Basic Rules of Chess: How to Play Chess

Though the origins of chess are not very clear, it is believed to have evolved about two thousand years ago from similar chess like games played in India. However, the game we play now became popular since the 15th century, especially in Europe.

Pieces and Positions

In this game, each player controls an army of 16 pieces which include: 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and 8 pawns. The ultimate aim of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king. The basic chess rules or rules to play chess primarily start with learning how to set up the chess board. The two armies are placed across the board, opposing each other with the smallest pieces, the pawns standing in the second row and the larger pieces on the first row of each army. The royal king and queen is placed in the center of the army, surrounded by the bishops, knights and rooks. The rooks are laid in the corners with knights next to them, followed by bishops, then the queen who takes her own matching color square, i.e. white queen on white or black queen on black, and finally the king on the remaining square.

How the Chess Pieces Move?

The player having the white pieces has to make the first move. Which player will get the white pieces can be decided by flipping a coin or making the player guess the color of the hidden pawn in the other player's hand. Since there are 6 different pieces, each will move differently, and to know how to play chess properly we have to get acquainted with each and every move. Out of many basic chess rules, the most important one is that the pieces can't move through other pieces (except the knights that can jump over other pieces), and never move onto a block having one of their own pieces. However, they can capture the blocks of opponent's pieces by landing on their block and then replacing them.

The King: It is the most important piece in chess, but also one of the weakest. It can only move one block in any direction, i.e. up, down, sideways and even diagonally. While playing, the player should never move the king into a check because then he might get captured.

The Queen: She is the most strongest piece in the game, and just like king, she can move in any direction provided she doesn't move through any of her own pieces. Like other pieces, if she steps on an opponent's piece her move is considered to be over.

The Rook: It can move as far as it requires but only in forward, backward and sideway directions. It is quite a powerful piece, especially when working and protecting others of its own.

The Bishop: It can also move as far as it desires but only diagonally, and should follow the same color squares throughout the game with which it started.

The Knight: It moves in a different manner as it goes two squares in one direction and then takes one step at an angle of 90 degrees, like the shape of a 'L'. It is the only piece that can move over other pieces.

The Pawn: It moves and captures in a different manner, i.e. it moves forward but captures diagonally. It moves forward by one block at a time, except for its first step where it can move forward by two blocks. But if there is another piece in front of a pawn, it can't move past or capture that piece.

Promotion: A pawn if reaches the opposite side of the board, can be promoted to any other chess piece. Only a pawn has this special ability and is normally promoted to a queen.

En Passant: The word en passant in French means 'in passing', where a pawn when jumps two blocks in its first move and lands to the side of the opponent's pawn, the other pawn has the facility to capture it while it passes by. This step has to be taken immediately after the first pawn has moved past, else the facility to capture becomes invalid.

Castling: Another important chess rule is castling, that gives the player an ability to do two things in one move: bring the king to safety and get the rook out of the corner into the game. While castling, it should be the king's and rook's first move. There shouldn't be any pieces between the king's and the rook's move, and the king should not be in check or pass through check. Always remember while castling, the king only moves two squares.

Check and Checkmate: As we know, the aim of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king by putting the king into check and not allowing it to get out of it. However, there are three methods by which the king can get out of the check: move out of the way, obstruct the check with another piece, and capture the piece threatening the king. If the king can't manage to escape, the game is over.

Although, chess is a complex game, once you get a hang of it, it is fun to play. Being alert, occupying center place and avoiding time pressures are some basic chess tips that will help you to win games with an ease. I hope after reading the article you'll be having a fair idea of the basic chess rules and how to play chess.