Movin’ On Up

This section is a bit serious, but to play chess, beginners need to know exactly what each piece can do. Each piece has a special ability. This ability makes them strong in some areas and weak in others. The X’s below show the possible end points for each piece given their pictured starting point.

The King can move one square in any direction. The diagram on the right shows the Kings starting point and all the possible positions he can move into. Note that the King is white. If any of the marked squares are occupied by another white piece, the King can not move into it. Two pieces can not share the same square. This is true for all pieces. Beginners may note that the King is one of the weakest pieces on the board.
The Rook can move any number of squares in the horizontal or vertical direction. It is moved by sliding it along the board in the chosen direction. Beginners must move in one direction only. The Rook may move into any of the marked squares, however, a Rook can not jump over another piece.
The Bishop may move any number of squares diagonally in any direction. Think of the Bishop as a Rook tilted 45 degrees… all the same rules apply. Beginners may note that being stuck on a 45 degree angle means that the Bishop must always remain on the same color.

The Queen can move any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. A Queen can not jump. It is easy to see that a Queen is one of the most prized pieces. The beginner chess player should always try to safe-guard their Queen, as she is often called upon to defend the King. It is tempting to use the Queen as a powerful offensive piece, but this puts her at considerable risk.
The Pawn can only move one square forward at a time. However, to speed up the opening game, pawns are allowed to move two forward squares on their very first move. They can not jump another piece however during this move.
The Knight is the only piece that can jump. It can not move in straight lines though. A Knight must move in an L-pattern. Beginners often find this is a bit tricky to grasp. Knights move two squares up, then one square over, or two squares over and one up, or any combination thereof. A Knight must land on a different colored square. The beginner chess player is advised to practice moving the Knight. Memorize the picture to the right.

Check out our articles page. It contains a tiny downloadable two page pocket guide, perfect for any aspiring beginner.

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Whose Turn is it Anyway?

So now you feel like you are most learned beginner in the world. You know the name of each chess piece, how each chess piece moves and where each piece is initially located on the chess board. You have an opponent (preferably another beginner), and you are rearing to go. So now what?

White always makes the first turn. If you are not white, don’t worry too much as it has been proven that starting a chess game has no significant advantage. To play a turn, you simply move one piece. Your turn ends when you have finished moving that one piece. Your opponent then takes a turn and so on until the game ends.

There are a couple of rules that some people like to play:

• As soon as you touch a piece, you must move that piece if you can legally do so. A legal move is of course a move made by a piece that it is allowed to do.
• After you lift your hand from the piece, and you have made a legal move, your turn ends.
• Once your turn ends, you can not ask to take your turn back.

In other words, don’t touch a piece unless you have already decided that is the piece you want to move, and don’t take your hand off the piece until you are absolutely sure you have finished your turn.
Beginners often find it difficult to visualize moves. If you are a beginner, ask your opponent to be lenient with these rules.