What is Chess?

- a board game of strategic skills for 2 players played on checkered board of 64 squares, who we’ll call
White and Black.
- each square can be empty or occupied.
- the initial position of the game of 16 white pieces and 16 black pieces, that are moved & capture
opposing pieces according to precise rules.

- the goal or objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king. Under a direct attack from which
escape is impossible (checkmate).

- players take alternating moves. White always goes first. The destination square is either empty or
occupied by an enemy piece (captured). Captured is removed from the board, and plays no further role
in the game.

we see a rook (sometimes called a castle), a knight, a bishop, a queen, a king, another bishop, another
knight, and another rook. The next row of white pieces consists of eight pawns. Each different type of
piece moves in a specific way.

 Rook – move in continuous line forwards, backwards and side-to-side.

 Knight – the only pieces that “jump” off the board. To make it easier to remember how a knight
moves thinks of an L. Two spaces in direction forward, back or side-to-side, and one space at a
right turn.

 Pawns – only move forward. On the first move can move one or two spaces, every subsequent
move can only be one space. Pawns move diagonally to take opponents.
- If a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, it is promoted to a higher piece (except the
king). There is no limit to how many pawns can be promoted.

 Bishop – move in continuous diagonal line in a any direction.

 Queen – moves in continuous diagonal and straight lines. Forward, back, and side-to-side.

 King – can be move in any direction, one square at a time. a king cannot move to a square that is
under attack by the opponent.

 Castling – is the only the move that allows two pieces to move during the same turn.

During castling a king moves two spaces towards the rook that it will castle with, and the
rook jumps to the other side. The king can castle to either side as long as:

• the king has not moved.

• the king is not check.

• the king does not move through or into check.

• there are no pieces between the king and castling-side rook.

• the castling-side rook has not moved.

It does not matter:

• If the king was in check, but is no longer.

• If the rook can be attached by an opponent's piece before castling.

Check – a king is in check when an opponent’s piece is in a position that can attack the king. A player
must move their out of check, block the check or capture the attacking piece.

Checkmate – putting an opponent’s king in “checkmate” is the only way to win the game.

 Chess is incredibly complex strategic game, and it is impossible to go into all of the possible
tactics one could use to win. However, few hints/tips that will aid for victory.

PIECE VALUE - Obviously you want to protect your pieces from capture, but it helps to know which
pieces are the strongest so you can decide who to save if you must choose between two. 

Queen: Strongest = Most Value

Rook
Bishop, Knight
Pawn: Weakest = Least Value

The bishop and the knight are commonly considered equal on the value scale, however many feel that
the bishop has a slight edge over the knight.

Pawns become more valuable as they near promotion.

Pawn Promotion:
Although a pawn can be promoted to a variety of pieces, the strongest choice is almost always to
promote to queen.

What is En-passant?

Answer: The en passant rule is a special pawn capturing move in chess. "En passant"
is a French expression that translates to "in passing," which is precisely how this
capture works. Pawns can usually capture only pieces that are directly and diagonally
in front of it on an adjacent file. It moves to the captured piece's square and replaces
it. With en passant, though, things are a little different. This type of capture is the only
one in chess where the capturing piece doesn't land on the same square as its victim.

To perform this capture, you must take your opponent's pawn as if it had moved just
one square. You move your pawn diagonally to an adjacent square, one rank farther
from where it had been, on the same file where the enemy's pawn is, and remove the
opponent's pawn from the board.

There are a few requirements for the move to be legal:

1. The capturing pawn must have advanced exactly three ranks to perform this move.
The captured pawn must have moved two squares in one move, landing right next to
the capturing pawn.

The en passant capture must be performed on the turn immediately after the pawn
being captured moves. If the player does not capture en passant on that turn, they no
longer can do it later.

This type of capture cannot happen if the capturing pawn has already advanced four or
more squares. Another instance where this capture is not allowed is when the enemy
pawn lands right next to your pawn but only after making two moves. The notation for
an en passant capture is the same as any other pawn capture. Note, though, that you
should write down the square where the pawn has landed, not the one where the
captured pawn was.

2. What is Stale?

Answer: Stalemate is one of the drawing rules of chess. It happens when the player
who has to move has no legal moves available The game then ends immediately in a
tie, and each player is awarded half a point. The queen, being such a potent attacker,
can quickly force a win against a lonely enemy king. If the player is not careful,
though, it can also leave no legal moves for the opponent and cause a draw.