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| Home / Games / Chess Rules, Notation & Jargon | [SET AS HOME PAGE] |
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CHESS PIECES -- MOVEMENTS  PAWN (x8) -- This foot soldier may only move forward in a straight line as long as its path is not blocked. It has the option of moving one or two squares at the first time it moves, but can move one square at a time subsequently. However, it may only capture diagonally in front of it.The pawn may not retreat (move backwards), but may be promoted to a more powerful piece (except a king) once it reaches the last rank/row furthest away from its side. Most of the time, players choose to "queen" such a pawn. Never underestimate a pawn's power. Each one is a potential queen. Notation: A move without a capital letter prefix implies a pawn move. ie. e4 (pawn moves to empty square e4) or cxd7 (a pawn originally on the c file takes an enemy piece on d7)  KNIGHT (x2) -- This brave warrior in shining armor has a peculiar movement: it takes in a single move, 2 steps in one direction and 1 step in the direction right or left perpendicular to the first direction. (i.e. an L-shaped move)The knight also has the advantage of being able to jump over other pieces, so it is the only piece whose attack may not be blocked. Notation: Prefix - "N". Knight moves include Nf3 (Knight moves to empty square f3) and Nxc7 (Knight takes some enemy piece on c7)  BISHOP (x2) -- The cleric is a long-range piece which can control or attack a square from afar. It may move any number of squares diagonally as long as its path is not blocked. It stays on the same colored squares throughout the game.Notation: Prefix - "B". Bishop moves include Bg2 (Bishop moves to empty square g2) and Bb5+ (Bishop moves to b5 and checks the enemy King)  ROOK (x2) -- This long-range piece sweeps across the board horizontally or vertically as long as his path is not blocked. However, the only time he may jump over another piece is when he "castles" with the king (see KING). (Laymen call him a "castle", but his official name is "rook". In fact, the name "castle" may cause confusion with the move "castling".) Notation: Prefix - "R". Rook moves include Re1 (Rook moves to empty square e1) and Rxc8+ (Rook takes some enemy piece on c8 and checks the king at the same time)  QUEEN (x1) -- Her majesty combines the powers of the bishop and rook, making her the most powerful hence most valuable piece on the board. She may move any number of squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally provided her way is not obstructed.Notation: Prefix - "Q". Queen moves include Qh5 (Queen moves to empty square h5) and Qxg7# (Queen takes some enemy piece on g7 and checkmates the king at the same time)  KING (x1) --His majesty the King may only move one square at a time, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.The only time he may move 2 squares is when he "castles." he takes two steps to his right or left and the rook is placed at the square nearer the middle of the board next to him. The king may only castle if he had never moved before, and he may only castle with a rook which has never moved before. A king can never move to a square which is attacked by an enemy piece. The patriarch can never be taken, but at no time during the game should 2 kings be on adjacent squares. (Sure, neither king can be taken, but the rule also states that a king cannot move to a square that is attacked by an enemy piece, including the opposing king) When the King is attacked, it is in Check. The next move must be played to save the King from the assault. There are 3 ways to defend his majesty: (1) move the King out of check, (2) block the check by placing another piece between the attacking piece and the King, or (3) take (eat) the piece that's checking the King. The game ends in checkmate when none of these 3 ways can save the King. Notation: Prefix - "K". King moves include Kh1 (King moves to empty square h1) or Kxf6 (King takes an enemy piece on f6) CHESS JARGON -- MINI-DICTIONARY OF TERMS back rank mate -- A kind of checkmate where the king is checked fatally along its home rank (1st rank for white, 8th rank for black) with other pieces (usually pawns) blocking the king's escape from that rank. castling -- A King safety move where the King moves two squares towards the rook he is castling with and the rook moves to the square next to the king nearer the center. Both the king and the rook he is castling with must never been moved before. The King "castles short" when castling on the kingside, and "castles long" when castling on the queenside. The King cannot castle when any of the 2 squares he passes over is attacked by an enemy piece. He also cannot castle into check. check -- A move played to attack the enemy King, afterwhich the opponent must defend against the check by one of these 3 ways (1) moving the King (2) interposing a friendly piece to block the check or (3) capturing the piece that attacks the King. A player threatened with check must always defend against the check immediately, the King-saving move is always forced. checkmate -- A check that cannot be defended against, thus ending the game. discovered attack -- When a friendly piece moves out of the way to unveil an attack to an enemy piece. double attack -- A variation of the discovered attack where both the stationary piece and the moved piece attack two distinct enemy pieces. double check -- A double attack where both the stationary piece and moved piece check the enemy King. This is most powerful because it forces the King to move. en passant -- A French phrase that means "in passing." When your pawn is on the 5th rank and your opponent moves a pawn on an adjacent file up 2 squares (ie to his 4th rank which is your 5th rank,) you can capture his pawn en passant, as if he had moved his pawn up 1 square. fianchetto -- A formation with bishop and pawns where the b or g pawn is moved up one square and a friendly bishop takes the position of the pawn which was there. For example, a white light-squared bishop is fianchettoed with pawns on f2, g3 and h2. fork -- When one piece simultaneously attacks two enemy pieces. "kiss of death" -- A checkmate where the Queen (supported by a friendly piece) checks on an adjacent square to the enemy King. material -- The approximate value of the pieces left on the board. Knights and Bishops are worth about 3 pawns each, Rooks worth about 5 pawns while Queens around 9 pawns. However, Kings are priceless since the loss of the King is the loss of the game. perpetual check -- A tactic to draw a lost game by repeating the same position 3 times in a row with the same player to move and each piece in the repeated position having the same capabilities. A player giving perpetual check must inform the opponent that he/she intends to repeat the same position a third time and claim a draw. pin -- A piece is pinned by an enemy piece when its movement would unveil an attack to another friendly piece (a more valuable one) behind it. The most powerful pin is a pin to the enemy King, where the pinned piece is rendered immobile because you cannot expose the King to be taken. Opposite of skewer. promotion -- Promotion is only for pawns - once a pawn reaches the 8th rank it may be exchanged for any greater piece except a King. Most of the time, it is exchanged for a Queen, hence the phrase "queening the pawn." skewer -- The opposite of pin, where a more valuable piece is attacked and its movement would unveil an attack to a less valuable friendly piece. The most powerful skewer is a check, especially when the King's way of getting out of check is by moving out of the line of fire, the less important friendly piece behind is exposed to capture. smothered mate -- A kind of checkmate by a Knight where all the enemy King's escape squares are occupied by the enemy King's friendly units. Since the Knight's check cannot be blocked, the King is suffocated, hence smothered by its own forces. stalemate -- When it is the losing side's turn to play and there's no legal move, the losing side is stalemated and the result is a draw. A losing side may aim for stalemate to salvage a lost game. zugzwang -- A position where moving any particular piece would only worsen the condition of the position. This usually happens when the pieces are overworked or overly dependant on each other, so any movement of any of the pieces would result in major disruption, which often leads to the self-destruction of the position. zwischenzug -- German for "in-between move" - A different move played in between an expected sequence of moves, especially a sequence of captures and recaptures, that leads to a change in circumstances, most of the time material gain, for the player making the zwischenzug. Most of the time, the in-between move is a double purpose check (the other purpose being to introduce another defender,) for the opponent is forced to save the King next move and then the exchange can continue with an extra defender that leads to material gain. Pb's ThinkTank - [Personality] [Inspiration] [Testimony] [Texts] [Design] [Games] [Blog Home] |
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 CHESS NOTATION This is how you set up the board to start the game. The queen is always placed on the square of her own color. White always starts first. The vertical rows (a-h) are called FILES, while the horizontal rows (1-8) are RANKS. The first rank is the home base for white's territory, and the 8th rank is Black's headquarters. This convention is adopted in tournaments where players need to record NOTATION, a standard way to describe chess moves and hence record what happened during the game.
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