I want to learn how to play chess. How to almost always win at chess. Independent study of chess from scratch
The history of the appearance of chess is lost in the mists of time. The honor of invention intellectual games are ready to ascribe to themselves several Asian countries at once. According to the most common opinion, the most similar to modern ones in India in the middle of the first millennium of our era.
That game - it was called chaturanga - was played by four players, and the pieces of each of the quartet players were placed at the corners of a 64-cell board. Gradually, not only the name of the table competition was modified, but also its concept. If initially the game was an imitation of a military battle, then over time chess turned into a purely intellectual competition. The military component remained only in appearance figures and in part of their names.
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Chess reached Europe in a roundabout way through the Middle East and North Africa. The Arabs who conquered Spain brought them to the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. About 500 years later, the first stable rules of chess were formed in Europe, with minor changes that have survived to this day.
Board
There are 64 fields - 32 black and 32 white. The right near playing field for each player must be white. Horizontal rows are numbered from 1 to 8, vertical rows are indicated by Latin letters from a to h. This makes it possible to reduce the recording of even a relatively long chess game to a small set of codes consisting of letters and numbers.
When analyzing games and in their text, in addition to verticals and horizontals, the following terms are also used:
- diagonal (an oblique row of one-color cells adjacent to each other at the corners);
– queenside (four verticals from the center of the board to the left);
– kingside (four verticals from the center of the board to the right);
– center (cells d4, d5, e4, e5).
The initial position of the figures
The 16 pieces that the opponents have are located on the extreme horizontals - 1-2 for the player playing with white, and 7-8 for the partner playing with black pieces. Eight pawns, standing on the second rank for White and on the seventh for Black, seem to cover the formation of the main pieces. Behind them, the pieces are arranged in the following sequence (from left to right): White's rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight and rook. For black pieces, the queen and king seem to change places, but they still stand on the d and e verticals, respectively.
Making moves
The moves are performed in turn, and the right of the first move always belongs to White. A move must not end on a square occupied by one's own piece or pawn. All chessmen have their own range of moves, from narrow for the king and pawns, to wide for the queen, bishop or rook.
figures
King
Despite the formidable name, the king is the weakest piece. Its movement range is limited to one square in all directions. The exception is castling, during which the king moves two squares along the initial horizontal. In the records of the games, the king in Russian is designated Kr, in English K.
Queen
The strongest piece on the board. Can freely move vertically, diagonally and horizontally. There are positions from which the queen can attack up to 27 cells at once. In order to correctly place the queen, sometimes called the queen, there is a mnemonic rule "The queen loves her color." In Russian records, the queen corresponds to the symbol Ф, in English - Q.
Rook
This piece can move to any number of cells available on the board, but only strictly horizontally or vertically. It can also jump over its own king, but only during castling. The symbolic designation of the rook is L or R.
Horse
This is the only piece on the board, which at any time can jump over any piece, its own or someone else's. That is, even being completely surrounded by the opponent's pieces, the knight can theoretically escape, while for other pieces the environment is often fatal. The knight’s movement scheme is similar to the letter “G”: two cells forward, backward, right or left, and then one cell to the side (shown in the figure).
Elephant
Elephants are unique in that they can only move on squares of the same color. This feature is due to the fact that their movement is performed diagonally. Therefore, they are called black-field and white-field. The elephant can overcome any available number of cells. For brevity in writing, this figure is denoted C or B in the English version.
Pawn
Slow-moving and rather powerless pawns can become a formidable force. Initially, the pawn can move forward two squares, then it either moves one square forward, or, if you're lucky, captures an opponent's piece standing on the diagonally nearest square to the left or right. The pawn can make a promotion. If the player has brought it to the extreme opposite horizontal, he has the right to turn the pawn into any other piece at his discretion. Whether there is such a piece on the board or not, it does not matter. Thus, theoretically, 9 queens can appear on the board at once (one initially + 8 “promoted” pawns). In the record, a pawn is denoted either by the Russian letter p or the English p, but most often they simply indicate the square on which the pawn stopped without a letter - e4.
Castling
The already mentioned castling is a unique move. With it, two pieces move at once - a rook and a king. When performing castling, there should be no other pieces between them, and the rook and king themselves should be in their initial positions. Castlings are long and short. In both, the king moves two squares to the left or right. The rook in long castling jumps over the head of the king by three squares from the corner horizontally, and in short castling by two. Formally, any castling is a move of the king. The king cannot move away from the check with the help of castling, as well as castling through the field under check. Castling is most useful for establishing a defensive position early in the game.
Capturing a piece
In common parlance, instead of the official term "capture", the piece is declared killed. This happens when the piece is on the trajectory of the opponent's piece and is not protected by anything. In this case, it is removed from the board, and the piece that “killed” it takes its place. The exceptions are the knight and pawn. The knight can capture someone else's piece only at the end point of its move. The pawn, on the other hand, captures the opponent's piece diagonally, although its own movement is strictly rectilinear. And a pawn can also capture someone else's pawn on the aisle if it makes a move two cells through the field that is under attack. Capturing is not required in chess. And if the opponent does not pay attention to the danger to his piece, it is worth considering whether he is sacrificing it for the sake of far-reaching plans.
Special situations
shah
A check is when the king is directly attacked by one or more pieces. Since according to the rules the king cannot be taken, its owner must leave the check on the next move. Own pieces can only be moved to protect the king from a check.
Pat
A stalemate situation arises if the king is not in check, and the chess player playing him cannot make a single move according to the rules (of course, you cannot put the king under check with your own hands). In this situation, the game is considered to have ended in a draw.
Mat
The most obvious result of a chess game. The king of one of the opponents is under attack, which cannot be repelled. The owner of such a king loses the game.
Possible outcomes
The game can end in the victory of one of the opponents or in a draw. A chess player can checkmate an opponent. Also, the opponent can admit defeat if the situation seems hopeless to him due to the large material advantage of the opponent. Players can agree to a draw on their own, but there are situations when they are forced to do so. If one player has a king and a knight left, and the other has a king and a bishop, it is impossible to win the game without an opponent's gross mistake. At a higher level, a draw is sometimes fixed when the same moves are repeated three times.
The simplest combinations
There are several simple combinations with which you can achieve a material advantage through a couple of witty moves.
Fork
A move after which the knight attacks two opponent's pieces at once, for example, two rooks or a rook and a queen. One of the heavy pieces will inevitably be taken. Even in the event of a subsequent capture of the knight, the exchange will be profitable. In the picture below, White can take one of the rooks out of the attack by moving it one square horizontally. After the knight captures the second rook, it, in turn, will also be captured, but black will receive a serious material advantage.
Victim
Reception is often used and varied. It is used as a diversionary maneuver, to develop the pace or in order to subsequently return the losses to your advantage. By giving up or unevenly exchanging a piece (a rook for a bishop or a knight), a player can improve his position, profitably recover his losses in a few moves, and even organize a decisive attack.
With all the variety of chess, it has been calculated that if we evaluate the significance of pieces in pawns, then a knight or bishop can be conditionally equated to three pawns. A rook is worth twice as much, but a “queen” costs nine pawns or three minor pieces at once. From these ratios it is clear that, for example, the size of a bishop and a pawn per rook is not worth venturing into. Although chess positions are too diverse and there is no universal recipe for exchanges.
Don't get too carried away with pressure on the opponent, even if there is an advantage in pieces. A swift attack on your king can lead to checkmate even with the largest material advantage.
The queen is the strongest piece on the board, but you should not immediately bring him into battle in the opening. He will immediately be under attack by the opponent's minor pieces, and you will be forced to react with the development of your own pieces. The queen must move to positions already prepared for attack. In you need to strive to bring elephants and horses into the open.
And the main thing for a novice chess player is attention and concentration. And great champions lost games due to one bad move or underestimation of the opponent's move. You need to strive to constantly analyze not only your future moves, but also the moves of your opponent, because he also conceives some kind of attacks or combinations. Their underestimation, as well as their own inattention, can lead to the loss of the game.
Chessboard and pieces
Board. A chess game is played on a board consisting of 64 squares, alternately light (white squares) and dark (black squares). Rows of fields are called lines, which can be verticals, horizontals and diagonals.
Each horizontal line is numbered from 1 to 8. Each vertical line is numbered in Latin letters from "A" to "H". Each field of the board has its own coordinates, which are formed by writing the name of the vertical and the number of the horizontal. For example: h2
d7
The board during the game is positioned so that each partner has a white corner field on the right. If this requirement is violated, the resulting position is considered impossible. The game should be interrupted. The position of the board is corrected. Then the created position is transferred to it. After that, the party continues.
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A |
B |
C |
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F |
G |
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Figures. There are kings, heavy (queens, rooks), light (knights, bishops) pieces and pawns. Sometimes pawns are not classified as pieces.
The initial position of the figures is shown in the diagram. If they are located otherwise, the position is considered impossible.
The concept of a move
The partner who has white pieces starts (the right to speak). Then, until the game is over, the moves are made alternately. The color of the partners' figures in amateur games is determined by lot, and in competitions - by the rules of conduct. If a game is erroneously started by a participant playing black pieces, it is annulled and played again. When counting the moves made, White's move followed by Black's response is taken as one.
The player is called the partner, for whom it is the turn of the move.
Definition of a move. A move is the movement of a piece from one square to another, free or occupied by an opponent's piece. Castling changes the position of the king and rook. Except for the knight and rook, when it moves through the king during castling, the pieces cannot cross the occupied squares.
A move to a square occupied by an opponent's piece means its capture, and it must be immediately removed from the board (see below for a capture "on the aisle").
Shape moves. The king moves to any adjacent square that is not attacked.
Castling is a double move with the movement of the king and rook: first, the king moves two squares towards the rook, which is then transferred over it to the adjacent square. If the player touches the rook, and then the king, then castling is impossible. The move must be made in accordance with the "Touching a piece" rule.
If the player first touches the king and then the rook (or both pieces at the same time), but castling is impossible, then a move by the king or castling in the opposite direction must be made. It may turn out that these requirements are not feasible. Then touching the figure does not entail any consequences. The player has the right to continue the game with any move. Castling is completely impossible: 1) if the king has already moved 2) with a rook that has previously moved.
When castling, the king cannot cross the square attacked by the opponent's pieces.
If the king of one of the sides was attacked on the previous move (a check was announced), then on the current move the player must eliminate the attacked king: move the king out of the attack, close the king from the attacking piece, or cut down the attacking piece.
The queen moves to any square vertically, horizontally and diagonally on which it is located.
The rook moves to any square vertically and horizontally on which it is located.
The bishop moves to any square along the diagonals on which it is located.
The knight walks in a kind of zigzag - through the adjacent field (even occupied) vertically or horizontally, then moving away from the starting position to one of the adjacent fields diagonally.
The pawn only moves forward. In the general case - vertically to an adjacent free field, and from the initial position - through one. A capture by a pawn is possible only diagonally on an adjacent square and, again, moving forward.
A pawn attacking a square that has been crossed by two squares by an opponent's pawn can take the last one as if it had come under its attack. Such a capture "on the aisle" is permissible only on the first return move.
White moves the pawn b2-b4, immediately in response to this, Black can take on the aisle, moving his pawn from c4 to b3 and removing the white pawn from the b4 square.
Upon reaching the last (eighth for white and first for black) rank, the pawn is immediately replaced (as part of the same square) with a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its color. The choice of a new piece does not depend on those remaining on the board. It can be, for example, the second queen, the third knight, etc. This substitution is called pawn promotion. The action of a piece that appears on the board begins immediately.
End of move. A move is considered made when: the player, having moved a piece to a free field, took his hand away from it; removed from the board during the capture of the opponent's piece, in place of which the player put his own, interrupting the touch of his hand with it; during castling, the player took his hand away from the rook placed on the square crossed by the king; the pawn moved to the last rank is replaced by a new piece, from which the player has removed (interrupted touch) his hand. If the hand is released from the pawn placed on the promotion square, the move is not completed, but to move the pawn in a different way, i.e. it is impossible to change the place of its transformation.
When it is determined whether a set number of moves have been made at a given time, the last (control) move is not considered completed until the player has switched the clock. This rule does not apply to some of the situations noted in the "Finished Batch" article of the Code.
If a position of checkmate or stalemate occurs on the board, and the player, having moved the piece, did not have time to switch the clock before the flag fell, it is considered that the game ended with a checkmate or stalemate, respectively, regardless of the clock reading.
touching the figure. Having warned in advance about his intention (by saying “correcting”), the player can correct the location of the pieces on the fields. Otherwise, when intentionally touching: one or more pieces of the same color, he must go first touched, and if this is an enemy piece, then take it; one of his pieces and one piece of the partner, the latter must be captured, and if this is not possible, a move is made by the touched piece or the capture of the enemy, which the player has touched. If it is impossible to determine which figure is touched first, we must assume that this is one's own piece.
When touching pieces that do not have possible moves and cannot be taken, the player has the right to make any move. An application for violation by a partner of the article of the Code “Touching a piece” must be made without touching the pieces.
The task of the game. Mat.
The goal of a game of chess is to checkmate the opponent's king.
Mat- an irresistible attack on the king. With a checkmate, he cannot evade or be covered from a blow, and the defense by capturing an attacking piece is also excluded.
Impossible positions
The occurrence of impossible positions is caused by a violation of the rules of the game. The Code deals with a number of such cases. In other cases, it is recommended to make decisions by analogy.
General principle: Impossible positions are corrected only if incorrect positions are found before the end of the game (including when the result is determined by the award). Depending on the nature of the violations, the game may be continued or annulled and replayed.
| Situation | Solution |
|---|---|
| Made an impossible move | The position where the error was made is restored. The game continues with the rule "Touching a piece". If it is not possible to identify the irregularity, the game is played again. |
| Pieces are moved and then placed incorrectly | If the position cannot be restored, the game is played again. |
| Making a move, the player unintentionally knocked over one or more pieces | The player must restore the position of the pieces without switching the clock, otherwise the judge may change the clock. |
| In the initial position, the pieces were placed incorrectly | If an error is discovered before the end of the game, the replay starts again. |
| The game started with the wrong color of pieces | If the fourth part of the time has elapsed before the general control, then the game continues. If an error is discovered earlier, the referee may order a replay of the game (in this case, the competition schedule should not be significantly disturbed). |
| Wrong position chessboard | The resulting position is transferred to a correctly positioned board, after which the game continues |
| Incorrectly executed move with promotion of a pawn | The move is cancelled. The error must be fixed by applying the rule "Touching the figure" |
| Castling done incorrectly | Same |
| Violated the rule "Touching a piece": touched one, and the move was made by another | The referee may consider the move impossible and apply sanctions if he witnessed the violation. |
| A move is made after a checkmate or stalemate position has occurred on the board, but the flag has fallen on the opponent's clock | The move is declared impossible. The game ends as soon as there is a checkmate or stalemate position. Dropping the flag doesn't matter. |
| Move made after time expired | The referee stops the clock and, if required, checks the number of moves actually made. The partner who overstayed the time is counted as a defeat. |
Win and draw. Finished party.
| Situation | Solution |
|---|---|
| Dan checkmate | The game was won by a partner who mated the opponent's king |
| One of the opponents gave up | An opponent who surrenders is considered defeated. |
| The player stopped the clock | Stopping the clock is tantamount to surrendering the game. If this happened due to a misunderstanding, the judge may limit himself to a remark or leave the incident without consequences. |
| The player has no moves, and his king is not in check | On the board - stalemate. The game is considered to have ended in a draw. |
| Partners agreed to a draw | Draw. A draw offer can only be made by the player in the interval between the move and the start of the clock. |
| A draw is offered to the player | The opponent of the player committed a violation, for which the referee must give him a warning. But a draw is considered an offer. Partner can accept or reject it |
| The player offered a draw without making a move | The partner can accept or reject the offer or delay the decision until the move is made |
| Not less than 50 last moves were without capturing a piece and without moving a pawn | At the request of the player, the game is considered to be a draw. This rule increases to 75 moves in positions with the following balance of power: 1. King, rook and bishop vs. king and rook 2. King and two knights against king and pawn 3. King, queen and pawn in front of the square of promotion against the king and queen 4. King and queen vs. king and two knights 5. King and two bishops vs king and bishop |
| Any of the partners was late for the start of the game by more than 1 hour | It is believed that the game is lost to latecomers |
| A position arose where the possibility of winning due to the nature of the remaining material is excluded for both sides (King against King, etc.) | A draw is fixed |
| The partner overstayed the time when the opponent had only one king left | A draw is fixed. A partner who has one king cannot win the game. |
| The same position appeared on the board for the third time | If the player demands, a draw must be recorded. |
| The player makes a move without demanding a draw due to the threefold repetition of the position | The party continues. The right to demand that a draw be fixed in connection with a threefold repetition of a position, the player receives if the same position on the board occurs again. |
In all cases, the offer of a draw can be rejected verbally or by making a counter move. Before the partner's decision, the one who offered a draw cannot refuse it.
When a player claims a draw due to a three-time repetition of a position or based on a 50 or 75 move rule, the referee stops the clock to check the validity of the claim (if the referee is not present, the player may stop the clock and refer to him). If the claim proves to be fair, the game ends in a draw. If it turns out that the request is erroneous, then 5 minutes are added to the clock of the applicant. In this case, the time limit may be overused. If this does not happen, then the game continues. Moreover, exactly the move with which the player associated the demand for a draw must be made.
Checking the validity of the demand for a draw with a threefold repetition of the position and according to the rule of 50 or 75 moves is carried out on another board.
If the referee erroneously recognizes the fairness of the claim, and the applicant's partner does not point out the error during the test, the tie does not change.
If the demand for a draw is rejected, the applicant may request an additional check at the expense of his time or, having stopped the game, apply to a higher authority. In the latter case, upon confirming the erroneous demand, a defeat is credited to him.
For winning a game, a participant in the competition receives 1 (one point), for a loss - 0 (zero), and for a draw, each of the partners is awarded 1/2 (half a point).
Chess clock.
Each partner must make the appropriate number of moves in a given time. Conditions are determined in advance and are included in the regulations. For control, a clock with a special device is used - a flag.
The game begins with the start of the clock of the participant playing with white pieces.
The time remaining after completing the required number of moves is cumulative. If, for example, 15 minutes are saved, and an hour is allotted for the next segment of the game, then the chess player has one hour and a quarter before the second control.
Competitions are also held, where the time limit for thinking is set immediately for all moves. In this case, the game ends with the fall of one of the flags.
The readings of the watch in the absence of obvious defects are undeniable. There may be situations that require the decision of the judge. It happens, say, that the flag remains in a suspended position, although the minute hand corresponding to the risk on the dial has passed. Has the control time really expired? The judge has the last word here. Taking into account the actual clock reading, he may consider the flag to have fallen.
In the absence of a referee, the partner must make a statement about the expiration of the opponent's control time.
A clock defect should be reported as soon as it is discovered. The participant's reference to their malfunction later than immediately after the control flag fall may be rejected.
Defective clocks must be replaced. The time used by the partners is exactly set on the new ones. If the referee decides to change it to one or both partners, then they must have at least 5 minutes left, or 1 minute for each move.
Having evidence that the clock of only one partner incorrectly reflects the elapsed time, the judge corrects only their testimony. If there are no such grounds, the time is adjusted equally on both clocks.
The clock is stopped by the referee when the game is interrupted for reasons beyond the control of the partners - to correct impossible positions, when replacing defective clocks, etc., as well as when the player demands to fix a draw due to a threefold repetition of a position or according to the rule of 50 (75) moves . In these cases, in the absence of a judge nearby, the participant can stop the clock himself in order to turn to him.
If the game continued after an impossible move or errors in the arrangement of the shifted pieces and it is impossible to determine the time used by each partner, it is charged to him in proportion to the time spent by the time the irregularity occurred.
Example. After Black's 30th move, when the clock showed 90 minutes for White and 60 minutes for Black, it was discovered that an irregularity occurred on the 20th move. The time used for the first 20 moves is set as follows: White: 90:30x20=60 minutes, Black: 60:30x20 = 40 minutes. At the same time, the partners must have at least 5 minutes or 1 minute for each move before the control.
A resignation of the game or an agreement for a draw remains valid if it is later discovered that the flag has fallen.
If both flags have fallen and it is not possible to determine which one comes first, the game continues. From the next move, a new countdown to the next control begins.
The referee should not draw the partners' attention to the fact that the opponent made a move, forgot to switch the clock, warn how many moves must be made before the control time expires, etc.
Party recording
When conducting a game, the partners are obliged to keep a record of the game. The record must be kept legible and move by move. The recording of a game can be interrupted by a partner who has less than 5 minutes left before the time control expires. After the flag falls, the missing moves must be added immediately.
There is an international system for recording parties and national ones. Which, in turn, are divided into full notation and short notation.
In the international system, the move is written in full notation as follows: The number of the move is indicated, the piece that the move is made, the square from which the piece moves, and the box to which the piece moves are indicated.
The figures are reflected in the following letters:
K is king
Q - Queen
R - Rook
N - horse
B - elephant
The pawn is not marked in any way.
For example entry
22. Qh2-h8
Means the queen's move from h2 to h8.
If it is necessary to indicate Black's move, either White's earlier move or an ellipsis is indicated before the move.
For example:
23. …Rd2-d6
This is the black rook's move from d2 to d6.
1. e2-e4 e7-e5
the first move of the White party from the e2 square to the e4 square, in response to this, Black moves the pawn from the e7 square to the e5 square.
In the event that a piece is captured, an “x” sign is placed between the field from which the piece moves and the field where it moves.
For example
2. e4xd5
The e4-pawn cuts on d5.
If a checkmate to the opponent's king is declared by the current move, then the “#” sign is placed after the move. If a check is placed, then the “+” sign is indicated.
Short castling is denoted as "O-O", long - "O-O-O".
If a pawn makes a move to the last rank (white to the eighth, black to the first), then after the move the figure into which it has turned is indicated.
For example
8.e7-e8Q
The pawn made a move to the e8 square and turned into a queen.
16. O-O-O g2xh1Q
This entry means: On the sixteenth move, White castled long, Black cut down the piece on h1 with the pawn on g2, and the pawn turned into a Queen.
When recording with short notation, the field from which the move was made is not indicated.
For example,
1. e4 e5
This entry means White's pawn move to e4, in response Black moved the pawn to e5.
However, when a record in short notation can be interpreted ambiguously, either the move is indicated in full notation or an additional part of the field from which the move was made is indicated, which allows making the identification of the move.
For example, on the first rank there are only two white rooks on the a1 and h1 squares.
Let's say you need to specify the move of the rook from the h1 square to the d1 square. But with such an arrangement of pieces on the square d1, both rooks and the entry
12.Rd1
It won't be correct. It is necessary to indicate the part of the square from which the rook comes, in this case:
12 Rhd1
There are different situations that lead to different records. For example:
34. N4e5 Rff5
If during the move the opponent’s piece is captured, then the “x” sign is indicated after writing the symbol of the piece. If a capture is made by a pawn, then only the vertical from which the pawn went and the vertical on which the pawn cut down a piece are indicated.
For example:
13.de
A pawn on the d-file cut down a piece on the e-file. In this case, the identification must be unambiguous. If, for example, there are two white pawns on the d-file and both of them can capture on the e-file, then it is necessary to specify the capture square exactly.
Castling when writing in short notation is indicated in the same way as in full notation.
The Russian notation system differs from the international designation of figures:
Kr is the king
F - queen
L - rook
C - elephant
K - horse
The pawn is also not marked.
The symbol for capturing a piece is ":"
Shah - "+"
Checkmate - "x"
Partner behavior
Prohibited during the game:
Use records or printed materials, contact someone for advice; this requirement also includes the prohibition of any conversation with anyone other than the judge or in his presence;
Make notes for memory, in addition to recording moves and clock readings;
Analyze in the tournament room (in particular, your game on another board);
Distract or disturb the partner in any way (this also applies to cases when the partner who offered a draw repeats the offer without sufficient reason before the opponent, in turn, uses this right).
Violation of the rules of conduct may result in sanctions, up to offsetting the defeat in the game.
Compliance with the norms of sports ethics is a condition for a normal situation at the competition. In the tradition of chess players before the start of the game, shake hands, congratulate the partner on success. A sign of bad manners should be considered late for a game without good reason, "advising" the opponent to agree to a draw, demonstrating dissatisfaction with an unsuccessfully formed game, etc.
Opinions of partners about each other, as well as their relationship, can be different. But during the competition, mutual respect must be shown.
At first glance, it may seem that learning to play chess is quite easy, but in fact, this requires a lot of effort and remembering a few fundamental rules.
History of occurrence
People are still arguing about whether this game is a sport or an art. To date, computer technology has reached the point that any computer can easily solve "chess" problems of the highest complexity in a matter of seconds, but a person will need years of practice for this.
For the first time, the game in the form in which it is now customary to see it appeared 15 centuries ago in the East. Its rules were based on Arabic shatranj and Indian chaturanga. In the Middle Ages, the first chess tournament was held in Europe, in which only knights took part. These were real mind games. Chess in those days was considered the property of noble people.
There is one oriental legend according to which this game made a real rich man from a poor man. One wise man, who first showed the world how to play chess, asked for his “invention” one grain of wheat for one cell, two for the second, four for the next, and in a similar progression further to the end of the board. The ruler agreed, but he had no idea that in the end he would have to give 8.5 quintillion grains (a number with 18 zeros). As a result, several kilograms of wheat came out, which in those days was a great luxury.
As the legend shows, there are just so many variations in the development of events in chess, but there are isolated situations that develop on the board more often than others, and specialists study them. Great grandmasters know dozens of winning algorithms by heart, which are sought out and adjusted over the years in the course of hundreds of games.
Today this game has become popular all over the world. Many experts even recommend chess for children as a tool for developing deductive thinking.
Starting position
All pieces can only move on 64 squares of the board. Their correct location is also important. The board must be rotated so that there is a white square to the right of the player. On the plane itself there are 32 figures of two colors (black and white).
The rules of the game of chess state that each of the "armies" of opponents must be mirrored to each other. In the first rank, pawns are placed towards the enemy, and on the last line of the board, all the other pieces. Rooks are placed in the corners, then next to them are horses, behind them are bishops. In the center of the board, as expected, there are a queen and a king, and the second must be on a cell of the opposite color.
Moves are made in turn, with White starting the game first. Often pawns go into battle at the beginning.
Pieces and their moves
The most important thing in chess is the king, but by itself he is practically helpless. Moves one cell in any direction. If you put him in a stalemate, then the game is lost regardless of the number of remaining pieces. This position is called mate, which means “to die” in Arabic.
The second most important figure is the most powerful weapon of the king, which can move in any straight line and pass unlimited quantity cells in one move.
The rook, along with the queen, is included in the group of "heavy" pieces. It can only move in a straight line to the sides, except diagonally. There is no limit on the number of cells passed per turn.
The bishop is closest to the king and queen. The variability of moves is limited by diagonals, but not by the number of cells.
The knight is the most unique and interesting piece on the board. Unlike the others, he only moves in a “G” pattern, that is, two squares forward in the chosen direction and one square to the side. Before each move, the knight has 8 variations to maneuver.
There is another piece that is important to familiarize yourself with before playing chess - this is a pawn. And let her be considered the weakest on the board, but without her the king would be in danger of a very quick "death". It only moves forward 1 or 2 squares in its own half and one square in the other half.
You can capture an opponent's piece only if it is in the path of the player's move. Then its place is taken by a piece that beats it. If a situation arises when the king is threatened with deprivation of a place on the board, then it can be defended or a move can be made to the side. A pawn can capture any piece that is one square ahead of it diagonally.
Rules of conduct and cost of pieces
The king can fight anyone except the queen, as he can attack all the cells around him.
The cheapest and weakest of the pieces is the pawn. Its main advantage is the ability to make a fork, that is, to simultaneously threaten two elements of the enemy "army" at once.
The rook is equal in value to five pawns and stands above all except the queen. This is a very important figure for any strategy, with the help of which you can checkmate at any time.
An elephant and a horse are approximately equal in value, although they have different properties. Equivalent to three pawns. Of the shortcomings, it is worth highlighting " dead zones”, where these pieces cannot go (bishop - never, knight - for several moves).
The most useful and strong element on the board is the queen. Its cost is equal to two rooks at once. The queen is able to make not only a fork, but also threaten 8 pieces at the same time.
Before playing chess, it is important to familiarize yourself with one more nuance. If a pawn has reached the last opposite cell of the board (to the opponent's first line), then it can be exchanged for any piece that was previously captured by the opponent.
Game recording
A standard chessboard is a square and consists of 64 fields. Vertically, the numbers from "a" to "h" are always placed, and numbers from 1 to 8 are placed horizontally. It is these designations that are used in the notation of moves.
Thus, each cell has its own name, for example, d5, e1, f8, etc. In the record of the move of the figure, two fields (initial and final) are recorded separated by a hyphen. For example: a2 - a4.
In addition, the figures also have their own short designations - these are the first letters of their names (F, L, S, K). The only exception is the king. His abbreviation in the record - Kr. The pawn is not marked in any way.
Game outcomes
The rules of the game of chess describe only two possible developments of the final and one intermediate one.
An attack on the king is called a check. This action is indicated in the record with a “+” sign. Among chess players it is customary to call it an intermediate outcome, when there is a possibility of a checkmate. In the case of a check, there are several ways to defend: move the king to the side, cover it with another piece, or capture the attacker.
If the king has no way to get away from the attack, then the opponent has been checkmated. In this case, the game is considered won. Denoted by the sign "x".
A draw in chess is called a stalemate. This is a situation where the player has only one step left to checkmate, but it will not be possible to take it, because the opponent has no options for maneuvering any of the pieces. Denoted by the symbol "#".
Castling
The rules of the game allow the king and rook to be swapped once per game. Chess for children excludes the possibility of castling pieces, as it has some nuances that are quite difficult to perceive. A permutation is allowed only when neither the rook nor the king has made a single move and is not under attack by the opponent. Also, it cannot be done at the very beginning of the game. During castling, the rook stands close to the king, and he stands on the adjacent square on the other side.
Russian chess
The rules of this game are no different from its Arabic counterpart. Russian chess is a board with 64 squares and 32 pieces. The pawns here are called tavrels. The rest of the figures have names: prince, rider and warrior. The king is a sorcerer.
How to play chess with such pieces? The main difference is the tower position. During the game, not a single piece is removed from the board. If one of them beats the other, then it is placed on top of the first, forming a kind of tower, and so on.
The game continues until the first figure appears on the sorcerer.
Great moment, friends, to learn about chess: the rules of the game for beginners. Greetings to all. Dear guests and subscribers of my blog. From this article you will learn the tricks (rules) for playing chess, if you don’t follow them, you risk losing “in no time”, and you will also briefly learn how different pieces move and what features they have. Let's put it this way, this is the “base” that everyone who wants to not only play chess, but also win should know.
chess rules
The rules of chess in the form that we observe now were formed about two centuries ago. Prior to this, the rules were constantly changing. Moreover, they differed in different parts light, and it can be said that the Middle Eastern countries played by their own rules, and the European ones by their own. But let's move on to the very rules of the game, although they can safely be considered unspoken.
Protection
First of all, it is important for beginners to think about protecting their own pieces. Don't give them up just like that or with an unequal exchange: it would be foolish to capture a pawn with a knight, which you later lost because of this move. The maximum that you can go for is an equivalent exchange (knight-knight, rook-rook, bishop-bishop, or knight-bishop) or an exchange with an advantage - this is when you take a strong enemy piece with a weaker one, which you also lose. From all this follows the following rule.
Secondly, do not leave the figures alone. At least not for long. The queen, for example, can take care of itself, but it can also be easily “cornered”, surrounded and taken away: it cannot jump over pieces like a knight. That is why you need to cover your pieces with other pieces, even pawns.
If your piece is taken away, provided that it is covered, you can minimize the damage done to you, or even reduce it to zero: the covering piece will beat the opponent. A simple example: doubled pawns standing one next to the other (shoulder to shoulder). This order of these figures indicates the insecurity of both. And if you place them diagonally from each other (for example, two white squares), then the front pawn will be protected by the back - already something.
Further, you should always think about why your opponent went this way and not otherwise, and what he can get out of it. Take countermeasures accordingly. From this it follows that you always need to calculate the moves towards your king. Cover him, take him away if necessary. Having lost one piece, you can still continue the fight and defeat the enemy, but checkmate to your king is your final loss.
Learning to calculate the moves of the enemy at the same time as building your own plan (or plans) is a must.
Attack
A thoughtless attack is fraught with the loss of pieces. Therefore, create a plan to checkmate or eliminate strong pieces. At least some simple one is already a plan. As you play more and more, you will learn how to create a plan of action for many moves ahead.
Is the plan very simple? Then aim to capture or control (under the guns of your pieces) the center of the board. This in itself will bring you benefits, even if you do not fully understand them. The fact is that the range of moves of any piece (with the exception of pawns, which, in fact, are not pieces - they are called so for ease of understanding) increases in the center compared to the edge of the board, and even more so the corner.
Get your rooks out (at least one) at the beginning of the game, while there is no clear threat to your king yet. The rook is a strong piece that can successfully support an attack or fill gaps in your defense. She will not be able to do this if she is in her original position. The maximum for which you can save (not withdraw) one rook is for castling, which is present in your plan.
tricks
When I started playing chess, I first fell for the so-called "baby mate" or mate in four moves, having learned only how the pieces should stand on the board and how to move them. You see, I neglected the basic rules and tactics. Have you fallen for this trick? Write in the comments.
How to avoid this can be easily found on the Web - there is a lot of information. Let me just say that one pawn placed in the way of the queen or bishop is enough, and checkmate will fail in four moves.
Avoid the "fork". I don’t know why this technique was called a cutlery, but the fact is that when you hit the fork, you will lose one of the figures anyway. In the same way, I advise you to look at what a “fork” is in chess. Once in it, evaluate the value of the figure, and sacrifice the least valuable. Let's say a rook and a knight are in the "fork". Naturally, the knight goes to waste, because the rook is more significant.
Special mention deserves castling and "taking on the pass."
How chess pieces move
Do you know that white moves first? It is this rule that allows inexperienced players to checkmate children.
Pawns move simply - only forward, and they attack diagonally one square forward. An exception is a pass, when pawns are allowed to move from their original position to two squares (but not to attack). They also have such a feature as taking on the aisle.
Horse. This figure walks with the letter "G" or the Latin "L", and this letter can be in different positions: lying on one and the second side, inverted. In addition, the knight is able to jump over its own and enemy pieces.
There are two types of elephants in each team. I wrote about this in my article "How to arrange chess correctly" - read it, it's interesting. So, the elephants walk and hit only diagonally in any direction.
The rook, opposite to the bishop, moves only in straight lines - horizontal and vertical. It hits exactly the same.
The queen can move in any of the directions: horizontal vertical and diagonal lines, but cannot move like a knight and jump over pieces.
The king beats and walks in a circle from himself (so to speak). That is, he can walk and hit one cell in any direction, even diagonally.
Sincerely, Vladimir Manerov
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Hello dear guest of our chess site. If you are here, then you want to learn the rules of chess. Right? Most likely you are a beginner, you know little about chess, and only once heard the catchphrase “Walk like a horse, you won’t see a century of freedom” ...
Introduction
We want to please you. On this site you will find everything you need to know about chess from A to Z. And this article will be your main base that will take you from scratch to a complete study of all chess rules and even those that many chess players do not know, who, so say, cut in the yards on a bench for years. Let's get down to business.
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First about the main thing. You don't need months of study or even weeks to learn the rules of chess. Enough 2-3 hours.
Below we will give you all the comprehensive information on all the rules and give you all the necessary links to study other articles on our site, and in a few hours, you can safely be proud that you know all the chess rules 100%. We'll even give you a link to download the official FIDE Chess Rules. How ... Well, let's start ...
Basic game theory
Let's start with the most important dear friend. Chess is usually played by 2 people. Sometimes, of course, they play in pairs or teams, but official tournaments, championships and competitions are a struggle between two people. One plays with white pieces, the other with black pieces.
The players take turns. Whoever plays white goes first.
If we are talking about playing in the yard or in the kitchen with a neighbor over a glass of beer or a cup of coffee, then you can play without hours and time. It's just that players take turns until one of them wins or draws.
Well, at competitions, tournaments and championships, of course, players play with a chess clock where each player is given a certain amount of time to think. Time is not given for a move, time is given for the whole game.
The essence of the game of chess is to win another player by checkmating his king, or to create for yourself such a position in the game in which the opponent will simply surrender and shake your hand.
Usually this is a position when you have eaten more pieces from the enemy than he has from you, or he understands that in a few moves he will be mated.
You can also win in time. It seems that they have eaten a bunch of pieces from you and you are about to be checkmate, but the opponent is running out of time, and he is considered a loser, and you are a winner.
Let's take a look at what it is:
shah- a position on the chessboard when a piece attacked the king (the king is under attack), but he can leave the battlefield, or another piece can cover him with his body. That is, you can get away from the check.
Mat- a position on the chessboard when a piece attacked the king (the king is under attack), but he can NOT escape the attack. Any field wherever he sets foot is broken. And none of his figure can close it with his body.
Pat- a position on the chessboard when a player cannot move at all. In this case, it's a draw.
More details about how checkmate and stalemate look like on the board will follow. You still need to first learn how the pieces move, attack each other, and eat.
Types of variants of the game of chess
Chess games have their own names. There are only three types:
Bullet
Blitz
Classic
In the pool, each player is given 1 minute for the entire game. Can you imagine? 1 minute. Hence the bullet. There is no time to think there, you just have to have time to rearrange the pieces, and think out later on the go.
In blitz, the player is given somewhere between 3-15 minutes. Blitz is also called rapid chess. There is time here to think about how to go. Rook or horse. =))
Classic time goes from 20 minutes to several hours. At official championships, it also happens that a player went and went to a cafe to drink tea, while another player thinks how to go. Time wagon and you can even take a nap in your room.
There is such a type of game when, after its own move, the clock automatically adds 3-5 seconds to your time.
Rules for arranging pieces on the board
So. Each player initially has the same number of pieces, namely:
8 pawns
2 rooks
2 horses
2 elephants
1 queen
1 king
All the pieces on the board are arranged like this:
Pawns stand on the 2nd and 7th lines. They are a kind of fortress, a line of defense. Someone calls them suicide bombers because they are the first to go into battle.
Rule 1: White is placed on lines 1 and 2. Blacks are placed on lines 7 and 8.
Rule 2: The queen loves her color. That is, if the queen is white, then it is placed on a white cell, if black, then on a black one. Accordingly, the white king is placed next to the black square, and the black king stands next to the queen on the white square.
Chess notation
Of course, one could talk about chess notation at the end of this article, or even let it go, but nevertheless we decided to include it in the post, since we will continue to talk about how the pieces move, what squares (cells) they stand on, and how to get you understood us when we write e4-e5, Be5xd6 or 0-0.
Chess notation is actually simple, and in order not to repeat what has already been written, we recommend that you read this one on our website about chess notation. After you read it, come back to this article and keep reading.
Rules for the movement of each piece in chess
Now let's talk with you about how the pieces move. This is probably the most important thing in chess. If you don’t need to know chess notation for the game, then you need to know 100% how the pieces move.
Many people still play chess and do not know the elementary rules, such as: the pawn does not eat back and the capture of the pawn on the pass.
In order for you to know how chess pieces move, we suggest you read this series of articles that we have prepared for you. Everything is written here for each figure from A to Z, in a clear and simple language.
In addition to the fact that you will now know how the pieces move, also know the following:
- Kings on a chessboard cannot stand next to each other in a butt. There must be a gap of at least 1 cell between them.
- The king in chess cannot be eaten.
- At the right game the rule applies - "Take hold of the figure - go to her"
- The player who has the right to move can at any time offer a draw, even after leaving. The opponent can accept a draw only before he retires in response.
That is, after a return move, after which he suddenly realizes that he made a mistake, he cannot accept a draw.
Let's get back to our checks, checkmates and stalemates. Since now you know how chess pieces move, you can show you with pictures with comments what a check, double check, checkmate and stalemate looks like.
Consider examples of how a pawn, rook, bishop, knight or queen puts the king in check.
Queen check example:
The queen attacks the king. The king has nowhere to move, because the g8-square is attacked by White's bishop on c4. But Black's knight can block the way for the queen and, so to speak, protect the king with its body. Yes, the poor horse will be eaten on the next move and will be checkmate. But for now, only a check from the queen.
Tax. And who will find a good move for black to check from the queen? Write it in the comments.
Rook check example:
The rook checks the king, but the king can go to h7, or the bishop, moving to f8, can cover the king with its mighty body.
Knight check example:
The only way out for the king is to f8. The squares h7 and f7 are attacked by White's pawn. And the h8-square is beaten by the queen. And there is nothing to eat a horse with.
Bishop check example:
The only defense against this check is only to block the bishop's attack with the rook. It is impossible to retreat with the king to g8, since this square is attacked by the queen.
An example of a pawn check:
The pawn moves to h7 and checks the king. Retreat is only possible on h8, since the f8-square is attacked by White's bishop. But there is one more defense against a check. You can simply sit down with the king as an attacking pawn, since it is without protection.
An example of another rook check:
With this line of check, Black has a huge choice of defenses. The king can go to the square d6, or you can defend yourself with your own pieces, that is, block the attack of the rook. You can close with a knight on e6 and a bishop on ne e6, or with a queen or bishop on e7.
And finally, let's look at the double check option:
In order to double check Black's king, White simply jumps his knight to f7. As a result, the check comes from both the knight and the queen on h7.
The only defense against a check is the retreat of the king to g8. Yes, the black queen can eat the white queen, but the check from the knight remains. Black can also capture the knight with the bishop, but then the check remains from the queen. There is only one way out with a double check - to move only with the king.
Now let's look at checkmate options.
Queen checkmate example:
The king is not allowed to eat the queen because he is under the protection of the rook. There is nowhere to go either.
An example of checkmate with a rook:
Black puts checkmate. It is impossible for the king to run to the 2nd rank, as it is broken by the rook on f2. And nothing to close.
An example of a checkmate with a knight:
Very nice mat. Such a mat is also called stale. The king is pinned down by his own pieces.
Bishop checkmate example:
The bishop is pointing at the king. The king has nowhere to go. The h7 and h8 squares break through White's knight and rook. There is nothing to close. Yes, there is a rook on f8 and, in theory, you can hide behind it, but alas, if it leaves its place, it opens another check from the queen standing on b2. If such a move is made in a real game, it will be considered impossible. And with an impossible move, the player is automatically assigned a defeat.
Example of checkmate with a pawn:
The king is again crushed and the pawn cannot be taken, as it is protected by the bishop on d3.
Well, let's show the last version of a beautiful mat:
It is placed by the queen. White's king has nowhere to move since the kings cannot stand next to each other.
Now let's look at Pat.
This is the first example of a stalemate. Now it's Black's move and he has nowhere to move. The pawns ran into white pawns, and the move is forbidden by the king, since the queen controls all the squares.
Second variant of the pata:
Black's move. But they can't get off. The king cannot stand next to another king, and besides, the 7th rank is broken by the rook standing on a7. The knight also cannot leave its square, since it will open a check to the king from the rook on c8.
The ratio of the strength of a particular figure
Let's now talk about the strength of the pieces. We will tell you not only about who is stronger than whom, for example, a knight or bishop, queen or rook, but also about which piece is worth how many other pieces or pawns. If you don’t understand, then everything will be clear now… So…
The weakest piece in chess it's a pawn. She is so small, harmless and walks only 1-2 cells forward, eats obliquely one cell or beats in the aisle. BUT!
Do not forget that a simple pawn can turn into any piece (except the king) when it reaches the last line of the chessboard. Let's also remember the cases when a pawn put a checkmate and decided the outcome of the game. And look here:
Looking at the position on the board, it is clear to the naked eye that Black is winning. They face mate on c2 with a queen. Black has a queen, a rook, and even 2 minor pieces - a bishop and a knight. White has only a rook of strong pieces. BUT! White has a pawn and his move.
The question is - what does the pawn turn into when it stands on the last line of the board, namely the f7 square? That's right - a horse. And Black gets a nice smack checkmate. Here's your weak pawn...
In general, of course, the pawn of all the pieces is the weakest.
If we talk about who is stronger, the knight or the bishop, then everything depends on the position on the board. In some position, the knight is stronger than the bishop, and in some it is the other way around. Much still decides which bishop the player has left, light-squared or dark-squared.
If a player has 2 knights left, and his opponent has 2 bishops, then it is considered that 2 bishops are stronger than 2 knights in the game. Well, that is, it turns out that the first one has no bishops, only 2 knights, and the enemy has no horses, only 2 bishops.
In fact, if you are very serious about studying the theory chess game and its strategies, then you will know everything from A to Z on the strength of pieces in a particular position.
Well, the most powerful piece on the board is the queen. And why, you probably already understood. Because the queen goes where she wants.
The king is neither a strong nor a weak piece, he is simply a valuable piece. The king must be protected and protected.
Now let's talk about which figure is worth how much others. Let's not talk about the pawn. A pawn, as they say, is worth a pawn.
A bishop, like a knight, is equal to about three pawns.
The queen is equal in strength to two rooks or three minor pieces.
A rook plus a pawn is approximately equal in strength to two minor pieces.
You also need to know that 2 minor pieces are usually stronger than 1 rook. A rook and 2 minor pieces are stronger than a queen.
Chess situations during the game and their solutions
In principle, knowing everything that was written above and having studied all the information on the links in this article, you can safely play chess and proudly tell everyone around you that you know the chess rules perfectly.
However, let's look at some more chess situations, figure out what they mean and how to be in this or that situation.
Somehow the position on the board got lost. Well, anything can happen. A person passed by and hit the board, or you caught the edge of the board with your sleeve and knocked down the pieces.
In this case, the judge of the competition according to the record of the game restores the position. If you played with a sidekick in the yard or in the kitchen and the game was not recorded, then you just need to play again.
Initially, when the game started, the pieces were not placed correctly, and you discovered this in the middle of the game.
It happens. Rarely, but aptly. And again. If this is a championship or competition, then the judge is called and corrects the pieces. Let's say you put the queen and the king in the wrong place, swapping them. Or a horse with an elephant.
If initially the white pieces were on the 7th and 8th lines, and the black ones on the 1st and 2nd lines, then the game is transferred to another board with the same position, only the pieces are placed as they should, the whites go up the 1st and 2nd lines to 7-8, and the black vice versa.
An example of incorrectly placed figures:
The player castling incorrectly.
Believe me, it often happens with novice chess players, they make castling not with a king and a rook, but with a queen and a rook. In this case, the rule - "Take it - go" is applied. That is, the player will need to move the piece he took on, and castling is canceled. A link to an article with the topic - how to castling correctly, we gave above.
The player touched one piece and moved another.
The judge is called. As a result, a decision is made about an impossible move, and the player who made it is considered the loser.
The player made a move and checkmate the opponent. BUT! The opponent suddenly looks at his watch and yells, "Shucks, you're out of time"...
The clock no longer matters. There is a checkmate on the board and the one who put it is recognized as the winner, even if time has already run out. It was necessary to shout to the checkmate on the board that the time was up. And not after the checkmate is already standing. Same thing with Pat.
The player has stopped the clock.
So he gave up.
There is a situation on the board when there are not enough pieces on the board to win any player.
Well, for example, only 2 kings remained on the board. In this case, the game ends in a draw.
The player overstayed the time when his opponent had only one king left.
In this case, a draw is declared. Because one king cannot checkmate.
The same position appears on the board three times in a row.
In this case, the game ends in a draw. Here is an example of such a situation:
Blacks understand that they are in trouble. White's pawn passes and threatens checkmate to their king. As a result, Black ends the game in a draw. Well, at least not defeat.
The queen moves to c2 and checks. The king can only move to a1. The queen then moves to c1 and checks again. The king should only go to a2. The queen on c2 checks again... And so 3 times. As a result, a draw.
That's actually all friends. Just as promised at the beginning of the game, keep the link to download the official FIDE rules - DOWNLOAD. Read it, maybe you will find something useful, but in general, this article has absolutely everything you need to know about the rules of chess.
If you think that the article is not complete, then please write in the comments about it and suggest adding something. We will definitely do it.
We hope the post was helpful to you. See you soon…
