Rules of Chess for Beginners

The mere utterance of the word Chess evokes a singular response; A game for the genius. Chess, to tell for the umpteenth time, is a board game played between 2 people. Gary Kasparov apparently, carried the germ of chess from birth itself. I guess the situation would not have been any different for Vishwanathan Anand as well. For me, chess is like "No Way, not my cuppa tea people!'. But then, those who want to pursue and dabble into this sport seriously, it is better to take it up at a young age. Oh! and yes, you need to actually be a genius to know how to play chess! The rules of chess for beginners are not different from the pros'. But the rules are simplified for beginners and the nitty gritties are not dug into too deep. To top it all they are believed to be simpler than what they are thought of (are you kidding!). If you are a chess prodigy or a kid with a spark for chess, you might find the following text about chess rules for beginners interesting.

Chess Rules for Beginners

The Chess Board: As you must have seen, the board has 8 rows of 8 squares alternating between black and white (that's the standard) or any light and dark colored squares. As per the rules of the chess game, the pieces are positioned in 2 rows in front of each player on opposite sides of the board.

The Players - The Pieces: The pieces are traditionally and according to the rules, called black and white, though they can be of any color. Each player has the following:

• 8 Pawns
• 2 Rooks
• 2 Knights
• 2 Bishops
• 1 Queen
• 1 King

Now the pawns are in the first row and others are in the second row. How are these pieces lined up? here is more on that. For more on chess pieces and their names, read names of chess pieces.

The Chess Board Set Up: Each piece has a designated place on the chess board, though there is some confusion as regards the placement of the King and Queen, the most accepted and preferred way of placing the pieces are as follows:

1. Rooks are placed on the bottom-left and bottom-right squares on the first row in front of a player.
2. Knights are placed next to the rooks, in the first row itself.
3. Towards the center of the back row, the bishops hold fort in 2 squares.
4. Now there are only 2 squares left in the back row, at the center. That is for the king and Queen.
5. The black Queen is placed on the corresponding darker square and white one goes on the white or the light colored square. The norm is 'queen on color'. The king is then placed on the remaining square.
6. Then, right in front of these pieces, the 8 pawns need to be placed.

This is the basic aspect of chess rules for beginners. For more on the setting up of a chess board, check out the rules for setting up a chess board.

The Moves: Each piece irrespective of the limits that they can move to, are just as important for winning the game, be the bold limitless flight of the unstoppable queen, or the single step of the humble pawn, they all play their part individually to win the war. Let's gauge for our self, the moves each piece makes and how they can be put to use to form a strategy that can baffle your opponent:

The Rook: Rook is a free bird. It appears like a small tower and the rule book permits it to move horizontally or vertically in a straight line. It can be moved in this manner for any number of squares.

Bishop: This fella can move in a diagonally straight line, for any number of squares. Can cause potential harm due to this characteristic, mind you!

Queen: A fantastic combination of the rook and bishop, the queen is really 'The Queen' of the chess board. The Queen is of paramount importance, be it chess rules for kids or otherwise. She can move any number of squares either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally in of course a straight line. This explains why the queen holds such a supreme importance on the chess board.

King: With regards to the freedom of movement on the board, this piece is not exactly a 'king'. Nevertheless, the king is allowed to move in any direction, straight ahead, as per the rules. The catch however, is that the king cannot move for more than a single square at a time. Still, the king reigns supreme, as once the king is challenged and trapped, the game is over. Remembering this, is very important when it comes to rules of chess for beginners.

Knight: The knight, to be precise, looks like a horse. Now, this is a sort of a wayward creature, though effective. One of the easiest ways to describe a knight' range of moves is that it first moves 2 squares vertically or horizontally. Then, it can turn left or right to go ahead one more square. Now, if you visualize the center of the board, the knight can move to eight different positions. Another very important thing is that the knight is the only piece which is allowed to jump over others. A knight can topple and capture another piece if it lands in that square.

Pawn: These are the most underprivileged pieces in a game of chess. They are the shortest and weakest pieces with regards to moves. These can only move forward and that too 1 square at a time. If it the pawn's first move of the game, the player has the option to move it 2 squares straight ahead. But the interesting thing about pawns is that if they have to capture a piece, they cannot do that for a piece right in front of them. If they move a square diagonally and there is a piece there, only then they can capture that piece.

For more information, you can also refer to chess lessons.

After having explained this, I feel I sort of agree to the fact that these rules of chess for beginners are really not that difficult. Now how to play chess is definitely dependent on your intellect. Winning will come with practice and nothing else and you would also get some special tricks and tips for that from anyone you know has an interest and knowledge of the game.

Finally, then, get a chessboard and get those moves right! Go for it!