move is the final space, for which you move one spot left or right. Knights, like rooks, capture pieces in the same way they move. If a piece is sitting on the final spot your knight can jump, it is in trouble. Remember, though, that it must be the final spot, not the spot you passed on your way to making the "L." This strange movement allows the knight to become a dangerous piece. You can often surprise an opponent with a knight.
Bishops
The pointy pieces in your set are the bishops. Each bishop is placed just inside the knights on the back row. Like the rook, a bishop can move as many spaces as you like. The catch is that they can only move diagonally. If you look at the initial setup, you will notice that one bishop is on a white square (or whatever the lighter color of your board is) and the other starts on a black space. Because the bishop can only move diagonally, each bishop must stay on the color on which it began the game. Still, being able to move as many spots as you like on a diagonal lane is a very dangerous weapon. Bishops capture pieces just like they move. If an enemy piece sits on the diagonal lane that one of your bishops occupies, you can move it to that space and remove the piece from the board.
Queen (the grand lady)
The matriarch of the board is the most powerful piece you employ. Not even the King himself can inflict pain like the queen. A queen's power comes from her mobility. She is able to move as far as you like in any direction. This fact means you can move the queen forward, backward, left, right, or any of the four diagonal directions, for as many spaces as you like. Often a queen can make it to almost any space on the board. Also, a queen can capture a piece on any square to which she can move. The rule for the queen's starting placement is "queen gets her color." For instance, if you are white, place the queen on the remaining inside square that is white. For black, place her on the remaining black square. If you look across the board, the queens should be directly across from each other.
King
As we discovered before, the king is the object of the game. The king shares some of his wife's powers, but he is far less powerful than the queen. A king can move in any direction, just like the queen, but only one square. The king is evasive, but his mobility is limited. While you generally want to keep enemy pieces away from your king, he can capture a piece by moving onto the square that the piece occupies. The king begins on the last remaining square of the back row. The inverse of the queen-rule is true for the the king. The black king will start on a white square and the white king will start on a black square. Again, like the queen, they should be directly across from each other.
You Can Move. Now What?
By this point you have learned how the pieces move and where they belong at the genesis of each game. For the most part, you are ready to play. Several other rules exist, however.
The First Move Belongs to White
The white side always moves first. So, based on the knowledge of how each piece can move and where they are set up to start the game, what are the possible first turn moves? You can move each of your eight pawns one or two spaces forward. Can you use any of the other pieces? Remember, only one piece can occupy each space. It would seem you are destined to move a pawn on move one. But do not forget your knights! They are able to jump pieces in the way of their final destination. Hence, you can utilize your mates-on-horses for move one. They can jump the row of pawns to the third row and then one spot left or right. After move one by white, black makes his or her first move and the game is on!
Check!
As you make moves in the game you might move to a spot where, on the next turn, that piece would be able to capture the king. For instance, you could move a bishop to a space where the king rests three spots away diagonally. If this occurs, it is called "check." If a king is "checked" it is in danger. Therefore, the person whose king is in peril must either move the king or block the piece with another one of his or her available pieces. He or she cannot move another piece until he or she has resolved the "checking" situation.
Checkmate!
The object of the game is to capture the other person's king, but in reality you never get to capture the king. To win a game of chess you must put the opposite king in what is called "checkmate." As we found out before, a king is in check when it is being directly attacked. Essentially, checkmate is the situation in which a king cannot move out of check. For example, if you have a king in check from one piece, but the spaces to which it can move would also put the king in check, then you have just checkmated your opponent. The game is yours! If no space exists to where the king can move to be out of a checked position, the game is over.
Promotion
If you are a sly player and manage to move one of your pawns to the opposite back row, all the way to the other side of the board, you can promote your pawn to a more powerful piece. Most times people will make their pawn a queen. If your queen is still in the game, you can have two queens! Simply designate another captured piece as the new queen by turning it upside down or be creative and come up with some other way of designating your new lady. You can promote your pawn to any piece you like, but remember the queen is the most powerful type.
Stalemate
You might think that it is always good to put pressure on the other player's king. However, if a player's king is not in check, but has no possible space to which it might move and NOT be in check, the king is "stalemated." If a stalemate occurs, you do not win the game. In fact, the game is ended in a draw. Try to avoid these situations by smartly attacking your opponent's king.
Time to Make the Right Moves
Now you are armed with the most basic rules of chess. Several other rules exist that you might want to look up if you plan on becoming a serious chess player. These include "castling," rules on touching pieces, move repetition rules, and imposing time lengths. Without these rules you will be able to play full games of chess, but they might enrich your experience if you look them up. This guide was designed for the novice, so we will not discuss them here.
You know how the pieces move, but choosing the right move might take a lifetime to master, as the cliché states well. No matter how good you are, from the start, however, chess is an extremely fun and exciting game. With the rules you have learned by simply reading this page you can now play a game you might once have thought too complicated for you to enjoy. So hit the boards, the internet, or perhaps do some more research on strategy and other aspects of the game. Happy chessing!