Introduction to Chess
Chess Basics
The Battlefield
Chess is played on a square board made of 64 smaller squares, arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. The squares alternate between light and dark colors. When setting up the board, remember the rule: "white on the right." This means the bottom-right corner square for each player should be a light-colored square.
To talk about specific squares, we use a coordinate system. The vertical columns are called files and are labeled with letters from 'a' to 'h'. The horizontal rows are called ranks and are numbered '1' to '8'. White's pieces start on ranks 1 and 2, while Black's pieces start on ranks 7 and 8. Reading the board is like reading a map grid; the square in the bottom-left corner is 'a1', and the top-right corner is 'h8'.
The Pieces
Each player starts with an army of 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Each type of piece moves in a unique way.
Mastering basic skills lays the groundwork for every advanced move a player will learn.
Let's break down how each piece moves on an open board.
| Piece | Movement |
|---|---|
| King | One square in any direction (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). |
| Queen | Any number of squares in any straight line (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). |
| Rook | Any number of squares horizontally or vertically. |
| Bishop | Any number of squares diagonally. Each bishop stays on its starting color. |
| Knight | In an 'L' shape: two squares in one direction (horizontal or vertical), then one square perpendicular. It can jump over other pieces. |
| Pawn | One square forward. On its first move, it can move one or two squares forward. It captures diagonally one square forward. |
The Goal of the Game
The objective in chess isn't just to capture your opponent's pieces. The ultimate goal is to trap the enemy king. This is called checkmate.
check
noun
A situation where a king is under immediate attack by an opponent's piece. The player must make a move to get the king out of check.
When a king is in check, it must escape. There are three ways to get out of check:
- Move the king to a safe square.
- Block the attack with another piece.
- Capture the attacking piece.
If none of these are possible, the king is in checkmate, and the game is over.
checkmate
noun
A position in which a player's king is in check and there is no legal move to escape. The player who delivers checkmate wins the game.
But what happens if a player has no legal moves, and their king is not in check? This situation is a draw, known as a stalemate.
In checkmate, you can't move and your king is under attack. In stalemate, you can't move and your king is safe. Checkmate is a win, stalemate is a draw.
Now that you know the basics, let's test your understanding.
When setting up a chessboard, which square should be in the bottom-right corner for each player?
In chess notation, the horizontal rows are called ranks and the vertical columns are called files.