Chess is a fun game for people of all ages. It looks a little complicated, but once you figure out how the pieces move, you’re ready to go. How each chess piece movement on the board is explained in detail here, in a manner that even the most novice player can take up and begin playing the game. By the end of this guide, you will know exactly where each piece can go and what they can do!
1. The Chess Board and Its Setup
Let’s talk about the chessboard before we dive into the pieces. First, the chessboard contains 64 squares. These squares come in an alternating pattern of light and dark color. Each player has 16 pieces at the beginning of the game, arranged in a particular manner. Knowing how to set up the board is the first step to playing chess!
2. The King: The Most Important Piece
The king is the most important piece in chess. If your king is trapped and cannot escape-this is called checkmate-you lose the game. The king can move one square in any direction: up, down, left, right, or diagonally.
3. The Queen: The Most Powerful Piece
The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She is able to move any number of squares in any direction that she pleases: vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Because she is so powerful, the queen is a very important piece in both the attack and in defense.
4. The Rook: The Castle on the Board
The rook looks like a castle and moves as such. It can move any number of squares, but only along straight ranks, files, or diagonals. Rooks are particularly formidable when operating in tandem.
5. The Bishop: The Diagonal Mover
Bishops move diagonally across the board. Each player has two bishops: one that moves on the light-colored squares and one that moves on the dark-colored squares. Bishops can move any number of squares diagonally, making them excellent in long-range attacks.
6. The Knight: The Jumping Horse
The knight is the strangest piece to learn. It moves in an “L” shape: two squares in one direction, then one square perpendicular to that direction. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, which makes it unique.
7. The Pawn: The Smallest Warrior
The pawns are the weakest and smallest, but very important pieces. The normal way in which pawns move is one square forward, but when they capture a piece, they do so by moving one square diagonally. On their first move, pawns can move two squares forward. When a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, it has the ability to be promoted to any other piece, except a king!
8. Special Moves: Castling, En Passant, and Promotion
There are some special moves in Chess that are good to know:
Castling:
This is a move with the king and a rook. The king moves two squares towards the rook, and the rook moves to the square next to the king. It helps to protect the king.
En Passant:
This occurs in the event that a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting position and does happen to fall in next to another player’s pawn. The opponent can capture the first pawn as though it had only moved one square.
Promotion:
When the pawn reaches the opponent’s side of the board, a pawn has the option to promote to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.
9. Hints to Remember How Each Piece Moves
It does take some time learning how each piece moves in a game of chess, so here are some hints that might help you remember:
Use rhyming or song to keep it in your head.
Practice setting up the board and moving each piece.
Playing games against a friend will also get you comfortable with how the pieces move.
Conclusion :
By now that you have learned how to move each chess piece, you can get started and play. Chess is a game of strategy and skills, therefore, the more you practice, the better you get. Remember, the key to being a great chess player is in understanding how each piece moves and thinking ahead. Enjoy your chess!
