CHESS Club

 The game of chess is over 1300 years old and is one of the most popular games in the world. It has received more total thought time than many great works of art and literature. Like a great work of art, chess is a paradox on many levels. It's easy to learn but can take a lifetime to master. There are few games which can match its usefulness as a tool for developing mental abilities, yet it's downright fun.

 Pawn: The pawn is considered the weakest piece on the board. It moves laterally one square at a time, as shown in figure 2, with one exception. Each pawn can be advanced by two squares the first time it's moved. Pawns can only move in the forward direction. When they reach the last row, and can be moved no further, they can be promoted to any type of piece on the board except for a king. Generally they are promoted to a queen since this is the most powerful piece on the board. Hence, a player can have more than one queen.  Pawns capture other pieces diagonally in the forward direction. They are the only pieces which do not capture in the same direction in which they move. 

 Bishop: The bishop has the strength of about three pawns and moves diagonally (see figure 3). Unlike a pawn it can move backwards or forwards. It can also move more than one square at a time as long as it moves in a straight line. In other words, a bishop can move across the entire board. A bishop cannot jump over pieces and can also never move to a different-colored square. Bishops capture by moving in their normal manner to the square occupied by an opponent's piece and replacing it.

 Knight: Like the bishop, knights have about the same strength as three pawns. Knights are moved in a rather unique manner, one square diagonally and one square laterally (see figure 3). They can move forwards or backwards and are the only pieces which can jump over other pieces (see figure 4). Knights capture by moving in their normal manner to a square occupied by an opponent's piece and replacing it.

 Rook: The rook, or castle, has the strength of about five pawns. Rooks are moved forwards or sideways in a lateral manner as shown in figure 5. They can move backwards and forwards one or more squares at a time. In a given move a castle can only move in one direction along a straight line. To capture a piece, castles are moved in their normal manner to the occupied square where they replace the captured piece.

 Queen: The queen is the most powerful piece on the board and is the equivalent of about nine pawns. A queen can move diagonally like a bishop or laterally like a castle (see figure 6). Like the bishop and the castle, a queen cannot turn corners in a single move. It captures in the same manner as either a castle or a bishop.

 King: A king is only slightly more powerful than a pawn but is nevertheless the most important piece on the board. While the king can move backwards or forwards, either laterally or diagonally just like a queen, it can only do so one square at a time (see figure 7). A king cannot move to a square where it would be in danger of being captured. A king can capture a piece on any square where it can legally move.

ENDING THE GAME  Check: Threatening a king with capture is treated differently from an ordinary piece. The king is not only royal but the objective of the entire game. A player declares "check" when he moves in a manner which threatens an opponent's king with capture. However, the term is only used if the king has a means of escape. The opponent must get the king out of check immediately. This can be done in one of three ways: 1) Move the king. 2) Capture the attacking piece. 3) Move a piece so that it blocks the attack. A king cannot castle if it is in check.

 Checkmate: The game is won when an opponent's king is inescapably placed in a position where it would be captured on the next turn. Actually capturing the king and removing it from the board like a common piece would have been unthinkable when chess was invented, and so this is not done. Instead the winner says the word checkmate and the game ends.

 Sometimes a king is placed in check several times and never checkmated. Other times a king is placed directly in checkmate. There is no rule saying a king must be placed in check before it is placed in checkmate and there is no limit on the number of times a king can be placed in check.  If a player foolishly exposes his king to check, he is allowed to take the move back. Obviously there is no glory in winning by breaking rules and the rules say one cannot move in a way which exposes one's king to check. Likewise, if there is a means of escape and a player foolishly doesn't take it, the move must be replayed. On the other hand, if a player assumes the game is hopelessly lost and resigns, he or she automatically loses even if later analysis indicates that the situation was not hopeless. Resigning a game is risky but is the sign of an experienced player. Resigning is a way to save face by not pointlessly prolonging the game.

 A game can end in a draw in four different ways:  Stalemate: This means there is no legal move an opponent can make when it is his or her turn to move. This often occurs when a king is trapped in a position where its only move would be to move into check  The fifty-move rule: If a piece has not been captured or a pawn moved in fifty moves then a player can declare a draw on his or her turn.  Both sides agree to a draw.  Neither side has enough pieces left to setup a checkmate.