Hobbies And Interests
Chess Board
A chessboard has assigned letters and numbers for every square. The letters are the first eight letters of the alphabet. They are in a horizontal line a b c d e f g h and the numbers go 1 through 8 in a vertical line. Each square has a corresponding letter and a number. Therefore; the first corner square on the left is a1, and the corner on the right is h1.
The Movement of Pieces
White pieces always move first. Alternatively, take turns with the colors.
Pawns move one or two spaces straight ahead if they are still located on their original setup spots--e2 to e4, for example. Otherwise, they only move one square forward, such as from d2 to d3. Pawns capture diagonally, while all other pieces capture the same way that they move. A pawn located on square f2 threatens e3 and g3, but it cannot move there if that was not an occupied spot. Once the pawns reach the last row, which is row 8 for white pieces and row 1 for black pieces, they can become any piece you'd like.
Rooks move into any square in an open straight row or column. A rook on square h1 can move to any square in that column if there are no more pieces in that column. Also, if row 1 is free of any pieces, the rook can move anywhere in that row.
Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces. Knights' moves resemble an L. A knight in its initial position on b1 can move into a3, c3 or d2, for example.
Bishops move diagonally only. The bishop located on square c1 will end up on the black squares for the rest of the game, and the bishop located on f1 will always end up on the white squares.
Queens can move and capture the same way as a bishop or a rook. Kings move only one square in any direction. If you have a king on square g2, he can move to any square that is within one square of g2. Kings can only capture an unprotected piece; if a king captured a protected piece, it would be an illegal move because the king would put himself in check.
Touch Move
The piece you touch, you move. If you touch a chess piece and then realize that it is not the move you'd like to make, you still have to move that piece. However, if you have not let go of the piece yet, you can choose a different spot for it. If you do let go of the piece, then you cannot change its location.
Game's Finale
Stalemate is reached when the king is not in check (under threat, which means that if the king does not move, he will be captured during your opponent's next move) and there are no more legal moves available. You have to remove your king from the check by either moving the king or putting another piece to block the check. Checkmate is reached when the king is in check and he has no more moves left to protect himself. A draw is the final result when both sides only have their kings left; a stalemate is reached or when both players agree upon a draw.