The Rules of Chess – The Rules of Playing Chess

The wonderful part about chess is the inability to actually cheat at this game. The main reason for this unique characteristic are the simple but extremely rigid chess rules with which the game is played. The game is won by strategy which is why it is most vital to know how to play chess.

Starting with the first line of defense you have the pawns. The pawns might be so numerous that they are taken for granted, but these little chess pieces can over turn any game easily. The way that they move is forward. Although the initial moves of the various pieces will be forward, the pawn can only ever move in that direction; not sideways, not backwards, as per the rules of the game. The pawn is always moved just one square, although there is one exception to this rule of chess. Only when the pawn is in its original position, can it move two squares forward. The pawn can capture an opponent’s chess piece if it is on one of its forward diagonals.

In chess rules, the Knight is perhaps the most powerful piece because of the versatility of its moves. Its moves consist of two interchangeable parts – the piece moves to one square horizontally or vertically next to it, and then two squares in a perpendicular direction. The overall movement resembles an ‘L’ shape. According to the rules of chess, the knight can actually jump over other pieces during game play to make its move. It is the only piece which can do this and additionally is the only piece in the first row which is not blocked by pawns in the beginning of the game.

Rooks are the big guns in chess, and they move any number of squares in one direction, either vertically or horizontally. This movement can be blocked if there is another chess piece in its way. According to chess rules, the rook cannot jump over other pieces.

When learning how to play chess, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the chess pieces according to the chess rules. The bishop, for example, is a chess piece that is confined to one particular colour the entire game. It can move only in diagonals, in any of the four directions. Each side has one bishop on each colour, which means that between those two chess pieces, every square on the board can be covered.

The most powerful piece in chess, the queen, is a combination of the rook and the bishop. According to the rules of the game, the queen can move in any direction, horizontally, vertically and diagonally and in all directions.

Last, but certainly not the least, the king, which moves consists of moving to one square adjacent to the one it is in already. More often than not, the king’s moves are blocked by pieces of the same side. The king is the decider of the game, in that if the king is captured, the game ends.

The rules of chess are straightforward, as mentioned earlier. They take very little time to master, although the chess game strategies may take a lifetime to learn.