In the game of chess there are six distinct pieces you play with. Each piece has its own movements and are the building blocks of this great game. The first step to learning the game of chess is to get to know the pieces. Below is the information you will need to know to get playing our flash chess games.
The pawn is the most common piece on the chess board, and also has the most complex range of movement. Each player starts the game with eight pawns.
Pawns basic move is one space forward if the space is unoccupied. Any pawn may move one or two spaces on its first move. This two space movement requires an attack move to counter it, so we have en passant.
If player A’s pawn moves forward two squares and player B has a pawn on its fifth rank on an adjacent file, B’s pawn can capture A’s pawn as if A’s pawn had only moved one square. This capture can only be made on the immediately subsequent move. In this example, if the white pawn moves from a2 to a4, the black pawn on b4 can capture it en passant, ending up on a3.
Pawns are the only pieces that capture differently from how they move. The pawn’s attack is one space forward and one space right or left, otherwise said the two spaces to its forward diagonal.
Each player starts with two Rooks, or the Castles as they are often called. The Rook can move any number of open spaces vertically or horizontally. The Rook is also moved during castling, see King.
The Rook’s attack is executed simply by moving in a legal direction to the first square occupied by an opponents piece.
Each player starts with two Bishops. The Bishop can move any number of open spaces in any diagonal direction.
The Bishop’s attack is executed simply by moving in a legal direction to the first square occupied by an opponents piece.
Each player starts with two Knights, often called horses. The Knight can move to the nearest square not on the same rank, file, or diagonal. In other words, the knight moves two squares like the rook and then one square perpendicular to that. Its move is not blocked by other pieces, i.e. it leaps to the new square. The knight moves in an “L” or “7” shape (or either shape inverted) with two steps one direction, a 90° turn, and one step in the new direction.
The Knight’s attack is executed simply by moving in a legal direction to the first square occupied by an opponents piece.
Each player starts with one Queen. The Queen can move any number of open spaces in any vertical, horizontal or diagonal direction.
The Queen’s attack is executed simply by moving in a legal direction to the first square occupied by an opponents piece.
Each player starts with one King. The King can move one space in any vertical, horizontal or diagonal direction.
The King can make a special move called castling. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook, then placing the rook on the other side of the king, adjacent to it. Castling is only permissible if all of the following conditions hold:
