How do you play chess as beginner, other questions answered
Chess is one of the oldest and most popular board games in the world. Two players play on the checkered board with specially designed pieces of contrasting colors mainly black and white. The ultimate goal of chess is to “checkmate” the king by moving your pieces in such a way to capture the king.
Anyone can play chess but it takes strategy to defeat a skilled opponent. At the end of this article, you will learn:
- How to set up your chess board
- How to move your chess pieces
- Effective steps to play chess
- Basic rules of chess
- Special strategies to win a chess game
Setting up the chess board
Position the board so that each player has a dark corner square on the left. Turn the board so that each player has black square in the lower left corner and white square in the lower-right corner. Both players should sit across each other to start the game.
The chess pieces should be arranged according to their ranks and files. Ranks are horizontal rows which are listed 1-8 starting from the side board with white pieces. Files are columns between the players listed from A-H.
Place rooks at the corner of the board. Rooks are pieces that look like castle towers.
Place the knights next to the rooks. Knights look like horses and move in L shapes.
Set the bishops next to the knights. Bishops are the third tallest pieces on the chess board.
Place the queens on their matching colors in the back row. For instance, the white queen should be on the white row at the back same as the black queen at the black back row.
Set the king next to the queen. The king is the tallest piece on the board.
Pawns should be positioned adjacently on the second row in front of other chess pieces.
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How to move chess pieces
King
The king is the most important piece but also one of the weakest in a chess game. He can only move one square at a time in any direction – up, down, sides and diagonal. The king can never be put on a square where he can be captured. When he is attacked by the opponent’s pieces, it is called “check.”
Queen
The queen is the most powerful piece in a chess game. She can move in any direction over vacant squares as long as she doesn’t move through her own pieces.
Rook
Rooks can move as far as they want but only forward, backward and sides. They cannot jump over any pieces. Rooks are particularly powerful when they work together to protect one another.
Bishop
Bishops start and stay in only one color. They move diagonally and are best utilized to cover each other’s weaknesses.
Knight
Knights move in L shapes – two squares in one direction and another step in a 90-degree angle. Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces.
Pawn
Pawns move in one straight line, one square at a time except at the beginning of the game where they are moved two places forward. They are the weakest pieces and can only capture other pieces diagonally.
Steps to play chess
The player with the white pieces should start the game. Players can decide who has the white pieces by flipping a coin or having one player guess the color of the hidden piece in the other player’s hand. The player with the white pieces also has a slight advantage to attack first.
Capture your opponent’s pieces by moving into their squares. This means your piece must land on your opponent’s piece.
Try to capture your opponent’s stronger pieces like the queen, rooks and bishops to weaken his/her turn.
Put your opponent’s king in “check” by moving your pieces to initiate capturing the king. Your opponent can only the king out of check by moving him, blocking or capturing your piece.
Checkmate your opponent’s king to end the game. The king is put into checkmate when your opponent’s pieces can no longer protect him. Say “checkmate” out loud to declare yourself winner.
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Basic rules of chess
Stalemate can be reached when a player’s king is not in check and there are no other legal moves. Stalemate can be declared when:
- Both players agree to a draw.
- There are not enough pieces on the board to force a checkmate.
- If a player is in the same exact position three times.
- Five moves may have been made with neither player moving a pawn or capturing a piece.
Special strategies to win
Protect your king by castling. Castling means getting your king to safety and taking your rook out of the corner in one move. However, you can only castle when your king and rook are making their first moves, there are no pieces between them and the king is not in check or would not be in check in the next move.
Don’t lose your pieces. Each piece is valuable and you can’t win a game without them. A pawn is valued at only 1 point, both knight and bishop are valued at 3 points each, rook is 5 points, queen is valued at 9 points and king has infinite points.
Aim to control the center of the chess board. You will have more room to move your pieces and weaken your opponent’s moves.
Use all your pieces. Using one or two pieces will not help you win a skilled opponent.
Remember, practice makes perfect. Now you have learned how to play chess, go right ahead and practice. In no distant time, you will become a grandmaster.
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