A Brief Explanation for Beginners
Welcome! This brief guide will simply explain how to play Chess, a globally popular game known for strategy and intellect. It’s important to note that this game is different from our traditional Somali game called “Shax”.
The Goal of the Game
The main goal in Chess is to attack your opponent’s King until it has no escape squares or means to defend itself. This situation is called checkmate. The game ends when this state is reached.
Setting Up the Game
Chess is played on a board with 64 square spaces (an 8×8 grid). Each player starts with 16 pieces: one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights, and eight Pawns. The white pieces always start the game.
The Pieces and Their Movements
Each piece has a unique way it moves. A piece cannot jump over another piece (except for the Knight). If an enemy piece is on the square you want to move to, you can capture it and remove it from the game, or in other words, “eat” it.
The King The King is the most important piece, but not the most powerful. It can move one square in any direction: forward, backward, right, left, and diagonally. The two Kings can never stand next to each other.
The Queen The Queen is the most powerful piece in the game. It can move any number of squares in any straight direction (forward, backward, right, left) and diagonally.
The Rook The Rook can move any number of squares, but only in straight lines (forward, backward, right, or left).
The Bishop The Bishop can move any number of squares, but only diagonally. Each player starts the game with two Bishops: one on the light squares and one on the dark squares.
The Knight The Knight moves in a unique “L” shape: two squares in any straight direction (it cannot land on these squares; they are just part of the path), and then one square perpendicularly (this is where it lands). The Knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.
The Pawn The Pawn has strict rules. On its first move, it can move one or two squares forward. On subsequent moves, it can only move one square forward. A Pawn can never move backward. A Pawn does not capture an enemy piece directly in front of it, but instead captures diagonally forward (one square diagonally forward).
Special Moves
There are two special moves that require further explanation.
1. Castling This is a special defensive move between the King and one of the Rooks. It can only be done once per game, and only if:
- The King and the Rook involved have not moved yet.
- There are no pieces between the King and the Rook.
- The King is not in check, and does not move through or into a square that is under attack. Movement: The King moves two squares towards the Rook, and the Rook jumps over the King to stand on the other side of it.
2. En Passant This special rule applies only to the Pawn. If an enemy Pawn moves two squares from its starting rank (its first move), and lands next to your Pawn, you have the right to capture it as if it had only moved one square. This move must be made immediately after the opponent’s move, otherwise you lose the opportunity.
How to Win: Check and Checkmate
- Check: This is a situation where the King is directly under attack or targeted by an enemy piece. When your King is in check, you must immediately save it from danger. You can save your King in three ways: by moving the King, by blocking the attack with another piece, or by capturing the attacking piece.
- Checkmate: If your King is in check and you have no legal move to escape the attack, then it’s checkmate. Your game is lost.
Draw Conditions
The game can sometimes end in a draw. This can happen in several ways:
- Stalemate: When it’s your turn to move, but you have no legal moves, and your King is not in check.
- Agreement: Both players can agree to end the game in a draw.
- Repetition: If the same position (with the same player to move) occurs three times in the game.
Basic Strategies
Once you learn the movements, you can start thinking about strategies. Here are a few basic ideas:
- Threaten: Moving your piece to a square where it can attack an enemy piece.
- Capture: Removing an enemy piece from the game.
- Fork: This is when one piece simultaneously attacks two enemy pieces. The Knight is very good at performing a fork attack.
- Pinned piece: This is when an enemy piece cannot move because if it did, it would expose a more valuable piece behind it (like the King or Queen).
Conclusion
Congratulations! You now know the basic rules of Chess. The best way to learn is to play. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Good game!
