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The Simple Way to Play Chess

The board game known as chess has been around since about the year 1200, though its origins are thought to be in a 6th century game developed in northwestern India. Over the next few hundred years the rules were modified until the game came to its current form in about 1475 in Italy and Spain. The first modern tournament was held in 1851 in London, and from there chess developed into a worldwide sport. Although it takes years to master the game, the basic rules of chess are very simple to learn.

Things You'll Need

Chess set

Instructions

- 1
  Set up the 64-square chess board with the first two rows on opposite sides being reserved for the chess pieces. The front row is for pawns. On the first row the order of pieces is rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight and rook. Once set up, the white player moves first.
- 2
  Move pawns one or two spaces when initially moving them off of the front row. They may only move forward and after they are off the front row they may only move one space a turn. To capture an opponent's piece with a pawn you must move diagonally to the front. This is the only time pawns may move diagonally.
- 3
  Bishops move diagonally across the board as many spaces as are open in their path. They may only move diagonally and cannot jump pieces.
- 4
  Knights can jump pieces and move in a modified "L" shape, in that they can move two spaces to the front, rear or sides and then one space to complete the "L." For example, if you move a knight two spaces to the front, you can move it one space to the left or right, or if you move it two spaces to the right, you can move it one space to the front or rear.
- 5
  Rooks move in straight lines across the board to the front, rear or sides. Rooks may not move diagonally nor can they jump pieces.
- 6
  The queen is the most powerful piece in modern chess. She is a combination of a rook and a bishop, being able to move as many spaces as are open in a straight direction, though she cannot jump pieces.
- 7
  The king is the most important piece but also one of the most vulnerable, and the purpose of the game is to protect your own while capturing your opponent's. The king can only move one space in any direction each turn.
- 8
  Place your opponent in check by moving a piece into a position to capture your opponent's king. Once in check, your opponent must either capture the piece you placed them in check with or move their king to a safe square. They cannot move their king into another square which will put them in check.
- 9
  Win the game by placing your opponent in checkmate, which means their king has no safe square to move out of check.

Chess & Checkers