Chess Instructions for Beginners
Introduction
The game of chess is over 1300 years old and is one of the most popular games in the world. It has received more total thought-time than many great works of art and literature. Like a great work of art, chess is a paradox on many levels. It's easy to learn but can take a lifetime to master. There are few games which can match its usefulness as a tool for developing mental abilities, yet it's downright fun.
Chess is a two-person board game which simulates a battle between two opposing armies. The board has sixty-four squares of alternating colors. Each player has a set of sixteen pieces as shown below. One player will have a set of dark or black pieces and the other a light or white set. These symbolize opposing armies.
Moving and capturing: White moves first followed by black. The players continue taking turns using only their own pieces until the game ends. A turn consists of a single act of either moving or capturing. When a piece is moved, it is relocated in the center of a different square. A player can only capture an opponent's piece, not their own. When a chess piece is captured, it is removed from the board and replaced by the attacking piece. Unlike checkers, multiple captures are not allowed during the same move. Captures are also optional. The exception is when the king is in jeopardy and the only way to save him is to capture a threatening piece.
The playing board is the battlefield of the game. It's traditionally oriented so that each player has a white square on the corner to his or her right. The pieces are arranged on the board as shown. Note that the queen always is placed on a square of her own color.
figure 1. Chess Board Setup
Pawn: The pawn is considered the weakest piece on the board. It moves laterally one square at a time, as shown in figure 2, with one exception. Each pawn can be advanced by two squares the first time it's moved. Pawns can only move in the forward direction. When they reach the last row, and can be moved no further, they can be promoted to any type of piece on the board except for a king. Generally they are promoted to a queen since this is the most powerful piece on the board. Hence, a player can have more than one queen.
Pawns capture other pieces diagonally in the forward direction. They are the only pieces which do not capture in the same direction in which they move.
Bishop: The bishop has the strength of about three pawns and moves diagonally (see figure 3). Unlike a pawn it can move backwards or forwards. It can also move more than one square at a time as long as it moves in a straight line. In other words, a bishop can move across the entire board. A bishop cannot jump over pieces and can also never move to a different-colored square. Bishops capture by moving in their normal manner to the square occupied by an opponent's piece and replacing it.
figure 3. Bishop's Movement
Knight: Like the bishop, knights have about the same strength as three pawns. Knights are moved in a rather unique manner, one square diagonally and one square laterally (see figure 3). They can move forwards or backwards and are the only pieces which can jump over other pieces (see figure 4). Knights capture by moving in their normal manner to a square occupied by an opponent's piece and replacing it.
figure 4. Knight's Movement
Rook: The rook, or castle, has the strength of about five pawns. Rooks are moved forwards or sideways in a lateral manner as shown in figure 5. They can move backwards and forwards one or more squares at a time. In a given move a castle can only move in one direction along a straight line. To capture a piece, castles are moved in their normal manner to the occupied square where they replace the captured piece.
figure 5. Rook's Movement
Queen: The queen is the most powerful piece on the board and is the equivalent of about nine pawns. A queen can move diagonally like a bishop or laterally like a castle (see figure 6). Like the bishop and the castle, a queen cannot turn corners in a single move. It captures in the same manner as either a castle or a bishop.
figure 6. Queen's Movement
King: A king is only slightly more powerful than a pawn but is nevertheless the most important piece on the board. While the king can move backwards or forwards, either laterally or diagonally just like a queen, it can only do so one square at a time (see figure 7). A king cannot move to a square where it would be in danger of being captured. A king can capture a piece on any square where it can legally move.
figure 7. King's Movement
Castling: While the rook is the second most powerful piece on the board, it starts the game in a poor position to use its power. Also the king, the most important piece on the board, is located in a position which becomes increasingly vulnerable as the game develops. To overcome these problems castling was invented. It is the only time more than one piece can be moved at a time. In castling the king is moved two squares toward one of his rooks and then the rook is placed on the opposite side of the king. For example, if the king moves two squares to the right, the rook is placed one square to the left of the king. This usually places the king in a safer position behind a wall of pawns. It also places the rook in a more powerful position near the center of the board. A king can castle to either side but can only castle once and cannot jump over pieces in the way.
figure 7.
In figure 7 the white king is about to castle toward the queenside of the board (left side of the drawing). The black king has already castled toward the kingside of the board (right side of the drawing). Note that kingside castling places the king in a more remote and hence slightly safer area.
Castling can only occur under the following conditions:
- It hasn't been previously done.
- There are no pieces in the way.
- Neither the rook nor the king have been moved.
- None of the squares the king must pass through are guarded by the opponent's pieces. In other words, if moving the king one square instead of two squares would place the king in check then castling is prohibited.
- The king is not in check.
Castling is a very powerful move and so it's generally a good idea to castle fairly early in the game. Otherwise an opponent can force the king to move, making castling impossible. Castling early also makes the power of the rooks more useful.
En passant: This is a form of capturing done by a pawn to a pawn and is possibly the least understood rule in chess. Many people play for their entire lives and never use it. Needless to say, if you're a beginner it's best to learn this rule after you have played a few games.
En passant was created so that pawns cannot evade capture by an opponent's pawns by moving two squares on their first move. If this happens, then the opponent's pawn can capture the pawn moving two squares just as though it had moved only one. An opponent can choose not to exercise the right to capture a piece by en passant. However, the right must be used immediately following the opportunity or it is lost.
Check: Threatening a king with capture is treated differently from an ordinary piece. The king is not only royal but the objective of the entire game. A player declares "check" when he moves in a manner which threatens an opponent's king with capture. However, the term is only used if the king has a means of escape. The opponent must get the king out of check immediately. This can be done in one of three ways: 1) Move the king. 2) Capture the attacking piece. 3) Move a piece so that it blocks the attack. A king cannot castle if it is in check.
Checkmate: The game is won when an opponent's king is inescapably placed in a position where it would be captured on the next turn. Actually capturing the king and removing it from the board like a common piece would have been unthinkable when chess was invented, and so this is not done. Instead the winner says the word checkmate and the game ends.
Sometimes a king is placed in check several times and never checkmated. Other times a king is placed directly in checkmate. There is no rule saying a king must be placed in check before it is placed in checkmate and there is no limit on the number of times a king can be placed in check.
If a player foolishly exposes his king to check, he is allowed to take the move back. Obviously there is no glory in winning by breaking rules and the rules say one cannot move in a way which exposes one's king to check. Likewise, if there is a means of escape and a player foolishly doesn't take it, the move must be replayed. On the other hand, if a player assumes the game is hopelessly lost and resigns, he or she automatically loses even if later analysis indicates that the situation was not hopeless. Resigning a game is risky but is the sign of an experienced player. Resigning is a way to save face by not pointlessly prolonging the game.
A game can end in a draw in four different ways:
- Stalemate: This means there is no legal move an opponent can make when it is his or her turn to move. This often occurs when a king is trapped in a position where its only move would be to move into check
- The fifty-move rule: If a piece has not been captured or a pawn moved in fifty moves then a player can declare a draw on his or her turn.
- Both sides agree to a draw.
- Neither side has enough pieces left to setup a checkmate.
The stalemate is the most disconcerting of the ways to draw because it can snatch victory from an opponent with clearly superior numbers who by all rights should win.
Chess symbol key
a-h = file
1-8 = rank
K = King
Q = Queen
R = Rook
B = Bishop
N = Knight
e4 = pawn move (1. e4)
+ = check
# = checkmate
x = capture (7. dxe5)
0-0 = King-side castle
0-0-0 = Queen-side castle
... = black to move first (31...b5)
/ = pawn promotion (42. a8/Q)
! = good move
!! = brilliant move
? = bad move
?? = blunder
!? = interesting move
?! = questionable move
* = easy
** = moderate
*** = hard
**** = very hard
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Basic Elements of Chess Open with either the King’s Pawn or the Queen’s Pawn. Make one or two Pawn moves in the opening, not more. Play to get control over the center. Always try to maintain at least one pawn in the center. Develop Knights before Bishops. Do not bring your Queen out early. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the King’s side. Whenever possible, make a good developing move which threatens something. Pick the most suitable square for a piece and develop it there once and for all. Push, and defend your passed Pawns. Try to promote a passed Pawn. Attack Pawn chains at the base. Attack only if you control the center. Attack in the area where you control more space. Place your Rooks on open files, whenever possible. Place your Rooks on the seventh rank, whenever possible. Knights positioned on the rim (the side of the board) are grim (not so good). Queens belong in front of Bishops and behind Rooks during an attack. If you have more Pawns than your opponent, exchange pieces not Pawns. If you have fewer Pawns than your opponent, exchange Pawns not pieces. If your opponent has a passed Pawn try to blockade that Pawn. Always start and end the game with a friendly handshake, and remember to have fun. |
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1. Loose (unguarded) Pieces – “Loose Pieces Drop Off” = LPDO.
2. Pieces that can easily be attacked by enemy pieces of less value.
3. One or More Pieces than Can be Attacked via a "Discovered" Attack."
4. Weak Back Rank.
5. Pinned or “skewerable” Pieces along the same rank, file, or diagonal.
6. Overworked Pieces (Pieces guarding more than one piece or square).
7. Inadequately Guarded Pieces.
8. Falling Way Behind in Development (overwhelming opponent forces).
9. Opponent’s pawns nearing promotion.
10. King uncastled or without adequate pawn protection with Queens on the board.
11. Open enemy lines for Rooks, Queens, and Bishops to attack King.
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12. Pieces that have little mobility and might easily be trapped if attacked.
13. Backward Pawn.
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Q: What are chess ratings? Are they important to student players?!
A: Chess players who participate in official tournaments are initially given a numerical rating that reflects their estimated strength relative to other players. This rating then fluctuates based on the outcome of every game that player plays in a rated tournament. In the Northwest two rating systems are currently in use for student players, which produces two separate ratings for each player: a WSRS rating (Washington State Rating System) and a USCF rating (United States Chess Federation). The WSRS provides students with ratings that are used only in scholastic tournaments and reflect current student performance against other students. Student players with a USCF rating can compare their ratings on a continuous and nationwide scale against rated adults for purposes of open tournament competition.!
Typically, student ratings range from a value of 0 to 2200. A rating of 2200 signifies mastery of the game and anyone rated 2200 or above is considered a chess master—a “chess black belt.” The average rating of adults is about 1550. The rating scale is divided up into 200 point categories for recognition and 'class award' purposes.!
The purposes of a rating system are many-fold: ratings make “swiss” pairings possible in open tournaments, allow players of similar strength to compete against one another in “class” tournaments, allow players to gauge their improvement over time, and provide the basis for chess titles and awards. Typically, ratings change by +16 points for a win and by -16 points for a loss and 0 for a draw. However, this 16 point difference is 'adjusted' to take into account the rated strength of your opponent. This 'adjustment' is 4% of the difference between your ratings.!
Example: A 1000 rated player (as expected) defeats a 700 rated player -- the 1000 rated player gains 16 points minus 4% of the difference between their ratings (300 points X 4% = 12 points). So the 1000 rated player only gains 4 points because a 1000 rated player is expected to defeat a 700 rated player! The 700 rated player loses 16 points minus the 4% difference or 16-12 = 4 points lost by the 700 rated player. Please note that for each game the two players will always gain and lose the same amounts (i.e., if one player wins 10 points the rating system dictates that the other player will lose 10 points—the mathematical procedures guarantee this result). A draw results in each player gaining or losing 4% of the difference between their ratings (as expected): a draw between a 1200 rated player and a 1000 rated player will give the 1000 rated player 8 points (4% of 200) and the 1200 player will lose 8 points (because a win was expected of the higher rated player and only a draw resulted).!
Note that really big point gains (and losses) occur when a lower-rated player defeats a higher-rated player! For example, a 900 rated player who defeats a 1200 player will gain 16 points adjusted upward by an additional 12 points (4% of the difference between their ratings) for a total gain of 28 points! The 1200 rated player likewise loses 28 points—ouch! The rating system permits a maximum gain or loss for each game of 32 points. One word of advice to student players. Chess ratings for developing and improving players change rapidly over time. Your current strength is no doubt greater than your current published rating. Do not be intimidated by any player based on rating! Your actual strength could be greater than the rated strength of your seemingly higher-rated opponent! Student players should not base their expectation for the result of any game they play on the respective ratings of player and opponent.!
If players always performed in accordance with their ratings, their ratings would never change! But players' skills, concentration, maturity, and chess understanding do improve! And you will defeat higher rated opponents! Do not handicap yourself by low expectations and do not seek to excuse your performance based on your opponent's rating! Chess depends on your motivation and your ability—not on some abstract rating! Always play to win;always seek to play your best;always permit all of your skill to shine through! Your play will talk for you—not your rating!!
Chess players need to focus on playing the game, have confidence on their growing chess skill, and play each game with the full intention and confidence of winning! Student chess players should disregard ratings when it comes to playing their game! Play your best and have fun! That is what is important!
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Why?Because if you did that, your opponent would capture your King and the game would end with you losing!! And no one would want to do that on purpose!Winning!A player wins the game when they can, on their next move, capture the opponent's King, and there's no move their opponent can make to prevent it.WinningHere's an example where the White player wins the game. We're at a point in the game where it is White's turn to move.
Black has only one move. The Black King cannot capture the White Queen
because the White King would then be able to capture the Black King!
And the Black King cannot move down, or to the side, or to the upper right
because the White Queen covers all those squares. So the Black King must
move up one square.
White now moves their Queen again, and this time, Black's King has no escape.
The Black King cannot capture the White Queen
because the White King would then be able to capture the Black King!
And the Black King cannot move down, or to the side
because the White Queen covers all those squares.
So White says "Check mate!!" because that's what players say
when they win a game.
The answer is no! When you move a pawn to the last row,
you remove the pawn from the board and replace it with another piece!!
You can replace it with a Queen,
or a Rook, or a Bishop or a Knight.
So three things happen on the turn where you move a pawn to the last row:
The new piece can now move on the next turn!
The rule is this: If there are no pieces between your King and Rook,
and your King is not under attack, and neither your King or your Rook has
moved yet, then you can move them both at the same time!
You can only do this once per game, and you don't get to choose
which squares they move to. The King must move two squares towards
the Rook, and the Rook must move to the square next to the king (on the
other side).
We're almost done with Castling, but this wouldn't be
super-confusing
without just one more rule!
Confused yet? Well, don't worry, there's only one more
part to this rule. You can't castle if either of the two squares your
King has to move through is attacked by your opponent.
You can see here, that White cannot Castle because the
Black Knight is attacking the first square that the King has to
move through.
The rule is this:
Let's say it's your turn to move, and you move one of your pawns two squares forwards.
Let's also say the pawn you just moved ends up right beside one of your opponent's pawns.
Now it's you opponent's turn. Your opponent, may say 'en passant' and move their pawn
to the square your pawn would have ended up if it had only moved one square.
You opponent then removes the pawn you just moved from the board.
Whew!! Keep in mind: this type of move doesn't happen much. Also keep in mind that
your opponent must make the en passant move on the turn right after you moved
your pawn two squares forward. If he waits until the turn after that, it's too late and he can't
do the en passant move.
The rule is this: If your King is not being attacked, but you still can't
move any of your pieces, then you call out 'stalemate!' and the game is over.
Neither player wins -- it's a tie!
In this example, White moves his Queen over near the Black King.
When it's Black's turn, she sees that she cannot move her King, and
her King isn't being attacked! Since she has no other pieces to move, she
can't make any move at all! She then gives her opponent the bad news
by saying 'stalemate'.
Remember:
It's not stalemate if the King is attacked!
 
- King- K - Queen- Q - Bishop- B - Knight- N - Rook- R - When recording the pawn you leave the piece identification blank When recording the move of a piece you first record the identification of the piece. If you moved the rook for example you would record R. Next to the letter you record the column that the piece moved into. For example if the rook moved into column d it would look like Rd. The last part of the recording is the the row that the piece moved into. So, altogether the move would be Rd1 or read out to be as rook to d 1 which is where the white queen starts out on the board. When writing down a move where a piece has been captured you put an x between the piece identification and column the piece moved into so the recording would look like Rxd1. When recording a check you write + and when recording a checkmate you write ++. A king side castle is recorded as 0-0 and a queen side castle is recorded as 0-0-0. Special Moves
Castling
There are two different kinds of castles, a king side castle and a queen side castle. A king side castle is when the castle is on the side that the king started on. For white it would be Kg1 and Rf1 and for black it would be Kg8 and Rf8. A queenside castle is when you castle on the side that the queen started on. For white it would be Kc1 and Rd1 and for black it would be Kc8 and Rd8. When castling there is certain criteria that must be followed. They are: - no pieces may be standing between the king and the rook - neither the king or the rook may have moved during the game - the king can not be in check - the king can not castle into check - the king can not cross a square guarded be an enemy piece
The en passant rule is most likely a leftover from the original game of chess where pawns could only advance one space at a time. En passant prevents players from advancing pawns two spaces at a time. En passant is when your opponent moves his pawn two spaces forward and is next to your pawn. On your move you can then move your piece behind the recently advanced pawn. In the process of doing this you have also captured your opponent’s pawn. Scholar’s Mate
Fork 
The fork is a move that uses one piece to attack two other pieces at the same
time.
Pin
Stalemate
The Fifty-Move Rule The fifty-move rule comes into play when a pawn has not been moved or a piece has not been captured for fifty moves. Perpetual Check Perpetual check is when one of the kings can’t escape the barrage of checks used on him or her. Agreement Between the Two Players A draw can be called when neither player wants to risk losing. Insufficient Mating Material Insufficient mating material draws come into play when there are not enough pieces on the board to force checkmate. These pieces are: - king and bishop against king - king and knight against king - king and two knights against king - king against king Three-fold Repetition 
          
A Summary of Hints, Pointers and Precepts from the
Bruce Pandolfini |
King
The king is the most valued piece in the game of chess for it is priceless.
This is because the objective of the game is to capture your opponent's king.
The king has the ability to move one space in any direction. It also has the
ability to castle.
Queen
The queen may not be the most valued piece on the board but is the most
powerful with a point value of 9. The queen can move any number of spaces in any
direction.
Rook
The rook, also a powerful piece, has a point value of 5. The rook has the
ability to move horizontally or vertically any number of squares in any
direction. This piece also has the ability to castle.
Knight
The knight, having a point value of 3, is a minor yet vital piece in the game
of chess. The knight, unlike any other piece on the chessboard, can 'jump over'
pieces. The knight moves in an 'L' shape moving either two spaces horizontally
and one space vertically, or two spaces vertically and one space horizontally.
Bishop
The bishop has a point value of 3, making it a minor yet vital piece in the
game of chess. The bishop can move diagonally any number of squares in any
direction.
Pawn
The pawn, having a point value of 1, is the least valued piece on the board
however can be the difference between winning and losing a game of chess. Pawns
can only move forward one space however; from its starting position a pawn can
advance two spaces. Pawns don't capture pieces by advancing strait into them
horizontally or vertically; instead they capture pieces by advancing diagonally
into the piece. The pawn, despite its disadvantages has many advantages that
other pieces don't have making it an important piece. The pawn's special ability
is that it can be exchanged for a queen, rook, knight, or bishop when it reaches
the last square on the other side of the board. It also has the ability to
perform 
The Pawn
The King 
The Queen
The Bishop
The Knight
The Rook
Chess notation is universal way of describing moves on a
chessboard. Chess notation turns the chessboard into a grid of numbers and
letters. Using the grid it is possible to record games. The grid is read where
the letters are on the sides that the pieces start on reading a b c d e f g h
from left to right. The numbers, running across the left and right sides start
with one on the white side and ends with 8 on the black side.
Castling is
a special move used to protect the king and
move the rook to the center of the board at the same time.
bishops->
knights->
queens->
rooks->
and kings->
