Chess is an old strategy board game with two players on an 8×8 grid board. Both have an army of 16 pieces, one black and one white, and the goal is to checkmate the other’s king. Checkmate is when a king is under attack and has no possible move to escape. Simple in concept, the depth of strategic possibilities has captivated players for thousands of years.
The chess board
The pieces and their movements
King: The most important, but the slowest. The king can move one square in any of the three directions—horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. It never goes into a square in which it is put in check. The king can capture the bishop on e2.
Queen: The most powerful piece, having the movements of rook and bishop. The queen can move any number of squares in any straight way—horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Under the rule of castling, the queen can move two squares. The queen can capture the rook on g4
Rook: Horizontal or vertical travel any amount of squares, the rook is a long-range, powerful piece, particularly towards the end of a game. The rook can capture the knight on a8.
Bishop: Diagonal travel any amount of squares, and every player has two bishops, one which only travels on light squares and the other on dark squares.
Knight: Renowned for its dramatic “L-shaped” bound, the knight moves two squares in one direction (horizontally or vertically) and one square perpendicular. The sole piece to ever bound over other pieces. The knight can capture the pawn on e5.
Pawn: The pawn is the foot soldier of chess. It moves one square in front at a time, but two squares when it makes its first move. The pawn is the only piece that captures an opponent’s piece diagonally one square, not straight forward. When a pawn reaches the other side of the board, it is promoted and can be exchanged with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. In this position, the pawn can move forward one square and promote itself to a queen.
Knowing the pieces and how they move is the first step to becoming a talented chess player.