The Complete Chess Course From Beginning To Winning Chess! (2016)
Book One
The Basic Rules of Chess
Chess is played by two opponents, “White” and “Black,” who take turns making their moves. White always makes the first move. The chessboard (Diagram 1) has eight horizontal rows (“ranks”) and eight vertical rows (“files”). Each row is therefore made up of eight squares.
All 64 squares are used in the play, and in order to make it easier to tell them apart, they are alternately light colored (“light squares”) and dark colored (“dark squares”). (D)
The Chessboard
At the beginning of a game, each player has 16 chessmen, always placed as in Diagram 2. (D)
The Opening Position
White always takes the light colored chessmen; Black has the dark colored chessmen. The names of the forces shown in Diagram 2 are:
An important point to remember is that in the opening position the right-hand corner square nearest to White must be a light square.
Another important point about the opening position: the two queens face each other along the same vertical row (“the d-file”). Each queen is placed on a square of its own color, the white queen on a light square, the black queen on a dark square.
Both kings likewise face each other across the e-file.
The king bishop is placed next to the king, on the f-file.
The king knight is placed next to the king bishop, on the g-file.
The king rook is placed next to the king knight, on the h-file.
The queen bishop is placed next to the queen, on the c-file.
The queen knight is placed next to the queen bishop, on the b-file.
The queen rook is placed next to the queen knight, on the a-file.
The white pawns are set out on the second row (“the second rank”), in front of the pieces just named.
The black pawns are set out on the seventh row (“the seventh rank”), in front of the pieces just named.
Each pawn is named for the file it stands on.
Thus, the pawn on the e-file (where the kings begin the game) is the e-pawn.
How the Pieces Move
Each of the men moves in a different way. In describing the moves it is necessary to refer to ranks, files, and also diagonals. (A diagonal is a row of squares of the same color all going in the same direction. In Diagram 2 the row of light squares from White’s king rook to Black’s queen rook is a diagonal.)
The King
The king (subject to limitations that are described later on) moves one square in any direction. (D)
White’s king has eight possible moves, indicated by an “X.”
The king captures the same way it moves; when it captures an enemy piece it displaces that piece (occupies the square of the captured unit). (D)
White’s king can capture any one of the black men.
The Queen
The queen is the most powerful of all the chess forces. Like the king, the queen can move in any direction - but with this important difference: the queen can move the whole length of any available line, as long as there is no obstacle in the way. (D)
The queen can move to any of the squares indicated by an “X”; it moves in only one direction at a time.
There are two possible obstacles: friendly pieces, which the queen cannot displace or leap over; or enemy pieces, which can be captured by displacement. (D)
The white queen can capture the black rook or bishop or either black knight.
The Rook
The rook (next most powerful piece after the queen) moves horizontally (on ranks) or vertically (on files) - one direction at a time. (D)
The rook can move to any square indicated by an “X.”
The rook captures hostile pieces by displacement, but it cannot displace or leap over its own forces. The rook captures in the same way it moves. (Some players call the rook a “castle,” but “rook” is the proper term.) (D)
The rook can capture the bishop or knight, but not the pawn.
The Bishop
The bishop, moving in one direction at a time, moves and captures diagonally. (D)
The bishop can move to any of the squares indicated by an “X.”
The bishop captures hostile pieces by displacement. It cannot displace or leap over its own forces. (D)
The bishop can capture either of the black pawns.
The Knight
The knight is the only piece that can leap over other units - his own or the opponent’s. The knight is also the only piece that has a move of fixed length. It moves a total of three squares - in either one of two ways:
(a) One square forward or backward; then two squares to the right or left.
(b) One square to the right or left; then two squares forward or backward.
The knight captures only on the terminal square of his move, displacing the piece it captures. (D)
The knight has the option of moving to any square indicated by an “X.”
This is one of the eight possible moves available to the knight in Diagram 11.
Note that the knight changes the color of its square each time it moves. It goes from a light square to a dark square or from a dark square to a light square. (D)
The white knight can capture Black’s bishop.
The knight leaps over two pawns to capture the most distant pawn.
The Pawn
The pawn is the only unit that is limited to moving in only one direction: straight ahead.
With one exception (to be noted shortly), a pawn moves one square forward unless its path is blocked by one of its own units or by a hostile unit.
The path for white pawns (as seen in Diagram 2) is directly forward from the opening position. How a white pawn moves is shown in detail on Diagrams 15 and 16. (D)
The white pawn is about to move.
The white pawn has moved.
The path for black pawns (likewise seen in Diagram 2) is also directly forward from the opening position. How a black pawn moves is shown in Diagrams 17 and 18. (D)
The black pawn is about to move.
The black pawn has moved.
The pawn has one important option. When any pawn is moved from its opening position - even if this occurs at a late stage of the game - that pawn on its first move has the option of moving one square or two. Thus, in Diagram 2 (the opening position) all the pawns, while on the second rank (for White; seventh for Black) have the option of moving one square or two. (D)
White has accepted his option by advancing his e-pawn two squares.
Black has done likewise.
White has accepted the option of advancing his e-pawn two squares. Black, however, has advanced his d-pawn one square.
The pawn’s capturing methods differ from the way it moves.
The pawn moves by advancing straight along a file. In capturing, however, the pawn can take a hostile unit only if it is located on either of the diagonally-forward adjoining squares - that is, one square forward to the right or left. (D)
The white pawn can capture the black bishop.
The pawn cannot capture a hostile unit which is directly in front of it. (D)
The white pawn cannot capture the black bishop.