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Understanding Chess Move by Move

by Lee Leong

There is so much to learn when you first started playing chess, including understanding the chess board, understanding chess move by move and so on. No doubt, the more you take time to learn and apply the strategies you learn, the better you will be in the long run.

With that said, it is worthwhile to understand chess move by move, both basic and special moves. In a game of chess, each piece moves in a different way. Normally, a piece can not pass through squares occupied by another piece. However, it can move to a square occupied by the opponent's piece.

When a piece moves to a square occupied by the opponent, it is said to 'capture' the opponent. Hence, the piece which is captured is eliminated from the board for the remainder of the game.

There are six different pieces in a chess game, namely - King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn.

The King moves orthogonally and diagonally across only one square at a time.

The Queen moves orthogonally or diagonally across any number of squares.

The Rook moves forward, backward, left or right across any number of squares.

Bishop moves diagonally across any number of squares.

The Knight moves in two squares in one direction and one space orthogonal to it. It is the only piece which jumps over other pieces; other pieces cannot jump over a square occupied by a piece.

The Pawn can move only one square at a time, backward or forward. However, if the Pawn is the first piece moved at the start of a game, i.e. if it is the opening move of the game, it can move two squares forward. The Pawn can move one square diagonally in front to capture an opponent piece. It cannot capture an opponent piece by moving forward straight.

Apart from the basic moves, it is also important to understand special chess moves as well. One such move is called 'Castling'. This involves the King and the Rook.

If the King and the Rook have not moved yet and all the squares between them are blank, then the King moves two squares forward, toward the Rook. At the same time the Rook moves the two spaces the King has just jumped over. However, this move cannot happen if the King is threatened or has to move through a danger square.

Another special chess move involves the Pawn. If the Pawn moves two squares forward on its first move, it can be captured on the square it has jumped over, as if it had moved one square only, during the turn immediately after its two-square move. This can be done only by another Pawn.

Remember, the more you increase your understanding of chess move by move, the better chess player you will become.

This article was posted on December 04, 2006