Rules of Chess

Objective

The objective of chess is to checkmate your opponent's king. This means putting the enemy king into a position where it cannot escape capture.

Game Setup

• The chessboard is an 8x8 grid with alternating dark and light squares.
• Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns.
• The pieces are set up on the board in a specific way: the two rows closest to each player are filled with their pieces, with the pawns in the front row and the other pieces behind them.
• The board is set up so that each player's bottom-right square is a light square.

Movement of Pieces

• Each type of piece moves in a specific way:
  • The king can move one square in any direction.
  • The queen can move any number of squares in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
  • Rooks can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
  • Knights move in an L-shape: two squares in one direction (horizontal or vertical), and then one square perpendicular to that.
  • Bishops move any number of squares diagonally.
  • Pawns move forward one square, but on their first move, they have the option to move forward two squares. Pawns capture diagonally one square forward.
• Pieces cannot move through other pieces, except for the knight, which can jump over other pieces.
• If a piece moves to a square occupied by an opponent's piece, that piece is captured and removed from the board.

Special Moves

Castling

If neither the king nor the rook being used for castling has moved before, and if there are no pieces between them, the king can move two squares towards the rook, and the rook jumps over the king to the square next to it. This is a special move to safeguard the king and activate the rook.

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 it as if it had only moved one square forward. This must be done immediately after the double-square pawn move; otherwise, the opportunity is lost.

Pawn promotion

When a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, it can be promoted to any other piece (except a king) of the same color.

Check and Checkmate

• If a player's king is under threat of capture (but not yet captured), it is said to be in check. The player must make a move to remove the threat of capture.
• If a player's king is in check and there is no legal move to remove the threat, it is checkmate, and the game is over. The player whose king is checkmated loses the game.

Stalemate and Draw

• Stalemate occurs when the player to move has no legal move and their king is not in check. In this case, the game is drawn (a tie), as the player is not in checkmate but has no legal moves.
• Draw by insufficient material: If neither player has enough pieces to force a checkmate (for example, king versus king, king and bishop versus king), the game is drawn.
• Draw by repetition: If the same position occurs three times with the same player to move and the same possible moves available, the game is drawn.

Ending the Game

• The game can end in checkmate, stalemate, or a draw by agreement between the players, insufficient material, or threefold repetition.
• If a player is unable to make a legal move (often called a dead position), the game ends.

Art and Literature

Chess has a rich history intertwined with art and literature. Two notable works stand out:

Scacchi ludus (1527) by Marco Girolamo Vida

This poem depicts a chess game between gods on Mount Olympus. Its beauty captured readers' attention, inspiring later works like Jan Kochanowski's Chess poem

Caïssa: or The Game of Chess (1772) by William Jones

This poem introduced Caïssa, a mythical figure representing the spirit of chess.

These works have had a lasting influence on chess culture. They have been referenced in literature, game analysis, and even art. Both Scacchi ludus and Caïssa remain important aspects of chess's cultural heritage.