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Welcome back. Perhaps you'd like to tell me what you'd like me to call you this lesson.
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Do you understand the KING move, CHECK and CHECKMATE, kiddo?  Yes, I understand all about the KING I don't yet understand the KING move I don't yet understand about CHECK I don't yet understand about CHECKMATE |
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You're now almost ready to play a complete game of chess. But there are a few more rules you need to know first. In this lesson we'll go through them one by one. 
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First, look at this position. It's White's move. He's not IN CHECK at the moment, but what can he do? He has no moves with his king which do not put him into CHECK. And he has no other pieces to move. When you were playing CAPTURE THE FLAG you lost the game if you couldn't move anywhere, but in a complete chess game this position is a DRAW. In this position we say that it is STALEMATE, that White has been STALEMATED.
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But THIS position ISN'T STALEMATE. White is NOT in CHECK and his KING has no moves. But he has a pawn on the board, so he has to move it. After he's moved his pawn Black will be able to get CHECKMATE by moving his queen from d3 to e2.
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Look very carefully at this position. It looks at first as if White can move the pawn on c3. But look again and you'll see that moving the pawn would leave him IN CHECK from the bishop on a5. You are NOT ALLOWED to play ANY move that leaves your KING IN CHECK. So this position is STALEMATE. This is called a PIN. The bishop is PINNING the pawn. The pawn is PINNED by the bishop.
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STALEMATE is one way to draw the game, but not the only way. The game is declared a DRAW if it is not possible for either player to force CHECKMATE. So if you reach a position with king against king, king against king and bishop or king against king and knight the game is a draw. The diagram on your left demonstrated that it's not possible to CHECKMATE with a king and bishop: the next diagram will show you the same thing with a king and knight.
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King and queen against king is an easy win. King and rook against king is a bit harder but still easy. If you want to play in competitions you need to know these two. King and two bishops against king is harder still. King, bishop and knight against king is very hard, but possible. King and two knights can only mate if your opponent makes a mistake.
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A draw can be agreed at any point in the game, for instance if both players realise that no other result is possible. In this position the game will be a draw as long as White moves his king between a1 and b2. If White knows Black will not do anything else he can offer a draw. There are a few other ways to draw a game of chess, but you don't need to know them until you start playing competitively.
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It's White's move. What is happening in this position?
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It's White's move. What is happening in this position?
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You already know that when you get a pawn to the end of the board it becomes a QUEEN. This is called PROMOTING A PAWN or PAWN PROMOTION. In fact you can choose from a QUEEN, a ROOK, a BISHOP or a KNIGHT. As the QUEEN is the most powerful piece that's usually what you'll choose. By the way, you're allowed as many queens as you like on the board (well, up to 9, the one you start with plus 8 promoted pawns). In this position if you choose a QUEEN it will be STALEMATE but if you choose a ROOK instead Black will have to move to a6, when you'll be able to CHECKMATE him by moving your rook to a8.
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Here, if you promote to a QUEEN Black will take your rook and you'll be left with KING and QUEEN each, which you could agree a DRAW. But look at what happens if you promote to a KNIGHT instead. Your KNIGHT on f8 will FORK the black KING and QUEEN. Next move you'll be able to capture the queen leaving you with KING, ROOK and KNIGHT against KING.
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True or false? A pawn always becomes a queen when it gets to the end of the board.
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True or false? You can never have more than one white queen on the board.
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There just one more rule you need to know before you can play a real game of chess, and it's an important one. It's called CASTLING. CASTLING is a double move of king and rook which each player can do once in a game. Watch carefully to see how it works.
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You can CASTLE if: 1. Your KING has never moved. 2. Your ROOK has never moved. 3. There are no pieces between the KING and the ROOK. 4. You are NOT in CHECK at the moment (it doesn't matter if you've been in check in the past). When you CASTLE you move your KING TWO SQUARES towards the ROOK, and, in the same move, transfer your ROOK over the top to the next square.
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Here's the position after both players have CASTLED. White has CASTLED on the KING SIDE. Black has CASTLED on the QUEEN SIDE. You'll notice that the black king is nearer the centre while the white king is nearer the corner.
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Some more CASTLING rules:
You CANNOT CASTLE if your king would end up IN CHECK. (Of course you can't play ANY move which would leave your king IN CHECK.) Here, White CANNOT castle because it would put his king IN CHECK from the black bishop. The hardest part of the CASTLING rule to understand is this: You CANNOT CASTLE if the square your king crosses is attacked by an enemy piece. In this position, Black CANNOT CASTLE because his king would cross over the d8 square, which is attacked by the rook on d1. |
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It's White's move. He hasn't moved his king or his rook on a1. Can he castle on the queen side?
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It's Black's move. He hasn't moved his king or his rook on h8. Can he castle on the king side?
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It's White's move. He hasn't moved his king or his rook on a1. Can he castle on the queen side?
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It's Black's move. He hasn't moved his king or his rook on h8. Can he castle on the king side?
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It's White's move. He hasn't moved his king or his rook on h1. Can he castle this move?
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Suppose White moves his pawn from c2 to c3 this move, and Black then moves his bishp from b4 to a5. Can White castle then?
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Congratulations, Kiddo!! You have now completed the OTHER RULES lesson. 
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You now know all the rules of chess and can start playing a real game. You will also need more practice in understanding everything you've learnt so far. I can't wait. I want a go now! I'd like to repeat the lesson first please I'll do it later if you don't mind - I have to go now It's all too hard for me. I'm giving up. |