Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Understanding the Game, Board, and Pieces
• Part 2 of 3: Gameplay
• Part 3 of 3: Game Strategy
• Tips
• Warnings

Chess is an incredibly fun and addictive game that requires skill and strategic thinking. For centuries, it has been popular with intellectuals and scientists. However, you don't need to be a genius to play chess: even children know how to play and often beat adults. Read this article and learn how to play chess - one of the best board games.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Understanding the Game, Board, and Pieces

1. 1 Examine the types of figures and how each one moves. Each piece moves around the board in its own way.Listed below are the names of the pieces and how each moves (not counting a couple of exceptions, to which we'll come back).
   • Pawn: the most basic piece in the game (each player has 8). On her first move, she can move forward one or two squares, but after that she can only move forward one square. Pawns can beat pieces that are in front of them on an adjacent square on a diagonal. The pawn cannot move backward and is the only piece that moves and hits in different ways.
   • Rook looks like a fortress tower. She walks horizontally and vertically to any number of cells. In this case, the rook can beat the opponent's pieces at the end of its move.
   • Horse looks like its name and is the most cunning figure. He walks with the letter "L" two cells horizontally and then one vertically or one cell horizontally and two vertically in any direction. The knight is the only piece that can "jump" over other pieces, both his own and those of others. He can only take those opponent's pieces that are on the last square of his move.
   • Elephant moves only diagonally and can move any number of squares. At the end of the turn, he can beat the opponent's pieces.
   • Queen: the strongest figure (usually with a more feminine crown than the king). He can move any number of squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally and take opponent's pieces in any of these directions.
   • King can walk or take pieces one square away from itself in any direction. This piece should not be given up for any price, as this would mean the loss of the game. The king cannot be put in check. If, as a result of the opponent's move, the king is in check, he must be immediately withdrawn or covered. If one of the players checkmates the king, he wins the game.
   • Remember that every shape has a relative value.
     • The king is most valuable and must be protected.
     • The queen is the most versatile piece that is great for attack and double hits. The queen combines the strength of the bishop and the rook. He is considered the most valuable piece after the king.
     • Knights are great for surprise attacks and forks. Their unusual way of walking is often a surprise to beginners.
     • Bishops show their strength perfectly in open positions. Beginners often underestimate elephants and don't take full advantage of them.
     • Rooks are strong ranged pieces. They show their full strength in open verticals.
     • Pawns may seem like a little tricky, but they are great for sacrificing them to capture a stronger piece. Sometimes a pawn can checkmate the king himself!
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Vitaly Neimer

   
   
   International Chess Master Vitaly Neymer is an International Chess Master and a certified professional chess coach with over 15 years of coaching experience. He was a member of the US national chess team SPICE (Webster University) and twice became the champion of Israel.

   Vitaly Neimer
   International Chess Master

   Determine for what purpose you want to learn to play. Perhaps you want to join a club, or perhaps become a master. How long you have to study depends on your goals. If you want to become a master or world champion, you need to find a coach to guide you. There are also books, YouTube channels, and you can even watch games on Twitch.

2. 2 Find out what a shah is. If the king is attacked by one of the opponent's pieces, then they say that he is in check. If the king is checked, he MUST immediately get out of check. This can be done in one of three ways:
   • to be like the king in the cell where no one attacks him, that is, where he is not in check;
   • beat the piece that announced check;
   • to close one of your pieces from check - this method is not suitable if the check is declared by a pawn or knight;
   • if the king cannot get away from the check with his next move, then he is checkmated - in this case the game ends, and the one who put the checkmate wins.
3. 3 Understand the basic principle of chess. In chess, you are trying to checkmate your opponent's king, and he is yours. This is the main goal, and the second most important, obviously, is to protect your king from mate. To do this, you need to destroy as many of the opponent's pieces as possible and at the same time try to save your pieces.
   • Chess is an intellectual strategy game. There are many moves and rules that beginners cannot immediately foresee and understand. Be patient! The fun begins with practice.
4. 4 Arrange the shapes. Now that you know how each piece moves, you can place them on the chessboard. Place it so that each player has a white square at the bottom right. Here's how to place the pieces.
   • Place all the pawns on the second row in front of you so that a wall of pawns separates you from your opponent.
   • Place each rook in a corner on your side of the board.
   • Place a knight next to each rook and a bishop next to each knight.
   • Place the queen on the left square of the remaining two in accordance with its color (the black queen should be on the black square, the white one on the white one).
   • Finally, place the king on the last remaining square. Make sure your partner has the same body arrangement. Queens and kings must face each other.
5. 5 If you're serious about it, learn chess notation. Each field on the board has a letter and a number. If someone says "knight to c3," c3 means a specific square on the board. This makes it easier to record chess games. Chess notation is described in this article.

Part 2 of 3: Gameplay

1. 1 White moves first. They choose the piece they want to be like and start playing the opening. White makes the first move and Black answers. Debut is one of the most important stages of the game. There is no single right way to play it, as everyone has their own style. You will find your style too. However, there are a few things to keep in mind.
   • Don't rush to attack immediately. In the opening, you are simply looking for the most comfortable positions for your pieces. They should be placed in favorable and safe positions.
   • As a rule, at the very beginning of the game you shouldn't make more than two moves with pawns. Next, pay attention to the stronger pieces - bishops, knights, queen and rook. "Develop" the pieces until they take advantageous positions (for example, in the center of the board).
   • Much in the opening depends on the opponent's moves - you need to carefully look at his play. Watch your opponent's moves and try to figure out what he wants. In chess, like in no other game, it is important to be able to guess the intentions of the opponent.
2. 2 Remember the rule of taking on the aisle. Many beginners forget this rule. However, if you want to learn how to play chess better, remember the following rule:
   • As you remember, your pawn can move two squares forward on its first move. Suppose that you do this, and your pawn stops near (that is, on the same rank) with the opponent's pawn. On the next and only next move, your opponent can take your pawn. on the aisle... Usually the pawn only beats obliquely, and in this situation it can beat the opponent's pawn on the pass and move one square diagonally, as usual.
   • Again, this can only happen immediately after the pawn has moved like two squares on its first move. After a turn, this opportunity is lost. Only pawns can beat on the aisle. Other figures can not beat a pawn on the aisle.
3. 3 Take turns. And let there be a game! Alternate moves with your opponent, try to get to the enemy king and eliminate the pieces standing in your way. Try to attack your opponent's queen and king first, although there are many other opportunities to win.
   • It may seem that the pawns are just getting underfoot, but do not rush to sacrifice them. If one of them goes to the opposite edge of the board, it turns into any other piece (except the king)! Usually the queen is put, but you can turn the pawn into something else, for example, into a knight, rook or bishop. If you manage to get a pawn to the last rank, it will greatly affect the course of the game.
4. 4 Always think a few moves ahead. If you put your horse here, what happens? Will you expose him to the blow of your opponent's pieces? Do you have time to attack, or does your king (or queen) need to be defended? How can you attack your opponent? Where will the game turn in the next few turns? What position can arise in a few moves?
   • This is not a game where you can thoughtlessly rearrange the pieces - they all influence each other in one way or another. Carelessness can lead to the fact that your own pawn will stand in the way of your bishop, the king will be protected only by the knight, and the opponent's rook will unexpectedly attack your queen. Therefore, plan your moves and, if possible, predict the moves of your opponent. You will have to show all your skill to win!
   • Always take countermeasures whenever possible. You can substitute a pawn under the opponent's bishop if you capture it with your knight on the next move. Sometimes you have to make well-planned sacrifices.
5. 5 Learn to castle. Besides capturing a pawn on the pass, there is another special move. This is a castling involving a king and a rook. Castling is the only case where two pieces move at the same time. When castling, the king and rook change places - this allows you to hide the king and bring the rook out, killing two birds with one stone. As a result, the king finds himself in a safe hiding place.
   • For castling, the following conditions are required:
     • the king and rook participating in the castling have not yet moved;
     • the king is not in check;
     • there are no other pieces between the king and rook;
     • when castling, the king does not pass through the cells that are under attack by the opponent's pieces.
   • The king and the rook move simultaneously in one move. First, you need to move the king two squares towards the rook, and then put the rook on the square behind the king. When castling to the right, the king moves two squares to the right, and the rook moves two squares to the left. When castling to the left, the king moves two squares to the left, and the rook moves three squares to the right.
6. 6 Checkmate your opponent's king and win the game. You should check the opponent's king, from which he cannot hide. You can declare "checkmate!", Although this is not necessary. In this case, the opponent puts his king on the board, which signals his defeat.
   • Sometimes a stalemate occurs, in which case the game ends in a draw. With a stalemate, the player whose turn it is to move does not have the opportunity to move anywhere with the king or other pieces, and at the same time his king is not in check.
   • There are several other situations in which the game can end in a draw.
     • By agreement of both players. If both players feel that they cannot win, they can agree to a draw.
     • As a result of the repetition of moves. If same the position is repeated on the board three times, the game ends in a draw. For example, if both players of the player repeatedly move their knights to the same squares, a draw is fixed.
     • According to the 50-move rule. If none of the players can move a pawn or capture an opponent's piece within 50 moves, the game ends in a draw. This prevents the endless continuation of the game and the possibility of taking the enemy "out of the blue."
     • With insufficient material. If both opponents do not have enough pieces to checkmate, the game ends in a draw. For example, a king and a knight cannot checkmate a lone king.
     • If only kings are left on the board. This is a special case of insufficient material, since you cannot checkmate with one king. In this case, the game ends in a draw.

Part 3 of 3: Game Strategy

1. 1 Use all shapes. For example, do not move too long with one knight just because it can be checked. Use all your troops! One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is using only a few of their shapes. At the same time, the rest of the pieces lag behind in development and become easy prey for the opponent. Liven up the game and keep your opponent on the alert.
   • In the opening, advance a few pawns one or two squares forward, and then start moving with other pieces. This will allow you to bring more pieces from the first rank, they will easily come into play and will increase your attacking potential.
2. 2 Control the center. Since pieces can move in different directions from there, control of the center is more important than the flanks. When you dominate in the center, your pieces are more flexible than at the edges and corners of the board. For example, if the horse is in the corner, it can only do two different moves, while in the center the number of moves increases to eight! Try to gain control of the center of the board as soon as possible.
   • That is why many people start the game with their central pawns. Just make sure that you do not substitute your king under checkmate from a well-placed bishop or queen!
3. 3 Don't give up your pieces for no reason. While this is pretty obvious, many players (even grandmasters!) Sometimes lose their pieces. If you must give up a piece, try to exchange it for something. Never give up pieces thoughtlessly - they are all valuable, from pawn to queen. The significance of each figure can be roughly estimated in points. The more valuable the figure, the more points it is evaluated:
   • pawn - 1 point;
   • horse - 3 points;
   • elephant - 3 points;
   • rook - 5 points;
   • queen - 9 points;
   • the king is priceless, as losing it means losing the game.
4. 4 Protect your king. This should be given special attention. Even if you do not do anything else and do not really like to attack, then simply are obliged protect your king. Hide him in the corner with castling, cover him with a few pawns, and provide escape routes in case your opponent checks. After that, attack yourself so that your opponent starts thinking about fleeing rather than attacking, and the sooner the better.
   • In the beginning and middle of a game, the king alone can do little. In these stages of the game, the king almost always needs a cover from checks in the form of several pieces. However, at the end of the game, when there are few pieces and few pawns left on the board, the king turns into a full-fledged fighting unit, and he should be brought to the center of the board.

Tips

• Watch your opponent's moves carefully. They will affect your moves, but not the plan you want to implement.
• Learn from mistakes. As a beginner, you are simply bound to make mistakes. Even grandmasters yawn and lose.
• You can assume that you have fully developed your pieces when your king has castled, bishops and knights are removed from their starting positions, and the space between the rooks is free.
• Try to keep a large number of pieces in the center of the board. The more pawns you leave behind, the better they will cover your king.
• Don't be discouraged by frequent losses. It takes some time to learn how to play chess - many masters took more than 10 years to do this!
• Learn a few chess traps in order to use them yourself and not fall for the tricks of your opponent.
• Move your pawns deliberately. Unlike other pieces, pawns cannot return to the square from which they left. They are quite clumsy, and the position of the pawns largely determines the course of a chess game.
• Don't try to checkmate quickly. If you focus all your efforts on trying to checkmate quickly, your opponent may punish you for it.
• Nobody knows the recipe for a 100% win. There is no method in chess that would allow you to win a game for sure.
• It is best to place the pieces on the four central squares, since here their mobility is maximum. Thus, you will increase the number of your possible moves and reduce the choice of your opponent.
• Sometimes castling is dangerous and can lead to a loss. In other cases, you can even checkmate your opponent's king by castling! Make decisions based on your specific position on the board.

Warnings

• Rapid chess is not for beginners. They are challenging, competitive, and create self-doubt for beginners.
• Chess pieces can be dangerous for young children - they can swallow them.