Begin Chess

The Board

The chessboard is made out of 64 squares,

32 dark squares and 32 light squares.
 The Diagonals

The lines marked in red and yellow are called the diagonals.
The diagonals can be either going to the left or right.
 The Ranks

The arrows occupying the squares horizontally are called ranks.

 The files.

The arrows occupying the squares vertically are called files.

 The Initial Position

From White Viewpoint From Black Viewpoint

This is the initial position when starting a chess game.

You must remember that the light square must be on the right side of the board.
LIGHT - RIGHT
The White king must be placed in the middle on the dark square while the Black king on
the light square
 The Names of the Squares

From White's View Point From Black's Viewpoint

The ranks are represented by the numbers while the letters correspond to the files.

Hence the square being intersected by the two lines is called "e4".
The Symbols for the Pieces
Values of the Pieces
Queen = 9

Rook = 5

Bishop = 3

Knight = 3

Pawn = 1

King = The Game

 Objectives of the Game

Main Objective - to Checkmate the enemy King

Secondary Objective - Win of material (this makes

checkmating

the enemy king easier as there will be less defenders

 The Movement of the Pieces
The King

It moves just one square at a time, in any direction: up, down, left, right and
diagonally. It captures the same way as it moves. the squares marked in green are
the squares where the white king can capture when it is occupied by an enemy piece
while the squares marked in yellow are the squares where the black king can
occupy, control and capture when it is occupied by an enemy piece. The squares
where the king occupy are also the squares that it can protect either occupied or not
by a friendly piece.
Game Links: King Move - King Move - Capturing
Here in diagram A the white king can capture the
black rook but it cannot cross the red lines because it
is controlled by the rook while the black king cannot
capture the rook because it is defended by a white
pawn nor can it cross the red line as it is also
controlled by the rook.
In diagram B both kings cannot capture the enemy
pawns because they are protected by their own kings
nor can they move to the squares with the red arrows
since they are protected by the enemy pawns. In this
diagram it is white to move.
Here the black king has just captured the white pawn, it can now move to the
squares previously controled by the captured pawn since it has exclusive
control of these squares. The black king still cannot move to the squares
marked in red as it is also controled by the white king. Thiswill end in a draw if
white defends accurately.
 Check
When the King is being attacked directly by an opponent's piece we say
that the King is under check. In the diagram the Black King is being
checked by the White Bishop
 There are three ways to get out of check:
1. The king may move to a square which is not being attacked by an enemy piece.
Here the king may move to the squares indicated by the green arrows.

In diagram A the black king just "moved away" from the attacked
square to f8 while in diagram B it moved to h8. Both squares are not
being attacked by any enemy piece.
2. When possible a piece may be moved in-between the King and the enemy
piece to block the check. In diagram A the black bishop in the position may move
to the square marked in green.

In diagram B the bishop was placed in-between the black king and the
white bishop to block the check.
 3. The piece that is attacking the King can be captured. The rook can
capture the bishop giving the check in diagram A.

A
B
In diagram B the rook has just captured the white bishop thereby eliminating
the check but in this position though it is a bad option since the
white knight can capture the black rook that is not protected. The rook has a
higher value than both the bishop and knight.
 Game Link: The King is in Check

Checkmate
To checkmate or simply mate is the main objective of the game. When
the King is under check and cannot get out of check then we say the
King is checkmated and the game is lost.

Here the rook gives a check to the black king and the king can’t get away from the check.

Black is not able to do any of the following:

1. Move to a square which is not being attacked by an enemy piece.
2. Move a piece between the King and the enemy piece to block the check.
3. Capture the enemy piece giving the check
 Other samples of Checkmate.

Game Links: Back Rank Mate

Smothered Mate
Anastasia's Mate
King and Pawn Checkmate
Morphy's Mate
 The Queen
The queen moves and captures like the king, horizontally, vertically, and
diagonally but in along range fashion as can be seen in the diagram. The
green arrows are the squares controlled by the white queen and it captures
any piece that goes to those squares. In diagram A the black king is under
“check” by the white queen. Black can parry the check in two ways:

1. By moving the king away from the attacked square.

BB C

In diagrams B and C the black king just moved away from the check given by
the white queen.
2. By intercepting or blocking the check.
The black queen can block the check by either going to the squares
marked with red or yellow (you can do this also with other pieces) but the
correct way is to go to the yellow square as it also protected by the black king
when it can recapture in case white decides to capture the blocking piece.
After this the white queen cannot move away from the diagonal as his king will
be exposed or “open-checked”.

The queen is the most powerful piece on the board as it possesses the
qualities of all other pieces with the exception of the knight.
Game Link: The Queen
 The Rook

Also a long range piece, the rook moves and captures horizontally and vertically.
Here the red lines mark the squares where the rook can move and control. Like
the queen, it can also give a check from a distance, here the two rooks
checkmates the lone king. Here the black king has nowhere to go when all the
squares marked in red where it can move to are also controlled by the rooks nor
does it have any piece to cover the check hence the black king is checkmated.
 The Bishop

Another long range piece, the bishop ends the game with the same
square color as it started and moves and captures diagonally. You
cannot mate the lone king with a single bishop which explains for its
limited scope though it is powerful when in pairs.

Here the bishop pair mates the enemy king with help of the king.
 The Knight

Not a long range piece, the knight has the oddest move of all the pieces, it moves as
follows:
a) two squares up or down then one square to either left or right
b) two squares left or right then one square up or down.
It moves with an L shaped pattern and captures a piece in the same way which
means if it started on a light square it must land on a dark square and vice versa. In the
position given below the squares marked in green are the squares where the knight can
either move to or capture. They are also the squares the knight controls.

Here the white knight gives a check and attacks the enemy bishop at the same time as it also
defends the white pawn. The knight is also the only piece that can attack a piece or a square
even if there are enemy pieces blocking its path as shown on the diagram which means if your
king is under check by a knight you cannot block the check and the only way to parry it is by
either moving the king or capturing the knight with one of your pieces.
 Game Link: The Knight

Game Link: The Knight 2

Here the knights reach the corner of the board with the following moves showed by the arrows
and the squares marked by green for white and red for black, note that it jumps to a light then a
dark square alternately. Though not as powerful as the bishop in an open position owing to its
short range mobility, it is very useful in closed positions where pieces are blocked by pawns
where a long range piece cannot penetrate. You cannot mate with a knight even if they come in
pairs, though it happens in special cases where the king is badly placed.
 The Pawn

The pawn only moves forward one square at a time though you have an
option to move it one or two squares forward on its first move. Once you’ve
moved a pawn you cannot move it backwards. The pawn captures and attacks
forward diagonally one square at a time. It is the "weakest" of all the pieces but
has special qualities that can win the game as you will learn later. In Chess
Game Link: The Pawn
 Special Moves
Besides the usual moves of the pieces there are the so called "Special
moves", moves that have a different definition and function. These moves add up
to the strategical and tactical intricacies of the game. Here we will discuss some
of the moves that can decide the entire outcome of the game.

Castling
Castling is a special move that is done for two main reasons, namely:

1. For the safety of the king. After opening with the central pawns the king is more exposed and
is more prone to attack.
2. For further development of the pieces, in this case the rooks are now "connected".
For white, it is moving the king two squares to the right and the king's rook two squares to the
left, in chess notation the king is placed on g1 and the rook on f1. For Black it will be two
squares to the left for the king and two square to the right with the rook. In chess notation it will
be the king on g8 and the rook on f8. This is called Kingside Castling.
"Queenside Castling" involves a different number of squares moved with the rook and the
same number of squares for the king to the other side of the board or queenside. For white the
king moves two squares to the left and three squares to the right for the rook. In chess notation
it will be the king on the c1 square and the rook in d1. For Black the king moves two squares to
the right and the rook three squares to the left. In chess notation the king is place on the c8
square and and the rook on d8. For Black the king moves two squares to the right and the rook
three squares to the left. In chess notation the king is place on the c8 square and and the rook on
d8.
Castling is can be made when these conditions are met:

1. There are no enemy or friendly pieces in between the king and the rook where
castling is involved.
2. There are no any enemy piece(s) controlling the squares or where the king will
be placed or the path the king will pass.

This rule does not apply to the rook

3. When neither of the king or the rook involved in the castling has moved.

Samples:

Both the white and black king can castle either side . Here both kings Kingside“.
Here both kings castled "Queenside".Game Link: Special Moves - Castling
 En Passant
En passant" is French for In Passing. This move only applies to pawns
but it is very important to remember since it may cost you the game.
When a pawn in its first move advances two squares forward with the first
square being attacked by an enemy pawn, the enemy pawn has an
option to capture the pawn that moved and passed the attacked square
with it landing on the square where it had attacked.

Diagram A: The white pawn on d5 has the option to capture any of the
pawns belonging to the adjacent files, the d-file and the f-file if it moves
two squares in its first time to move.
Diagram B: Black's d-pawn just moved two squares on its initial move
thereby giving white the option to capture the pawn with his e-pawn via en
passant on e6. Here the white e-pawn has an option to capture the black pawn
that has just moved two squares. The white pawn will land on the square where
the black pawn has just passed. This move is only applies on the first instance it
will occur, you cannot capture en passant if any other move has been made
instead after the first instance.
Diagram C: White has just captured black's pawn on d5 via en passant,
note that his e-pawn landed on the square e6.
 Promotion

This is a very special move for when the pawn reaches the eighth rank you can
promote the pawn into any piece except the king. Most likely you will choose the
queen since it is the most powerful piece. You can have as many queens or
any other piece when you promote

Diagram A: Both pawns are about to reach the eight rank thus achieving
promotion. It's black's turn to move.
Diagram B: Black has just promoted his pawn to a queen,
the most powerful piece but it is still white's turn and will
also try to promote his pawn.
Diagram C: White also promoted his pawn and with a
check, after black's move white will win black's newly
promoted pawn and the game!
 Under Promotion
Under Promotion to gain material:

There are special cases that you would rather promote your pawn into a knight
or any other piece than the queen as it may involve stalemate or give an attack
that will win the game. This is called under promotion.

Diagram A: It is white's turn to move, promoting the pawn into a queen will most
likely end the game in a draw.
Diagram B: White under promotes his pawn into a knight! Both black's king and
queen are simultaneously attack and the black king is too far to defend the
queen while the black queen is in no position to capture the knight. Black loses
his queen and the game!
 Stalemate

In diagram A the black king has nowhere to go but he is not

under check, although white is a queen up the game is
drawn. Diagram B illustrates that black has succesfully
defended against white's intention to promote a pawn and
the game ended in a stalemate.
 A Brief Guide of Chess Rules

1. The chessboard is placed so that the white square is

on the right side of the player.

2. The player with the White pieces always moves first.

3. A pawn on reaching the last rank will always be

promoted to a piece of his choice, a Queen, Rook, Bishop
or Knight as part of the same move. The effect of this
promoted piece is immediate. So if the pawn is promoted
to a Queen, the Queen, if it is in a position to do so, may
check or checkmate the enemy King.

4. Each move must be made with only one hand.

5. A piece that is touched must be moved unless moving this
piece would place the King in check. This is called the "touch-
move rule". If an opponent's piece is touched then it must be
captured if possible. If this is not possible then play continues as
if that piece had not been touched.

6. A person may adjust a piece on the chessboard on her move

by saying "j'adoube" which is French for "I adjust".

7. When castling, the King must be moved first and then the
Rook brought to stand on the opposite side to the King.

8. When using a clock, the button must be pressed with the

hand which moved the piece on the chessboard.

9. All play should be conducted with respect for the opponent. A

player should not distract or annoy her opponent in any way.
 SOME TIPS ON PLAYING YOUR FIRST GAME

Always try to control the center. The marked squares are collectively
called the center with the squares marked in yellow as the inner center.
Controlling these squares either by placing your pieces on these squares or
putting your pieces on the squares that control or affect the center gives you the
advantage of mobility. You can easily shift your pieces from kingside to
queenside and vice versa where they are needed more for defense or attacking
your opponent’s camp.
The three phases of the Game

1. The Opening:
2. The Middlegame
3.The Endgame