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Chess is a game played between two opponents, represented as White and Black. Each player is provided with 16 men, all of the same color, White or Black. Eight of each group are called pawns, the other eight are called pieces. At the start of each game each player places his sixteen men on the board in a definite order
The eight Pawns are representing 8 small men.
Similarly, Queens Knight is written QKt, Kings Knight KKt. Queens Bishop QB, Kings Bishop KB, Queen Q and King K. The pawns are named after the pieces behind them. The Kings Pawn KP, is the one in front of the K, etc. The White army is classified into the Queens side or the left wing, and the Kings side or the right wing. The Black army is classified in the same way; the Black Q is placed opposite the White Q, the Black K opposite the White K. The Black QR opposite the White QR, etc. But Blacks left wing is opposite Whites right wing. Therefore Blacks left wing is his Kings side. The square in the bottom right hand corner is always a white one. The Q stands on a square of her own color, the White Q on a white square, the Black Q on a black one, when the pieces are placed on the board for game play. In the course of the game the players change the position of their pieces according to certain rules. They “move” a man from its square to another square. No two men are ever allowed to stand on the same square. Whenever a man is moved to a square occupied by a hostile man the hostile piece is “captured” and removed from the board. The players “move” alternately and White makes the first move. As has already been explained, each army consists of sixteen different men; King, Queen, Castle or Rook (2 pieces), Bishop (2 pieces), Knight (2 pieces), Pawn (8 pieces).
KING The King moves to any square adjoining his own, unoccupied by another piece. He is, however, banned from moving to a square where he is exposed to capture and cannot occupy any square next to the other King. In moving the King to a square occupied by a hostile man the player captures that piece. In certain cases the King and the Castle move at the same time. That move is called “Castling,” and will be fully explained later on. Place the White King on d4, the Black King on d6. White then has the choice of five legal moves.
The Rook moves from its square on to any square in the same rank or file provided it encounters no obstruction. Place a White Castle on c2, the White King on f2, the Black King on g7. If it is Whites turn to play he has the choice between 19 legal moves (the Castle cannot go to f2, g2 or h2). The King can execute eight legal moves, the Castle eleven. With the move of the Castle from c2 to c7, White “checks,” threatens to capture the Black King next move.
The Bishop moves from his square to any square in his diagonal provided he encounters no obstruction. Place the Bishop on c4, he can execute eleven legal moves. He may, for instance move to f7, or f1. A White Pawn on b3 would obstruct the squares a2 and b3. A Black Pawn on e6 could be captured by the Bishop but would obstruct f7 and g8.
The Queen may make any move that a Rook or Bishop are able to make-place a White Queen on d4. If White resolves to move the Queen he has the choice between twenty-seven legal moves.
The Pawn moves one step forward, except in its initial position, when it may move one or two steps forward. If the square in front of the Pawn is occupied the Pawn is “blocked,” and cannot move forward at all until the obstruction has been removed. The Pawn captures a hostile man placed one step diagonally forward. This rule is modified by the capture “en-passant” or in passing. If a Pawn is moving two steps from its initial position passes an enemy Pawn standing on its own fifth rank, on either of the next adjoining files, the latter Pawn, provided it wants to, has the right to capture the hostile Pawn en-passant, which capture is done in just the same way as if the hostile Pawn had moved only one step. A Pawn that by any route has reached the eighth rank of the board ceases to be a Pawn. In that moment it has to be changed into any piece of its own color, barring solely the King, and this rule holds good even though a piece should have to be supplied from another box. Examples will be given later on.
The Knight moves on to any square not occupied by a man of its color that it can reach by proceeding in any direction two squares on its rank or file and one square at right angles thereto. If a square that it can reach is occupied by a hostile man the Knight may capture that man by placing itself on that square-from d4, the Kt can make 8 moves. So it will be seen that the Kt always moves to a square of the other color to that on which it stands. All will be made clear further on when diagrams will show this pieces degree of movement in game play.
Castling is a move executed by King and Rook simultaneously. The conditions under which the move is allowed are as follows; 1. Neither King nor Rook shall have moved before in that game. 2. The squares on the rank between King and Rook must be unoccupied. 3. In Castling, neither the K or the R are permitted to expose themselves to capture, nor may the K “Castle” to get out of check. In other words, neither the square which the K leaves passes over and goes to may be under attack from a hostile piece. 4. The King must move along the rank two squares, either to right or left as the case may be, and the R which is approached, jumps over the K to the square opposite (to avoid confusion the K should be moved first or the two pieces simultaneously).
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