A chess set consists of 32 pieces: 16 white and 16 black, representing two sides of a chess battle. To understand how to play chess and develop strategy, it’s important to know how each piece moves. This very basic knowledge is necessary to truly grasp the power of each chess piece and in the course of a match, make the most of that individual piece’s power.

The Pivotal 16

Each player begins the game with 16 chess pieces: 1 king, 1 queen, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, and 8 pawns. To properly position the pieces on a chess board, begin with the rooks and move inward. The two rooks are placed on the lower corner squares. Next to them go the knights, followed by the bishops.

The queen is next. As a rule of thumb, this piece always matches its color. Thus, the black queen will be on the remaining black square. The white queen, the white square. Lastly, the king assumes the final square of the row. The pawns are placed on the second row in front of the king’s “court.”

The pieces of a chess set collectively reflect a player’s power. What he/she does with this potential power is what ultimately determines who wins the game. The overall objective is to keep the king safe. To do so, a player must utilize each chess piece to its maximum strength. In short, chess pieces are capable of the following moves:

• King: Moves only one square at a time, but in any direction. It’s the most important piece on a chess board. If/when captured, the game is over. The king’s special move is called castling; it is the only time two pieces can move at once (king and rook).

• Queen: Moves in any direction for any number of squares. It is the most powerful piece on the board, capable of capturing and positioning from most any vantage point.

• Bishop: Moves diagonally for any number of squares, yet is limited to one color. It is sensitive to pawn movement.

• Knight: Moves two squares vertically or horizontally, then one square to the side. Its unique movement often factors into strategy.

• Rook: Moves by rank or file for any number of squares. Starting in the corners, the rook – along with the queen – are major pieces on the chess board, capable of altering space and an opponent’s plan of attack.

• Pawn: Moves only one square at a time and only forward. However, on the opening move, it can choose between two squares or one. A seemingly weak piece, a pawn can also be promoted if it safely reaches the end of the board. If it succeeds, a pawn can be exchanged for any other chess piece, except the king. Most often, a pawn gets promoted to queen.

What’s My Move?

It may seem overwhelming to learn all this at once, but in order to truly grasp the potential of your chess pieces, it’s imperative you first understand what each individual piece is capable of. For instance, feeling despaired that you’re left with only pawns? Don’t forget about pawn promotion. Feeling like your king is being threatened? Consider castling him. By understanding your pieces’ potential, a chess board can truly open up with possibilities. You just need to recognize them first.

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In addition to the basic rules each chess piece has, there are also special moves that can factor into game development and outcome. Though they may seem complicated at first, once a player becomes more familiar with overall play, when to use these special moves will become clearer as well.

Indeed, by simply looking at a chess board and its current state, an experienced player should be able to determine whether or not a special move is needed or not. Held in reserve, these special moves are only used when the game demands it. However, at some point in a match, one (or more) is likely to be called upon.

And just what are these moves found within a chess set? In short, they’re: castling, en passant, and pawn promotion.

Castling

During the course of play, it may become necessary for a king to move quickly. Since the piece can only move one square at a time though, this is easier said than done. Thankfully, there’s “castling,” wherein the king can receive shelter by working with a rook.

Basically, castling permits the king to move two squares on the chess board, to either the right or left. The rook (still in its corner) in which the king moves toward is then permitted to slide around the king, to its other side. Visually, the rook protects the king on the weak side, pushing the king to safety behind a wall.

There are a few conditions: 1) the rook and king cannot have moved yet on the board and then returned to their respective positions. If one of the participating chess pieces moves, castling is disallowed; and 2) the path between the king and rook must be cleared. The special move is the only one in which two pieces can move, but only two pieces can move. No other piece can be involved.

En Passant

Referred to by some as the “soul of chess,” pawns are far more important than their lowly status within a chess set might suggest. In fact, these puny (yet powerful) pawns have two special moves all to themselves, both of which can factor greatly into defense, strategy, and board-space control.

The first of these special moves is “en passant,” which is a capture move available to a pawn only on its fifth rank. As a general rule, pawns may move one or two squares forward upon first move. Afterwards, only one. If a pawn tries to avoid capture by an opposing pawn by moving two squares forward (instead of one), then the rival pawn has the option to use “en passant” on the very next move: meaning, it can move diagonally one square and take the defending pawn anyway, as if the pawn had only moved one square to start.

This move can be used multiple times during a game, but only from the fifth rank and it must be made immediately after one pawn attempts to avoid capture. If the opposing player moves another chess piece, “en passant” (for this particular pawn) is no longer in play.

Pawn Promotion

And finally, pawns are the only pieces of a chess set up for a promotion. If a pawn manages to move to the eight rank, then it can be promoted to any other piece. Often exchanged for a queen, this transformative power can turn the chess board’s weakest piece into its most powerful. The only piece the pawn cannot be promoted to is king.

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Let this be the first stop in your journey to understand the chess world. Setting up the chess board is obviously the most important step to beginning your chess knowledge.

How to Play Chess

‘Chess : a game for two played on a board of 64 squares of alternate colors with each player having 16 pieces.’ - The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Chess is a board game played by two opponents called White and Black. The goal of each player is to attack the opponent’s King so that it has no escape. Players take turns moving one piece at a time to strengthen their own position and to weaken their opponent’s.

The chess pieces are symbolic of a medieval army. Each player starts with a King and a Queen (the monarchy), two Rooks (the castle), two Knights (the horsemen), two Bishops (the church), and eight Pawns (the foot soldiers).

How to Set Up a Chess Board

The chess board is placed between the two players as shown in the diagram, White sitting on one side (the bottom of the diagram) and Black on the other side (the top of the diagram). Both players should see a white square in the right corner (’White on right’).

If the board has numbers printed on it, they should be placed so that ‘1′ is nearest to White and ‘8′ is nearest to Black, as shown. If the board has the letters ‘a’ through ‘h’ printed on it, the ‘a’ should be on White’s left. If it isn’t, there’s something wrong with the board!

On chess sets made of wood, the King is usually the tallest piece and has a cross on its crown. The Queen is the second tallest and has a crown with several points. The Bishop is next in size and has a miter. The Knight looks like a horse and the Rook looks like a tower. The Pawn is the smallest piece.

The eight Pawns are placed on each player’s second row. The remaining pieces are placed on the first row.

The Rooks are placed in the corner, the Knights are placed next to the Rooks, and the Bishops are placed next to the Knights. This leaves two squares for the King and the Queen.

Of the two remaining squares for the White player, the Queen is placed on the white square; for the Black player, the Queen is placed on the black square (’Queen on her color’). The King is placed on the remaining square. The diagram shows all the pieces in their initial position. The piece in each column faces an opponent’s piece of the same type.

White always moves first. The players alternate moves : White moves, then Black, then White, and so on. Each player must move in turn; it is not allowed to pass or to skip a move.

Thanks to Mark Weeks of About.com for this article

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