The rules of chess are relatively simple, and they have remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years.
The game is played on a square chessboard, with each player controlling an army of 16 pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The goal of the game is to checkmate your opponent's king, which means putting it in a position where it cannot escape capture.
Each player starts the game with their pieces arranged in a specific way on the board. The board is divided into 64 squares, with each player's pieces arranged on the first and second rows (or ranks) of the board.
The white player always moves first, and players take turns making one move per turn. The pieces are moved according to specific rules, with each type of piece moving in a different way. For example, the rook can move any number of squares along a rank or file, the bishop can move any number of squares along a diagonal, and the pawn can move one square forward (or two squares on its first move) but can capture an opponent's piece by moving one square diagonally.
There are many other rules and concepts in chess, including castling, en passant, and promotion, but the basic idea is to use your pieces to control the board, attack your opponent's pieces, and ultimately checkmate the opponent's king. To learn more about the rules and strategies of chess, you can study books and other resources on the game, or you can try playing against other people or using instructional tools such as chess puzzles and instructional videos.
How to set up the board?
To set up a chess board, start by placing the board on a flat surface with the white square in the bottom right corner.
Then, place each of the white pieces on the first rank (or row) of the board, starting with the rooks in the corners and moving inward to place the knights, bishops, queen, and king.
Place the black pieces on the eighth rank, again starting with the rooks in the corners and moving inward to place the other pieces. The pawns should be placed on the second and seventh ranks, with one pawn in each square. The board should look like this when it is set up correctly:
Once the board is set up, the white player always moves first, and players take turns making one move per turn. The game continues until one player checkmates the other player's king, or until the game is declared a draw by mutual agreement or under the rules of the game.
How do pieces move?
Each piece in chess moves in a specific way, according to its unique rules. Here is a brief overview of how each piece moves:
The king can move one square in any direction (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally).
The queen can move any number of squares along a rank, file, or diagonal.
The rook can move any number of squares along a rank or file.
The bishop can move any number of squares along a diagonal.
The knight moves to any of the squares immediately adjacent to its current square, and then makes a separate 90-degree turn and moves to an adjacent square on that line. This move allows the knight to "jump" over other pieces.
The pawn can move one square forward (or two squares on its first move), but it captures an opponent's piece by moving one square diagonally.
Value of pieces
In chess, each piece has a specific value that reflects its relative strength and importance in the game. The values of the pieces are used to determine the relative value of a player's position and to evaluate the merits of different moves. Here is a brief overview of the value of each piece in chess:
The king is the most important piece, and its value is considered to be infinite because losing the king means losing the game.
The queen is the most powerful piece, and it is worth 9 points.
The rook is worth 5 points.
The bishop is worth 3 points.
The knight is worth 3 points.
The pawn is worth 1 point.
These values are not absolute, and they can change depending on the specific position and situation in the game. For example, a bishop may be more or less valuable depending on the color of the squares on the board and the position of the other pieces. Additionally, the value of a piece can also change over the course of a game, as pieces are captured or exchanged. Despite these variations, the basic values of the pieces provide a useful starting point for evaluating chess positions and making decisions about which moves to play.