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| The Rules of Chess | |||||||||||||||||||
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The present game rules were established in 1952 at the 23rd International Chess Association Congress in Stockholm. Nowadays the chess literature comprises thousands of books, magazines about the games, tournaments, etc. It is the source of knowledge for the game fans all over the world. The chessboard comprises of eight rows and eight columns, with a total of 64 squares of alternating colors, usually black and white. It is convention to set the board in such a way that there should be a white square at the bottom left hand corner of the chessboard, from the perspective of both the players. On this board, there are several warriors, which are known as "Pawns" and they have got several functions and they move in the specific directions.
The castling is done, when the king moves two squares towards the rook he wants to castle with. The rook then moves to the square through which the king passed. i.e., the square next to the king`s original position. Castling is of immense use in defense. It can bring a rook into play when it is trapped behind the pawns, thus strengthening the defence, as well as preparing for a strong offense. En Passant: This is an obscure and one of the least used moves in chess. It can only occur when a player decides to move his pawn two squares on its initial movement. After this move, the opposing player can consider the moved pawn "en passant" as if it had only moved one square and can remove the pawn by placing his piece in the square where the pawn would have been had it moved just one square. This option, though, is valid only for one move. This move was developed after pawns were allowed to move two squares on their initial move. The en passant move made sure the pawns retained some of their original restrictions, while at the same time, they speed up the game. Chess Notations: Chess notation is used to keep track of movement on a chessboard. For anyone aspiring to become a chess professional, it is very essential to understand notation. Apart from helping computers to accumulate databases, it also lends clarity to chess discussions. There are two types of chess notations. The older version is known as descriptive notation. This notation is based on the beginning position of pieces and their relationship with one another. This it sometimes confusing and is not precise as each square has two names. Another notation, called algebraic notation is also used. Algebraic notations are clearer to computers, and when understood, has amazing clarity. The main advantage of algebraic notation is that every square on the chessboard has one, and only one, absolute name. Every square is named for the row and column in which it is positioned. The column is always a letter (a-h beginnings on the white left side and moving to the black side). The row is always a number (1-8 beginning on the white side and moving to the back rank of black). It is easy to find the name of any square, first by tracing the column down (or up if you are black) and then tracing the row across. In algebraic notation, the letter is always first and the number last. Algebraic notation, then, is much more precise than descriptive notation in labeling moves. Some computer programs record the move as the space the piece is moving from followed by a dash and then the space moved to. For example, if the king`s pawn were to move two squares on the first move, it could be recorded 1. Pe2-e4. This has a pawn moving from e2 to e4. But to make notation quicker and easier, in practice the "P" is left off from pawn moves. Also, to make things quicker, a move can be designated simply by the place it is going to, as generally, there is only one piece of a particular type that can make the specified move. A letter generally designates the pieces (though in books they are often icons of the pieces themselves). K = King, Q = Queen, R = Rook, B = Bishop, N = knight. Moves to capture are designated with an "x", as in Qxf7. This indicates that the white queen has taken the piece at f7. If a pawn gets promoted, a Q is placed behind the move as in h8Q. There are other simple designations. A "+" behind a move indicates a check. The castling maneuver is described as "0-0" for a kingside castle. While "0-0-0" is designated for a queenside castle (the "0"s remind you of the number of spaces that the rook must move to complete the castle maneuver. The less used en passant maneuver is designated with e.p. | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Pawn: The Pawn represents the foot soldiers or the infantry. Each side has a total of eight pawns. Though they have considerably less powers, if you can move brilliantly, you can surely elevate the status of your pawns. Pawns cannot move backward or sideways, but must move straight ahead. However, they can move diagonally to remove one of the opponent`s pieces.
Pawns can move only one square at a time. However, the first time a pawn is moved, it may move forward two squares as long as there are pieces in between. A pawn cannot remove a piece in front of it, but only diagonally. In the case of a removal of an opponent`s piece, the pawn replaces it. If a pawn succeeds in travelling across the board to reach the opponent`s edge, it will be promoted to any piece that the moving player desires, except a King. Under normal circumstances a player will want to promote his pawn to be a queen since that piece is the most powerful and flexible. The new piece is placed where the pawn ended its movement.
The rook: The rook, also called a castle, is one of the more powerful pieces on the board. Rooks are worth a bishop or a knight plus two pawns. The rook can move any number of squares in a straight line along any column or row. They however, cannot move diagonally. The very fact that there are no complications involved in the moves of the rook makes it all the more deadly. Rooks have the potential to cover a large area of the board.
The Knight: The knight has the most special movement in the game, which gives it an added flexibility over other pieces. The knight is the only piece, which can move over pieces to reach its destination. The knight can move four squares at a time in two possible ways. It can take one step on either side horizontally, and then has to travel vertically and land on the third square. Another direction is, it can move three steps on either side horizontally and then one step vertically. The knight`s movement can also be viewed as an "L" laid out at any horizontal or vertical angle.
The Bishop: The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally, provided there is no obstruction by any other piece. Each side has two bishops each, one placed on the black square and the other on the white. Bishops, though not as powerful as the queen or the rook, nevertheless, they are extremely useful in open situations, where it can cover a huge range of the board, when it can range the board.
The Queen: The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. The queen has the combined powers of the rook and the bishop. It can move any number of squares both in a straight line, as well as diagonally. Thus, the queen placed in the centre of a chessboard, can cover 27 squares, which is a fabulous percentage. The queen is so powerful that she is considered to be worth more than any combination of two other pieces, perhaps with the exception of two rooks.
The King: Though not the most powerful piece on the board, the king is the most vital, for once he is lost the game is lost. The king can only move one square in any direction. However, he may not move into a position where he may be captured by an opposing piece. Therefore, two kings may never face each other in battle, i.e. they may never stand next to each other or capture each other.