Chess is a classic game that has been around for hundreds of years. The game is believed to have originated in India in the 8th century. The game quickly spread throughout Europe and became very popular among the nobility.
Today, chess is enjoyed by people of all ages and walks of life all over the world. If you’re new to the game, there are a few things you need to know before you can start playing. In this blog post, we will cover the basics of chess so that you can get started playing today!
The Chess Board
The chess board is made up of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The squares alternate between light and dark colors, typically white and black. Each player has 16 pieces: 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, a queen, and a king.
How to Move the Chess Pieces
Each type of chess piece moves differently. Here are the basic rules (speaking of rules, also check out https://chesscoachonline.com/chess-rules) for how each piece moves:
Pawns: A pawn can move forward one space at a time. If it is the pawn’s first move, it can move two spaces forward. A pawn can only capture an opponent’s piece by moving one space diagonally forward.
Rooks: A rook can move any number of spaces horizontally or vertically.
Knights: A knight moves in an “L” shape – two spaces horizontally and one space vertically, or two spaces vertically and one space horizontally. Knights are the only pieces that can “jump” over other pieces on the board.
Bishops: A bishop can move any number of spaces diagonally. Bishops always stay on squares of the same color – a light-colored bishop can only ever be on light-colored squares, and a dark-colored bishop can only ever be on dark-colored squares.
Queens: A queen can move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Kings: A king can move one space in any direction – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Kings cannot move into check.
The Object of the Game
The object of chess is to checkmate your opponent’s king – that is, to put your opponent’s king into a position where it cannot make any more moves without being captured by one of your pieces (in which case you would win).
Checkmate happens when the king is surrounded on all sides by enemy pieces with no way to escape them.
Chess games can also end in stalemate – this occurs when neither player has enough pieces left to force checkmate on their opponent (for example if each player only had their king left). In this case, the game would be declared a draw.
Tips for Beginners
1) Don’t worry about memorizing all of the different moves right away – just focus on getting comfortable with how each piece moves. You’ll gradually start to memorize them as you play more games!
2) One common beginner mistake is called “moving into check”. This happens when you put your own king into a position where it could be captured by your opponent’s pieces on their next turn if they so choose (for example if you moved your king right next to one of their rooks). Whenever possible, try to avoid moving into check!
3) Another common mistake beginners make is called “leaving your king unprotected”. This happens when there are enemy pieces close enough to your king that they could potentially capture it on their next turn if they so choose (for example if there are enemy pawns close enough to your king that they could potentially advance and capture it). Whenever possible, try not to leave your king unprotected!
4) Have fun! Chess is supposed to be enjoyable so make sure you’re enjoying yourself while you’re playing!
Conclusion
These are just a few things beginners should know about chess before they start playing. By understanding the basics of how the game is played and what some common beginner mistakes are, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying this classic game!
