How does each chess piece move

As a team they are powerful indeed. Most beginning chess players have a love hate relationship with the Knight. With experience, many players myself included develop a special fondness for the Knight. The Knight has the strangest move of all the pieces.

It moves two squares along a rank and then one along a file, or two squares along a file and then one along a rank. The result is a curiously L-shaped move. The Knight can go backward, and it is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. Unchanged in years, the Knight has had variations of the same shape and has moved around the board in the same way since the invention of the game.

It was known as a horse to the Indians, Persians and Arabs, and because the horse was readily identifiable to Europeans, in many countries the name remained the same. In other countries, including England and France, the horse acquired a rider and became a Knight, bringing this piece in line with the ethic of chivalry associated with the King, Queen and Bishop.

Pawns are the weakest men on the board. Comparing this word with the Latin word for foot, pedis , we can see why the pawn is often likened to a foot soldier. In fact, the Arabic word for the pawn, baidaq means exactly that. Since the earliest days of chess, the pawn has had the same basic movement: It marches forward one square at a time. An enemy pawn can thus be immobilized by placing a pawn or a piece directly in front of it.

The first is relatively straight forward: If a pawn has never moved, it now has the option of moving either one or two squares forward. Both white and black pawns can move two squares forward. Pawn Promotion : The second change has much more profound implications. The pawn may seem unimportant, but it is now far from powerless! Like a caterpillar, the pawn dreams of the day when it can metamorphose.

The pawn can become a Queen, a Knight, a Bishop, or a Rook. It cannot become a King or remain a pawn. Theoretically, you could have 9 Queens on the board at once if all eight of your pawns made it to the last rank! Originally, the pawn could be promoted only to a Minister the weak original form of the Queen.

Each player begins a chess game with eight pawns, standing in front of their other eight chess pieces. Pawns are both simple and complex in their movements. The pawn piece has the fewest options of any chess piece on the board in where it can move and it can only move forward until it reaches the other side of the board. Here are a few things to know about how a pawn chess piece moves:. Not all pawns are created equal. Each pawn is named after the piece behind it.

For example, the two outer pawns are called "Rook Pawns", while the pawns in front of the King and Queen at the start of a game are called "King Pawn" and "Queen Pawn" respectively. In addition, pawns on each side of the board are named. The pawns on the Queen's side of the board are called Queen side and the pawns on the King's side of the board are called King side.

For example, at the start of the game, the pawn on the far left side would be called the QR-pawn Queen Rook Pawn. The pawn second from the right at the start of the game would be called the KN-pawn King Knight Pawn.

Often, pawns are referenced as opposition. Your opponent's pawn directly across the board from your own pawn is called the "Counterpawn". Each pawn on your board begins the game with its own counterpawn. At the start of the game, all pawns are considered "unfree", or not able to reach the opposite side of the board because of its counterpawn.

Once its counterpawn has been captured, the pawn is then considered "half-free". Each pawn on the board also has opposing pawns called "sentries". Sentries are the opponent's pawn chess pieces that sit directly across from it, but are to the left and right by one square. These pawns are the pieces your opponent could use to capture your pawn. While sentries can make it difficult for your pawn to cross the board, their obstruction of your piece is not absolute. Each of your own pawn chess pieces has "helpers".

These are its neighboring pawn pieces that can be used to help the pawn chess piece cross the board. When trying to reach the other side of a board, a pawn piece is known as a "candidate". In most cases, your candidate piece would advance first, followed by its helper pieces, trying to ensure its safety. Once the sentries of a pawn piece have been captured, the pawn is now considered "free". This means it no longer has any opposing pawns in its path to reaching the other side of the board.

When two pawns meet at squares directly in front of each other, they are considered part of a "ram". In basic terms, a ram occurs when two pawn pieces are blocking each other's movements across the board. When helper pawns get involved, a ram can be broken, allowing the pawn chess piece to move forward.

Avoiding rams is important when attacking an opponent as it eliminates your ability to use the pawn in the attack. Pawns can be very useful tools as you play the game of chess. Gaining a more in-depth understanding of how to use pawns in chess is crucial to becoming a better chess player. Here are some great books we recommend for studying pawn play in chess:.

The straight piece. That's the easiest way to describe the rook chess piece. In traditional sets, the piece looks kind of like a castle tower and begins each chess game as the outside corner pieces. Each player has two rook pieces to begin. The rooks are the most simple-moving chess pieces on the board. Their movements are only straight, moving forward, backward or side to side. At any point in the game, the piece can move in any direction that is straight ahead, behind or to the side.

Here are a few things to know about how the Rook chess piece moves:. The rook piece is the only piece on the board that can participate in a "castling" move with the King piece. This is a move where the King piece and the rook piece work together, allowing the player to move two pieces at the same time. We'll discuss castling later. When it comes to your chess set, the Knight chess piece is often the defining piece in the set.

This piece offers the most chance for variety and uniqueness in a chess set and it is often the piece with the most detail. When it comes to the game of chess, the Knight chess piece is often the favorite piece and most unpredictable piece in the game. Many a game has been ended because of the make-or-break tactics with the Knight. The King is the most important piece on the chessboard. If he is checkmated see objectives, below the game is over! The King in chess can move one space in any direction see the diagram.

He can never move in to "check" where he is threatened by another piece. This means the king can never be in the space adjacent to the opposing King. The Queen is often considered the most powerful piece on the chessboard.

She is placed next to the king, on her own color. The game is not over when she is lost, but if your opponent has a Queen and you do not, you may find yourself at a considerable disadvantage! Like the King, the Queen can move in any direction. However, she is not limited to just one space - she can move any number of spaces in any direction, as long as she is not obstructed by another piece see the diagram Of course, if that obstruction is an opposing piece, she is free to capture it!

There are two Bishops for each player on the chessboard, situated next to Queen and the King, respectively. These pieces move along the diagonals of the chessboard. You can see that this means that the Bishop is bound to the color square it starts on. One Bishop starts on a white square, and one starts on a black square.

They can move any number of spaces on the diagonals as long as they are not obstructed by another piece see the diagram. Of course, if that obstruction is an opposing piece, they are free to capture it! There are two Knights for each player on the chessboard, situated between the Bishop and the Rook.

The Knight has the unique trait of being able to 'leap' over other pieces. They move in an "L" shape see the diagram. If they land on an opposing piece, it is captured. There are two Rooks for each player on the chessboard, situated on the corners, next to the Knight.

These pieces move up and down the rank and file of the chessboard, and can move any number of spaces as long as they are not obstructed by another piece see the diagram. If the obstructing piece belong to their opponent, they are free to capture it.

Each player has eight Pawns, providing the first line of defense for their King. There are several unique attributes and Pawn moves in chess. The Pawn first move rules state each pawn has the option to move forward one space or two spaces. After this move, they can only move one space forward. However, they are also the only piece that captures in a method different from how they move. To capture, the Pawn moves diagonally one space see the diagram.