The Basics

Starting Position

  • White square bottom right hand corner

  • Pawns placed on second rank

  • Pieces placed outwards in, with the Rooks on the outside, then the Knights, the Bishops, and finally the Queen is placed on its own colour with the King beside it.

  • Piece values can change dependent on where the pieces are on the board, but the most common valuation of the pieces is: -

    • Pawns - 1 point

    • Knights - 3 points

    • Bishops - 3 points

    • Rooks - 5 points

    • Queens - 9 points

    • Kings - no value, but if you lose your king you lose the game.

Moving Pieces

  • Pawns move one space forward, unless it is on their first move and then it can move forward two spaces.

  • On reaching the final rank, the pawn can be promoted to a Queen, Rook, Knight or Bishop.

  • Pawns take pieces diagonally forwards

  • The only exception, is that a pawn can also take by en passant.

  • It allows a pawn to capture a horizontally adjacent pawn that has just advanced two squares in one move

  • The attacking pawn moves to the space behind the defensive pawn, as if it was taking the pawn if it had only moved one space forward.

  • This capture can only be performed on the turn immediately after the two square advance.

  • Knights move in an L shape

    • Either two places forwards / backwards and then one place left / right

    • Or one place forwards / backwards and then two places left / right

  • They take pieces the same way and are the only piece that can jump over other pieces

  • They perform better in the centre of the board as they have more moves available to them (green area)

  • Bishops move and take pieces diagonally

  • Therefore they have the most moves, in the middle of the board, assuming they are not blocked by other pieces.

  • Rooks move and take pieces horizontally and vertically.

  • They are not necessarily better in the centre of the board, but they need free space to move,

  • Queens combine the moves of both Bishops and Rooks, so are considered the strongest piece on the board,

  • Kings move the same as Queens but can only move one space at a time.

  • They are not allowed to be moved into a space where they can be taken.

  • When a king is in a position where it can be taken, they are said to be in check, and must prevent the check on their move

  • If they are unable to prevent the check, then it is declared checkmate and the game is lost.

  • If a King and Rook haven't moved and the space between them is clear, they are able to perform a special move known as Castling

  • Castling is performed by the King moving two spaces towards the Rook, and then the Rook jumps over the King to be placed next to it

  • A King is unable to castle whilst in , through or into check, so in this position black is unable to castle on the Queen's side.

  • When a piece attacks two pieces at the same time, it is commonly known as a Fork.

  • It is usually associated with knights, as in this position, but the bishop could have also performed a fork by taking the pawn behind the knight.

  • When a minor piece is prevented from moving, because it opens up an attack on a major piece the move is known as a Pin.

  • In this position the Bishop is pinning the Knight, as it can't move otherwise the King will be in check.

  • Pins can also be performed by Queens and Rooks

  • When a major piece is attacked, so that when it moves away a minor piece is available to be taken, then the move is known as a Skewer

  • This is sort of the reverse of a Pin, so can be performed with the same pieces.

  • Discovered check is when a piece moves out of the way, so that another of their pieces puts the opposing King in check.

  • In some cases, this also leads to a double attack, as in this position the Knight attacks the Bishop, whilst the Rook has the King in check.

  • Double Check is similar to Discovered Check, but it ends up checking the King with two pieces.

  • This is one of the strongest moves, as the person in check is unable to take either of the checking pieces, as they will still be in check from the other piece.

How to finish a game

  • Win/Loss

    • If you can't move the king out of check then the game is declared as checkmate and your opponent wins.

    • A player can resign the game, gifting their opponent the win.

    • Time out - if playing with a clock, a player can lose the game if their time runs out and their opponent notices. However, if their opponent has insufficient material to win the game, then the match is drawn rather than lost.

  • Draw

    • If you are not in check, but the only move you have puts your king in check, then the game is declared as stalemate as the match is drawn as there are no legal moves you can play.

    • The players can agree a draw between themselves.

    • Insufficient material - You can't win a game with just your king, or with a King and Knight v King, or with a King and Bishop with King. So if you reach those positions the game is drawn. There are other cases, where the material isn't usually enough to win, but there is still a possibility of a win if your opponent makes the wrong moves. In this case, your opponent can win on time, if they can be shown to be trying to win normally, and you are not showing the response to get the draw.

    • 50 move rule - Allows either player to claim a draw if no capture or pawn move has been made in the last 50 moves (each).

    • Threefold repetition - If a position arises three times in a game on the same persons move with the same moves available, then the game can be declared a draw

    • Double timeout - with analogue clocks it is possible not to notice which clock ran out of time first, so if both clocks have run out of time, then either player can declare a draw.