Chess for Beginners: Basic Rules You Need To Know

Chess is a popular game in the world played both competitively and for fun. Either way, you have to be acquainted with the basic chess rules to enjoy the game. Some of the basic chess rules you need to know include:

Setting Up the Chessboard

This is the first step in playing the chess game. The chessboard is set in a position where each player has a white colour on their right side. The next step is to arrange the chess pieces. In the first row, the rooks are in the corners, then two knights follow, followed by two bishops then the queen and king are last. The queen is placed on a square that matches its colour. On the second row, fill all squares with pawns.

Know How to Move Each Piece

Each piece in chess has unique moves. The king should move only one square in any direction. The queen is the most powerful piece and can move as far as possible in any direction provided she doesn’t move through her pieces. The rook can only move backwards, sideways and forward. Rooks work together and protect each other. Bishops can only move diagonally and once it makes a move, it should maintain the same colour. Knights are unique in that they move two squares in one direction then make a 90-degree turn. Pawns move forward one square at a time unless it’s the first move, whereby they can move up to two squares.

Who Should Make the First Move?

Basic rules of chess require that the player using the white pieces makes the first move. The decision on who makes the first move is arrived at by the players. They can do it by tossing a coin. The player with the white pieces is always advantaged because they can start an attack immediately.