Chess
The Board
Chess is played on a board of 64 squares arranged in an 8-by-8 grid. The ranks (rows) are labeled 1-8 and the files (columns) are labeled a-h. Players sit opposite each other, with a light-colored square in the bottom-right corner, so "forward" for white means toward the eighth rank, and "forward" for black means toward the first rank.
The Pieces
The first player controls the white pieces and the second player controls the black pieces. Each player has eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen, and a king.
Explanation of Pieces:
- Pawn: At the start of the game, line the white pawns along the second rank and line the black pawns along the seventh rank. Pawns move forward one square. When a pawn moves for the first time, it can advance either one or two squares, as long as there are no pieces blocking the way. A pawn captures differently than it moves; it moves diagonally forward one square in order to capture.
- Rook: At the start of the game, place the rooks on the corners of the board (a1, h1 for White; a8, h8 for Black). Rooks move any number of squares vertically or horizontally. A rook cannot jump over another piece.
- Knight: At the start of the game, place the knights next to the rooks (b1, g1 for White; b8, g8 for Black). Knights move in an L-shape, two squares in one direction (horizontally or vertically) and then one square perpendicular to that.
- Bishop: At the start of the game, place the bishops next to the knights (c1, f1 for White; c8, f8 for Black). Bishops move any number of squares diagonally. A bishop cannot jump over another piece.
- Queen: At the start of the game, place the queen on the remaining square of her color (d1 for White; d8 for Black). Queens move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. A queen cannot jump over another piece.
- King: At the start of the game, place the king beside the queen (e1 for White; e8 for Black). Kings move one square in any direction—horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Rules
When a piece moves to a square occupied by an enemy piece, the enemy piece is removed from the board (this is known as a capture). A piece cannot capture a friendly piece.
When a player's king is under threat of capture, it is said to be in check. If a player's king is in check, the player must make a move to remove the threat. A player also cannot make a move that places their own king in check. If a player's king is in check and there is no legal move to remove the threat, it is checkmate, and the game ends. The player who achieved checkmate wins. If a player cannot make any legal moves but their king is not in check, then the game is a draw by stalemate. If both players do not have enough pieces to checkmate the enemy king, then the game is a draw by insufficient material.
There are also some special moves:
- Castling: This move involves the king and one of the rooks. It is the only move that allows two pieces (the king and a rook) to move at the same time. It involves moving the king two squares towards a rook, then placing the rook on the square over which the king crossed. However, certain conditions must be met: neither piece involved in castling should have moved before, the squares between the king and rook must be clear, and the king cannot be in check or pass through a square that is attacked by an opponent's piece.
- En passant: If a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting position and lands beside an opponent's pawn, the opponent has the option to capture the first pawn "en passant," moving their pawn diagonally to the square the other pawn skipped over.
- Pawn promotion: When a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, it can be promoted to any other piece (except a king).
GamesCrafters
Anthony Ling (Backend)