How to play chess (Patreon)

Chess is a game that has bee around for a very long time, yet not everyone knows how to play it. This instruction set is to help newcomers to the game learn what it means to play chess. My purpose here is to make the readers be able to play chess and have a fun time learning a new game. 

To begin, let us start with the setup of the game. The board that is used is the same as checkers, which is measured to be 8x8. The board is setup so that there will always be a mirror match at the beginning of the game and there must always be a white square at the closest right-hand side for both players. There are 32 pieces in total, 16 black pieces and 16 white pieces. 

There are 8 pawns for each player, residing on the second row. After that we see that there are 2 castle shaped pieces, those are rooks. In a similar manor the horses are knights and the pieces that look like popes are known as bishops. Then the two pieces in the middle are the king and queen pieces. The king will always be on the right half of the board to begin with and the queen will be on the left half.

From here we go into the process of turns. The player the controls the white pieces always moves first, and then from there each player alternates turns with one another. After this we must go into detail of how each piece moves.

Pawns may only move forward to start. Each pawn is only able to move one space forward (they are not allowed to move backwards). During the first move the pawn receives the privilege of moving one or two spaces, and then after that as stated before they may only move one space. When taking out an opponents piece the pawn will move diagonally, left/right. Pawns also have the power of promotion. If a pawn is able to reach the opposite side of the board, it is allowed to be promoted to a higher piece, except for king. Pawns are weak pieces, but they are fun to use given the option of promotion.  

Rooks may move in a continuous line forwards, backwards or side-to-side. This can only be done as long as there are no pieces in it way. The rook is not allowed to go around other pieces, but if the pieces belong to your opponent you may take that piece out. 

Knights may move either up/down 2 and over 1 or up/down 1 and over 2. It is best to think of it as a “L”. The knight is the only piece that can, "jump" off the board. They are allowed to go over pieces as long as there is a space open or an opponent’s piece that they can take.  

Bishops may move in continuous diagonal lines in any direction. This can only be done as long as there are no pieces in it way. The bishop is not allowed to go around other pieces, but if the pieces belong to your opponent you may take that piece out. 

The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board. It is allowed to move both, in continuous diagonal lines in any direction as well as move in a continuous line forwards, backwards or side-to-side. It is a powerful piece and must be watched at all times. 

Finally, the King. The King is the piece that is the lifeline of the player. However, for that matter the King may only move one space in any direction at a time as long as it doesn’t move to a square that is under attack. 

Now in chess there are a few special moves that can seem confusing to newcomers, so it is best to learn them early on. The first is known as “Castling”. Castling is the only move that will allow a player to move two pieces during the same turn. During castling a king is allowed to move two spaces towards the rook that it will “castle” with, and then the rook will jump over to the other side. However, the conditions of this move are that:

· The king and the rook pieces have not moved

· The king is not in check

· The king does not move through or into check

· There are no pieces between the king and the rook when they are castling

The next special move is called, En passant. This is a special movement for pawns while they are attacking pawns. This only applies if your opponent moves a pawn two spaces, and its destination space is next to your pawn. You can take the opposing piece by moving forward-diagonal to your pawn's attacked square.

From here we already know about what the pieces do, now we have to start looking in how the game is won. To start we look at the term “Check”. Check is the terms that is used to describe that your or your opponent’s king is a position where it can be attacked. In order to continue the game, the player must move their king out of check, block the check or capture the attacking piece. Another rule is that the player may never put their own piece in check. 

Then we look at the term “Checkmate”. Unlike check where the player is able to have the chance to save their king, a checkmate causes the player to lose the game. A checkmate occurs when, the players king is in check, the opponent has pieces set up so that the king in check capture them, the check cannot be blocked, and the king cannot move to a square that is not under attack. This is where the game ends and one player becomes the winner.

The only time a win cannot occur is during a stalemate. A stalemate is a tie. This is a scenario where neither player can gain ground on the other and no progress is made. It is a shame when a stalemate happens, but it also can show just how skilled players are, compared to each other. 

From here let’s talk about opening moves. A player may either move one of the pawns as stated above or they may move one of their two knights as it does not go against the rules. Moving your knight out first allows you to get a quick moving piece on the board really fast. However, if you were to move either of the two pawns that are diagonal from the two bishops then right at the start of your second turn you can have full access of a bishop. There is even the move where you move the piece that is right above the rook and then by turn 3/4 you can have a rook moving freely across the board. 

These are good opening moves to take, whichever you choose will be up to your own play style. Next let’s go into baiting an opponent. Chess is all about strategy, so you have to be able to think off multiple moves ahead. The best way to win is to trick your opponent into doing what you want them to do. The best way to do this is to make it look as if they are cornering you while if fact you are cornering them. A good example is to let your opponent to take a piece that you know you don’t need in order for them to opening up their own defenses. Let’s say that you can take the opponents queen but it would cost you your own, but at the same time you have a piece that could reach the queen if one of the enemies pieces was gone. To do this you move an unwanted piece to where they are both in a position to capture a target and be captured themselves. If your opponent doesn’t see you plan than you can easily use it to your advantage and take out the queen after your opponent takes the bait.

Chess is a game that is all about strategy. Chess takes time to master, but it is fun none the less. The key of chess is to properly create a strategy that uses each piece to their fullest potential, while at the same time analyzing your opponents moves. Chess is a battle of the minds that will always increase the skill level of the player the more that they play.