CHESS FOR BEGINNERS

When I see a chessboard I always remember my Dad. He was a big fan of chess. He used to join competitions when he was young and eventually hosts competitions in the school where he taught. He even bought a computerized chessboard just so he could challenge himself more. I was never really fond of chess. Though, he taught me the moves of the chess pieces,it never really registered in my system.

But one boring day, I thought I could use a little brain exercise, I asked my husband to play chess with me. Alas, as it was already my turn, I can't remember a single move which my Dad taught me. As expected of course, I lost the game to my husband.

So for the benefit of myself and those who do not know anything about chess but want to learn and play the game and feel intellectual as well, here are some tips and info on how to start and play chess.

1. It is played on a chessboard with 64 squares and alternate colors of black and white. Each player has 16 chess pieces as follows: 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, 2 Rooks and 8 pawns.

2. All pieces except the pawns, are placed in their own order on the first row of the board nearest the player. All pawns are placed on the next row.

3. The Moves: King moves in any direction one square at a time. Queen moves in any direction too, only, without limits on the number of squares. The Rook can move either horizontally or vertically only, without limits on the number of the squares as well. Bishop moves only in diagonal direction and the Knight moves in an L shape direction, 1 square up or down, then 2 squares left or right or 2 squares up or down then 1 square left or right. The pawns can only move forward one square at a time but its initial move may be up to two squares.

4. Capturing other pieces. The King can capture enemy pieces which are on the adjoining square, Queen, Rook, Bishop and Knight captures enemy pieces the way they move along the chessboard. Pawn only catches enemy pieces diagonally which are on the adjoining square. The pawn's role becomes important once it reaches the last row for it becomes another Queen acquiring all the features of the original Queen.

5. In order to win the game, one must attack the enemy's King. When he is attacked, he is in check, if the King goes out of the check, the game is still alive. Once the King is not able to get out of the check anymore, the King is checkmated and the game is now over.

These are just some of the basic tips and info about playing chess. If you want to become an expert on this, take some time to practice the game and develop your analytical skill.


Mister Linker