How to play chess for beginners

How to Play Chess for Beginners

from wikiHow - The How to Manual

How to play chess for beginners - Have you ever wondered how to play chess? This article explains the basics, including what chess is, how to play, and a few helpful tips on how to start.

Steps on how to play chess for beginners

1. Chess is a game of intelligence and strategy. The goal is to force the other player to yield. To do this you must trap the other player's king (this will be explained). Being a strategic game, chess has many moves and rules that beginners often find confusing. This tutorial will teach the basics.
   
2. To set up a chess board you must first know the names of each chess piece.
   
   • The pawn is the most basic piece in the game. On its initial move, it can move forward one or two spaces, but it is only allowed to move forward by one space afterwards. Pawns are only allowed to attack other pieces one space diagonally from it, and cannot move backwards.
     
   • The rook, which looks like a castle tower, can move horizontally and vertically as many spaces as are available. It can attack pieces in its path.
     
   • The knight, represented by a horse, is the most complicated unit. It moves in 'L' shapes that consist of two spaces horizontally then one space vertically, or one space horizontally then two spaces vertically, in any direction. The knight is the only piece that can jump other pieces. He attacks only the pieces that are in the spaces he settles.
     
   • The bishop can only move diagonally, but it can move an unlimited ammount of spaces until it attacks.
     
   • The queen is the most powerful piece. She can move either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally by any number of spaces and attack from any of those directions.
     
   • The king can only move one space each turn in any direction and attacks in the same manner. He is the unit you do not want to lose at all costs, as it will make you lose the game.
     
3. Now that you know each piece you can place them on the board.
   
   1. Place all the pawns on the second line in front of you so that you have a wall of pawns between you and your opponent.
      
   2. Place each rook on a corner of your side of the board.
      
   3. Place a knight next to each rook and a bishop next to each knight.
      
   4. Then you should place the queen in one of the two spaces left,according to her color (ie. if you have a black queen, it should go on the black square, whereas if it's white, then it should go on the white square).
      
   5. Finally, place the king on the last remaining space. Check that your opponent has the same arrangement of pieces.
      
4. To begin playing, it is best to have a strategy. One common idea is to place a few pawns one or two spaces forward. This allows more pieces on the first row to pass through and enter the playing field easily.
   
5. A helpful hint to keep in mind is to always have a come back move (ie. A player sets his knight where the opponent can capture it with a pawn. If his knight was originally in the path of his bishop, that bishop can then take the pawn).
   
6. Remember, each piece has relative value. The king is the most valuable and must be protected. The queen is the most versatile piece and is the most useful for protecting the king. Knights are excellent for surprise attacks, and bishops also tend to be a blind spot for many inexperienced players. Rooks are strong and have have a long range of movement. Pawns may seem insignificant, but when they reach the other side of the board, they can be promoted to any piece (except the king). This is a great way to regain a lost queen! They can also be great for trapping an opponent, when sacrificed to capture a more valuable piece.
   
7. To take the offensive, a piece must be placed near the opponent's king. This puts pressure on the opponent to defend his king (which means he won't be attacking). When a player can kill his opponent's king in one move, the king is said to be in check. From here the opponent can choose to do one of three things:he can move his king away from the threatening piece, he can place a piece between his king and the threatening piece, or he can take the threatening piece with a piece of his own.
   
8. When the opponent has you in check, you must always try to place your king where one of the opponent's pieces cannot check the king again. Try placing most of your pawns around your king, keeping him safe from enemy pieces.
   
9. To win the game, you must get a checkmate on the opponent's king, which means that the king is in check and cannot get to safety. At this point the person with the trapped king must tap over his king so that it falls and signals defeat.
   
10. If you're feeling like the game is not going too well you may also try to get a stalemate, which is basically a tie game. To do this you must lose most of your other units and place your king where he is safe, but is in danger if he moves. Another way to describe this is that your king is safe, your other units are all dead, but your king cannot move anywhere without being killed. This causes stalemate and the game is over and tied.
    

Tips on How to play chess for beginners

• Always remember to have many advanced pieces in the middle of the board. The more pawns you leave behind, the better to defend your king with.
  
• Be sure to watch your opponent's moves carefully.
  
• A special move that helps your king out is called castling. It requires that one side of your king is free of pieces except for the rook, who is in his original position unmoved. With this kind of set up you may now move your king towards the rook two spaces and then place the rook on the opposite side of the king from the rook's previous location.
  

Warnings

• Chess pieces can be hazardous for little children if swallowed.
  
• Speed chess is not for beginners. It is difficult, competitive, and extremely frustrating for those who are new to the game.
  

Article provided by www.wikihow.com, a wiki how-to manual.
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How to Set up a Chess Board

from www.wikihow.com - The How to Manual

In this article, you will find out how to CORRECTLY set up a Chess Board!

Steps

1. Buy, or pull out a Chess Board.
   
2. Set the chess board on a flatsurface like you would if you were going to play Chess.
   
3. Inside the box the Chess Board came in, there should be a baggy with the Chess Pieces in it.
   
4. The bag should contain both the White, and the Black Chess pieces.
   
5. The Chess pieces go on the first 2 Rows of the board.
   

6. Set up the pieces in this EXACT order on the first Row: Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen(depending on it's color!), King, Bishop, Kight, Rook.
   
7. Now set the remaining pieces (which should only be the Pawns) on the 2nd Row of the Board.
   
8. Do these steps EXACTLY again for the opposite Pieces.
   
9. If you followed these directions correctly, you should have a Chess Board with all of the pieces in the correct places ready to play!
   

Tips

• If the Queen is White, then it goes on a White space, if the Queen is Black, then it goes on a Black space.
  
• Don't set up the pieces in your own order, the order listed above is the only correct way to play Chess!!
  

Things You'll Need

• A chess Board with Pieces.
  

Article provided by www.wikihow.com, a wiki how-to manual.