The Basics of Chess
Part One: The History, The Board, and the Pieces
Origins of Chess
A game called chatrang was invented in India in the 6th century. Over the next 400 years, it was heavily modified and became known as shatranj. Shatranj was further modified by Europeans in Italy and Spain, the first countries to adapt the modern rules. A few kinks were edited until the 1800s, but chess basically was the game it is today by 1500.
Objective of Chess
The Objective of Chess is to checkmate the other player, or to put their king in check so that the check cannot be blocked and the king cannot move. A player generally attempts to keep more pieces 'alive' than the opponent so that they have the tactical advantage and therefore a better chance at checkmate.
The Pieces and their Movement
King
Image of a Black King
The king is the most important piece on the board. It must be protected, or you will easily lose the game. The king is not a good attacking piece however, because it can only move one square in any direction at a time.
Image of King's Allowed Movement
Queen
Image of a Queen
The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She can move any direction diagonally or up and down or side to side for as many squares as possible, without jumping over pieces of course. As you will see later, the queen is basically a combination of a rook and a bishop.
Image of Queen's Movement
Rook
Image of Rook
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The rook, also known as the castle, is the second most powerful piece in the game. It can move up and down and side to side across as many squares as possible.
Image of Rook's Movement
Bishop
Image of Bishop
The bishop is a semi-powerful piece. It can move in any direction diagonally.
Image of Bishop's Movement
Knight
Image of a Knight
The knight is a semi-powerful piece, worth about as much as the bishop. The knight is unique because of its movement pattern and the fact that it is the only piece in chess that can jump over other pieces. The knight moves in Ls, either moving 1 square forward than 2 squares sideways or 2 squares forward and one square sideways. Please refer to the diagram below, as it is hard to describe how the knight moves.
Image of Knight's Movement
Pawn
Image of a White and Black Pawn
The pawn is the weakest piece in the game, yet it can be very useful when used in conjunction with other pawns to limit the squares that the opponent can move. The pawn can only move forward, one space at a time. However, if the pawn has not moved yet, it can move forward two spaces. Additionally, the pawn can only take diagonally, one space at a time. Taking is the only time a pawn can move diagonally.
Image of Pawn's Movement
The Board
The Board is 8 by 8 squares, consisting of 64 squares in total. The squares alternate between white and black, with a white square being in the bottom right hand corner of the piece setup (for both players). These squares may change color, but there will always be one light colored type of square and one dark colored type.
Image of Empty Chess Board
The Initial Setup
Chess is a game played by two people, so naturally it has two different sides. One side has white pieces, and one has black pieces. Other than color, there is no difference between the two sides in the initial setup. The board is setup with your eight pawns in front of your pieces (on the second closest rank to you), and you pieces behind those pawns, with the rooks (castles) on the edges, then the knights on the second square in, then the bishops, then the king and queen, with the queen on its own color. (i.e.: If you are black the queen is on the black square)
Image of a Set Chess Board
Conclusion
Chess is a great game that can be played either as a simple board-game or at the level of grand masters where a single move can take more than 45 minutes to make. Once you can understand these basics of chess, you will be able to start to learn basic strategy and play against your friends in this fun game.
Part One: The History, The Board, and the Pieces
Origins of Chess
A game called chatrang was invented in India in the 6th century. Over the next 400 years, it was heavily modified and became known as shatranj. Shatranj was further modified by Europeans in Italy and Spain, the first countries to adapt the modern rules. A few kinks were edited until the 1800s, but chess basically was the game it is today by 1500.
Objective of Chess
The Objective of Chess is to checkmate the other player, or to put their king in check so that the check cannot be blocked and the king cannot move. A player generally attempts to keep more pieces 'alive' than the opponent so that they have the tactical advantage and therefore a better chance at checkmate.
The Pieces and their Movement
King
Image of a Black King
The king is the most important piece on the board. It must be protected, or you will easily lose the game. The king is not a good attacking piece however, because it can only move one square in any direction at a time.
Image of King's Allowed Movement
Queen
Image of a Queen
The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She can move any direction diagonally or up and down or side to side for as many squares as possible, without jumping over pieces of course. As you will see later, the queen is basically a combination of a rook and a bishop.
Image of Queen's Movement
Rook
Image of Rook
The rook, also known as the castle, is the second most powerful piece in the game. It can move up and down and side to side across as many squares as possible.
Image of Rook's Movement
Bishop
Image of Bishop
The bishop is a semi-powerful piece. It can move in any direction diagonally.
Image of Bishop's Movement
Knight
Image of a Knight
The knight is a semi-powerful piece, worth about as much as the bishop. The knight is unique because of its movement pattern and the fact that it is the only piece in chess that can jump over other pieces. The knight moves in Ls, either moving 1 square forward than 2 squares sideways or 2 squares forward and one square sideways. Please refer to the diagram below, as it is hard to describe how the knight moves.
Image of Knight's Movement
Pawn
Image of a White and Black Pawn
The pawn is the weakest piece in the game, yet it can be very useful when used in conjunction with other pawns to limit the squares that the opponent can move. The pawn can only move forward, one space at a time. However, if the pawn has not moved yet, it can move forward two spaces. Additionally, the pawn can only take diagonally, one space at a time. Taking is the only time a pawn can move diagonally.
Image of Pawn's Movement
The Board
The Board is 8 by 8 squares, consisting of 64 squares in total. The squares alternate between white and black, with a white square being in the bottom right hand corner of the piece setup (for both players). These squares may change color, but there will always be one light colored type of square and one dark colored type.
Image of Empty Chess Board
The Initial Setup
Chess is a game played by two people, so naturally it has two different sides. One side has white pieces, and one has black pieces. Other than color, there is no difference between the two sides in the initial setup. The board is setup with your eight pawns in front of your pieces (on the second closest rank to you), and you pieces behind those pawns, with the rooks (castles) on the edges, then the knights on the second square in, then the bishops, then the king and queen, with the queen on its own color. (i.e.: If you are black the queen is on the black square)
Image of a Set Chess Board
Conclusion
Chess is a great game that can be played either as a simple board-game or at the level of grand masters where a single move can take more than 45 minutes to make. Once you can understand these basics of chess, you will be able to start to learn basic strategy and play against your friends in this fun game.
Thank you for reading my guide! Please leave feedback and feel free to make suggestions or corrections.
. When I get back to the US I will re-write it.
