Chess is an exciting game and easy to learn. It’s played on an 8x8 board with 64 squares and 32 pieces. The game is won by checkmating - trapping - the king. Although the king is the most important piece, it’s not the most powerful. The king can move to any square that’s directly next to it: up, down, sideways or diagonal.
The king is the most important piece in chess, but the queen is the most powerful. The queen can move forwards, backwards, sideways and diagonally like a king. However, unlike the king, the queen can move as far as it wants to in each of these directions. The only thing that the queen can’t do is jump over any pieces along the way.
The rook can move forwards, backwards and sideways like a queen. However, unlike the queen, the rook can't move diagonally.
The bishop can move diagonally like a queen, but not forward, backwards or sideways. Each side starts with two bishops, one on a light square and one on a dark square.
The knight is the only chess piece that doesn't go in straight line. The knight moves two squares in one direction and then turns and goes one in another direction. For example, a knight could move up two and one to the left. The knight could also move two squares to the right and one square down. It always follows that two and then one pattern, which resembles an L. Another thing that makes the knight unique is that it's the only piece which is able to jump over other pieces.
Typically pawns move one square forward each move. However, pawns have a couple of special features. A pawn can advance either one or two squares on its first move. Additionally pawns don't capture the way that they move. Pawns can only capture a piece that is one square diagonally ahead. Pawns are also the only piece that can only go forward.
When a pawn reaches the end of the board it promotes, which means it turns into another piece. You can promote to a knight, bishop, rook or queen. Since queens are the most powerful piece, that is by far the most common choice.
Now that you know how the pieces move, it's time to set up and start the game. Each player starts with a light square in the lower right hand corner. Rooks are placed in the corners, with knights next to them, followed by bishops. Kings and queens are placed in the center squares of the back rank with the queen on her own color. All White pawns start on the 2nd rank and all Black pawns start on the 7th rank.
Every square in chess has a name based on a coordinate system. All files have a letter, from a - h, going from the queen's rook file to the king's rook file. Each rank has a number from the 1st and 2nd rank where White's pieces begin through the 7th and 8th rank where Black's pieces begin. Each piece is notated this way:
- King = K.
- Queen = Q.
- Rook = R.
- Bishop = B.
- Knight = N.
- Pawn - no symbol.
You write a move with the letter of the piece followed by the letter and numbers of the square. For example, Kf3 if a king reaches the f3 square, or if you place a pawn on f3 then just f3 because pawns have no symbol.
A great strategy to help win chess games is to capture opposing pieces. Most captures are made the same way that pieces normally move. Remember, that pawns capture one square diagonally, instead of their normal forward move.
Check means that one side is threatening to capture the opposing king. You never capture the king in chess, so the other side must get out of check.
To notate a check, you add a "+" to the end of your notation. For example, knight to g6 with a check is notated as Ng6+.
When you are in check you must escape check. The ways to get out of check are:
- to move the king
- block the check with another piece
- to capture the checking piece.
You win when your opponent is in check and cannot escape. That is called checkmate!
Have you ever wondered what the fastest possible checkmate is in chess? The fastest possible checkmate takes only two moves. Try to follow the moves below.
- f3 e5
- g4 Qh4#
The notation for checkmate is #.
Stalemate occurs when there are no possible moves, but neither king is in check. Stalemate is a draw, even if one of the players has many more pieces on the board.
A good example of stalemate occurs when one side just has a king, which is not in check, but it can't move because any attempted move would be moving into check.
Not all chess games are won or lost. Sometimes they end in a draw. These are the ways that can happen:
- Stalemate.
- Both players agree to a draw.
- If the exact same position has repeated three times, either player can claim a draw.
- If 50 moves have occurred without a pawn move or a capture either player can claim a draw.
Castling is a special move to protect your king and activate your rook. It's the only time in chess you can move two pieces in one move. The king moves two squares to the right or left and the rook moves directly to the other side of the king. You can only castle if neither the rook or king have moved and there are no pieces in the way. You can also not castle when in check, into check or through check.
Castling Notations are:
- King's side: 0-0
- Queen's side: 0-0-0
This is the most unusual rule in chess - make sure you learn it. En-passant occurs when a pawn has just moved two squares. It's possible the very next move for the opponent to capture that pawn with one of his or her own, as if that pawn had only moved one square. For example if a Black pawn on g7 advanced to g5 then a White pawn on h5 could capture it by moving to the g6 square. This is only possible on the very next move. If another move is played then en-passant is no longer possible.
There are dozens of possible chess moves at any time. How do you find the right one? Each turn you will want to consider your option and your opponent's options. You'll want to pay particular attention to checks, captures and threats.
Watch a complete game of chess played with all moves explained,
- e4 c6 Both sides move pawns towards the center.
- d4 d5 Both sides place a 2nd pawn in the center and allow pieces out.
- Nc3 dxe4 White defends a pawn and Black captures it.
- Nxe4 Nd7 White recaptures and Black develops a knight.
- Bc4 Ngf6 White develops a bishop and Black develops a knight.
- Ng5 h6 White targets the f7 pawn, but Black doesn't see the threat.
- Bf7# Checkmate!
Put your pieces in the ideal position to control the most important part of the board - the center. Try to attack those squares, e4, d4, e5 and d5 early in the game. If you can control those squares your opponent won't be able to find good squares for his or her pieces.
Take control of the game by developing your pieces rapidly to squares where they control the center. You want to develop your knights and bishops and castle quickly. Once you've done that, it's time to move the queen and connect the rooks. This is a great goal for the opening.
King safety is the most important positional factor in chess. Usually the best way to secure your king is to castle. That way you can use your center pawns to fight for the center, but keep your side pawns back to protect the king in a castled position. Another great aspect of castling is that it helps your rook fight for the center.
An active piece has the potential to make many moves. At the start of the games most pieces can't move at all and the knights can only move to two squares each. The best way to get pieces active is to move them towards the center of the board.
It’s important to pay attention to what your opponent is trying to do each turn. You want to watch out for any checks, captures, or threats that the opponent might make. Those are the moves that are likely to get you in trouble if you don’t see them coming. Sometimes your opponent will make more than one threat and you’ll want to find a move that defends everything, so take your time to look at multiple ideas. The best way to stay safe is to ask yourself each turn “if my opponent had another move, what would he or she play?”
Chess games typically feature three phases. The opening is when each side focuses on developing their pieces from the back rank. Once most pieces are developed we reach the middle-game, where both sides attempt to improve their positions and still have most of their pieces. If no one has won yet, the game enters an endgame where each side has just a few pieces and most likely players will try to promote a pawn and then checkmate.
At beginner levels, games are frequently won and lost with the four move checkmate, most commonly played with 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 with Qxf7# on the next move. It's very important to defend your weakest point from checkmate. That's the f7 pawn for Black and the f2 pawn for White. As long as you're careful to block opposing pieces from attacking that square, you can reach a good position.
Because the king can't move into check it is often possible to checkmate by placing a queen next to the opponent's king and having the queen defended by another one of your pieces. If the king can't move away and no other piece can capture your queen, then you'll have a checkmate!
One good way to checkmate is to use two rooks, or a rook and a queen to force a lone opposing king to the edge or the board. If one rook defends an entire file then the opposing king can't cross it. If you use the other rook to control the next file, you can force the king to the edge one step at a time until you checkmate it. Picture a position with White rooks on g1 and h2 and a Black king on h5 in checkmate. This mate also works by forcing the king to the first or last rank.
Many games end with just one king and queen vs king. The simplest way to checkmate in that situation is to follow a multi-step process to make an assisted checkmate. 1. Place your queen one knight move away from the opposing king. 2. Copy each king move with your queen to stay one knight move away. 3. When the opposing king reaches the edge of the board move the queen to the 2nd rank or file from the edge to keep the king stuck there. Make sure to give the king at least two squares to move, so that there's no stalemate. 4. Bring your king close to the opposing king to set up an assisted checkmate.
The easiest way to checkmate with king and rook against king is to follow this process: 1. Use your rook to put the opposing king in a box. 2. Bring your king towards the rook to protect it. 3. If it's possible to shrink the box with the rook each turn, do it. If not, move the king closer to the opposing king. 4. Once the opponent's king is on the edge of the board checkmate by using the rook with your king covering the escape squares.
Each piece has a numerical value that can help you evaluate whether exchanging it makes sense.
- Pawns = 1.
- Knights = 3.
- Bishops = 3.
- Rooks = 5.
- Queens = 9.
- Kings = The whole game!
This tells you that trading a knight for a bishop is OK, but you wouldn't want to lose a queen and only get a rook. When evaluating possible trades you should try to capture as much or more value than your opponent does unless you have a very good reason.
Tactics are the types of moves you can use to gain an immediate advantage. One way to get an advantage is to capture hanging, also called free, pieces. Watch out for which pieces are unprotected each turn. If you can capture one, it's usually a good idea!
It's usually a good idea to capture something if you have more attacking pieces than the opponent has defending pieces. That way you will get to make the first and last capture in the exchange. Make sure to pay attention to which pieces are captured. You don't want to lose a queen to win two pawns!
A great way to win material is to attack more than one piece at a time with one of your own. This technique is known as a fork. Because the opponent can only move one piece each turn, if you attack two or more pieces, you will be able to capture something.
A pin occurs when a piece is under attack and cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece to capture. An absolute pin occurs when it would be illegal to move the attacked piece because of a check. A relative pin occurs when it would be inadvisable to move the attacked piece because a more valuable piece lies behind it.
Once you have pinned a piece, it can't or shouldn't move. Frequently the best way to take advantage of this situation is to add more attacking pieces until the pinned piece can be captured in the most advantageous way.
A skewer occurs when one piece attacks an opposing piece, that has a less valuable piece behind it, that can be captured once it moves. The skewer can be thought of as a backwards pin because the more valuable piece is the one in immediate danger.
Don't make the mistake of giving up your good pieces for less valuable ones. It's important that you evaluate all possible captures each turn. Often there are multiple options, but only one of them will lead to a favorable exchange.
When both sides only have kings and pawns it's essential to count how many moves each side will take to promote. Usually whoever gets there first will win the game!
Castling is a good idea, but if the king is on the back rank without other pieces to defend it, it may be vulnerable to a back rank checkmate from a rook or queen. It's often a good idea to advance one pawn in front of the king to create an escape square and avoid mate.
The f2 and f7 pawns are only defended by the king in the starting position, so it can be subject to attack. If you can attack your opponent's f-pawn with two pieces when it's only defended by a king you can frequently win material or checkmate. A good defensive idea is to castle so that your rook defends the f-pawn.
Never forget to protect your most important piece, the king. A material advantage doesn't matter if there's checkmate. Be careful to defend potential checkmating squares near your king and to give your king escape routes if needed.
Attacking the king is great - but it's not always the right move. Be patient. Make sure that a check accomplishes a goal, like helping to mate or preventing your opponent from castling. If you opponent has a useful move to get out of check, it's probably not worth it.
It's helpful to look at all of the checks for each side and see if there are checkmates or other tactics available on the next move.
One of the most common opening moves is 1.e4.
Black's most solid response is 1...e5. The game frequently continues with 2.Nf3 Nc6 and then one of three main moves, Bc4, Bb5 or d4.
The most popular alternative to 1.e4 is 1.d4. One of the main openings after d4 is the Queen's Gambit, which goes 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 (or c6). This will lead to the Queen's Gambit declined or the Slav defense.
The most common responses to 1.e4 are those that guard the d4 square. Black usually plays 1...e5 or 1...c5 to prevent White from reaching a solid two pawn center.
If Black meets 1.e4 with a move other than e5 or c5, the main idea will be to place a pawn on d5. 1...d5 is possible, but risky because Black's pawn will be captured. More common is 1...e6 or 1..c6 to prepare d5 on the next move.
When playing against 1.d4 most players prevent White from playing e4 with 1...Nf6 or 1...d5. If you play 1...d5 and White plays c4, you will usually want to play e6 or c6 to support the d5 pawn.