Chess is one of the most famous strategy board games in the world. It is a 2-player game played on a checkerboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. Derived from the ancient Indian game 'chaturanga' back in the 7th century, chess requires high involvement of all 6 sections of the brain which helps in proper exercise and the growth of mental health. It is never too late to start learning something and being an indoor tactical game, chess has no physical risk. One can start playing it at any age. To make your job easy, here's how beginners can play chess and learn different win moves.

How to Play Chess | Chess for beginners

Before talking about how to play chess, you must know the pieces involved in a game of chess. There are 6 different types of pieces in both black and white color. Each participant plays a game with 16 pieces of one color. The 6 pieces (the number in the bracket denotes the number of that piece in a color) are:

• King (1)
• Queen (1)
• Bishop (2)
• Rook (2)
• Knight (2)
• Pawn (8)

A Step-by-Step Guide to Begin a Chess Game

How to place the chessboard | How to play chess for beginners

The chessboard is always set up such that a white (light) colored block appears on the extreme right side of the first row. Although this seems to make no difference in the game it is better to start the right way when learning how to play chess.

How to place each piece on the board | How to play chess for beginners

The pieces of both colors are arranged on the last 2 lines of opposite sides (one color on each side). First, the 2 rooks are positioned at both corners, followed by 2 knights next to each rook, followed by the 2 bishops next to each knight. The queen is then placed on the same color block i.e. black(white) queen on a black(white) block. The kings are finally placed on the remaining block.

How each piece moves on the board | How to play chess for beginners

The game always starts with the movement of a white piece. Then both participants move one piece at a time on alternate turns. In professional games, the white color selection is decided by a toss while in friendly games, the less experienced player can be given the benefit of the first move.

Some common rules of movement are followed by all the pieces and some rules are specific to each piece. The common rules are:

• Only one piece can reside at one square at a time.
• Pieces cannot move through each other except Knight which can jump over other pieces.
• Pieces cannot take place of the same colored piece but can take place of the opposite colored piece by capturing (explained later) it.

Now that we know the common rules, let’s get into specific rules involved in each piece's movement while playing chess.

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The King

The King is the most important piece in the game but at the same time one of the weakest too. It can move only one square at a time in all directions (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally). But a king cannot move to a square that is under check (explained later) by the opponent.

The Queen

The Queen is considered the most powerful piece of all. She can move in all directions (one at a time) as far as she desires, provided she follows the common rules.

The Rook

Rooks can move both vertically and horizontally as far as possible, following the common rules. Both Rooks are powerful when used together, protecting each other.

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The Bishop

Bishops move diagonally on the board. They always stay on the same colored block due to their diagonal movement. Both Bishops start from a different colored block.

The Knight

Knights move 2 blocks in one direction followed by one block in the other without any diagonal movement. This kind of movement makes an L shape on the board. Knights can also jump over other pieces in their movement.

The Pawn

Pawns move one block forward at a time. It can also move 2 blocks but only in its first move. Pawns can change their direction only while capturing another piece which is discussed in the next section.

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How to capture an opponent's piece | How to learn chess

All the pieces except Pawn capture an opponent's piece when it comes in its path. After capturing a piece, the capturing piece takes the position of the captured piece. A piece cannot capture another piece of its colour. Once a piece is captured by the opponent, it cannot be used further in the game so it is removed from the board.

In the case of the Pawn, capturing is possible only when an opponent's piece is placed on the diagonal front block concerning the Pawn. So while capturing the piece, the pawn will move into the diagonal front block. Hence its direction of movement changes.

How to win a game of Chess

Check

A King is said to be in check when it is threatened by an opponent's piece i.e. when an opponent's piece is in a position to capture the King in its next move. A player can only do these 3 things to come out of check:

• Move the King to a safe block
• Use another piece to block the check
• Capture the piece checking the King

A player cannot move the king to a position that will cause a check on it.

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Checkmate

A King is in checkmate if:

• It is under check.
• It cannot move to a safe block that is not under attack.
• No other piece can capture the checking piece of the opponent.

The player forcing checkmate on the other player's king wins the game.

Draws

Checkmate does not happen in all the games. A game can be declared a draw in the following scenarios:

1. Stalemate (Explained later)
2. In 50 consecutive moves, no player has either captured a piece or moved a pawn.
3. Pieces on the board are not enough to force a checkmate.
4. The exact position is repeated in a game.
5. Players agree to a draw.

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Special Rules | How to learn chess

There are some unique moves and some different rules in the game of chess that needs separate mention.

Promotion of the Pawn | Chess moves to win

When a Pawn reaches the last row (row 8), it can be replaced with any other piece except the King. The new piece will take the exact position of the Pawn. According to FIDE chess rules, it is compulsory to exchange the pawn with a new piece. Queen is the strongest piece in the game so it is the best choice for anyone in such a scenario.

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En Passant | Chess moves to win

If Pawn is moved up 2 blocks in its first move and it happens to be next to the opponent's pawn. Then the opponent has the option of capturing the pawn by moving it to the diagonal empty block. But the option is open only for that move.