Learn to play Chess

Chess is a board game played by two players. Each player controls an army of 16 pieces (one white, one black.) Starting with white, the players take turns moving one piece each turn.

About Chess Board:

A square shaped board divided into 64 squares alternatively colored in black and white.
32 pieces: 16 white pieces for one player and 16 black pieces for the other player.
The chess board is placed in between the two opponents in such a manner that each of them has a black square on the left corner of the board.
Both players start off with an identical set of 16 pieces: 8 pawns , 2 rooks , 2 knights , 2 bishops , a queen and a king.

Rules:

Each player must move one piece at a time. So, in fact, the game is played in a succession of moves.

Each piece moves after a certain rule form one square to another.

Player having the white pieces starts the game.

The queen is the strongest piece on the board because it has the greatest range of action while the king is the most important piece because it is the main piece targeted by the enemy attack.

When a player captures a piece he takes that piece outside the board and move his own piece in its place.

The pawn is the beginner At the beginning of the game each side has 8 pawns. Except on its first move, a pawn may only move one square forward at a time. Pawns can never move backwards. It can either move one square or two. If the square immediately in front of the pawn contains another piece then the pawn is unable to move forward. Although a pawn moves straight forward it captures by talking one square diagonally forward. When a pawn reaches the other end of the board it can be changed for any other piece of its own color, except the King.

The Rook moves horizontally and vertically any number of squares, forwards or backwards. If an enemy piece is standing on a square to which the Rook can move, it can be captured.

The Bishop moves diagonally any number of squares, forwards or backwards. Each side has two bishops; one bishop moves along the light colored squares and the other bishop moves along the dark colored squares. The Bishop's path can be blocked by other pieces on the chessboard.

The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board as it can control more squares than any other chessman. It moves straight forward or backwards and diagonally any number of squares. The Queen's path can also be blocked by other pieces.

The Knight moves in an L shape in any direction. We can say that it either moves two squares sideways and then one square up or down, or two squares up or down, and then one square sideways. The Knight changes the color of the square it stands on with each move. Therefore, if it starts off on a light colored square, when it has finished its move it will land on a dark colored square. Just like a real horse, the Knight may jump over pieces. The Knight is able to jump over the pawn in its way and capture the black pawn.

Check: When the King is being attacked directly by an opponent's piece we say that the King is in check. There are three ways to get out of check:

The King may move to a square which is not being attacked by an enemy piece.
A piece may be moved in between the King and the enemy piece to block the check.
The piece that is attacking the King can be captured.

Checkmate: If the King is in check and cannot get out of check then we say the King is checkmated and the game is lost. Black is not able to do any of the following:

Move to a square which is not being attacked by an enemy piece.
Move a piece between the King and the enemy piece to block the check.
Capture the attacking piece.

So Black is checkmated and has lost the game!

Learn to play Chess.

The king is the most important piece on the board. The entire game revolves around the king; more exactly, the purpose of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king. The king can move one square, in any direction, as long as that square is not occupied by one of its own pieces or it's not in the range of action of an enemy piece. The king can capture a piece that is on a square that it can move on.

Casting: At the beginning of a chess game there is usually a battle for the centre of the board, therefore it is a good idea to move the King from the action to a safe place in the corner and to move the Rook to the middle of the board where it can take part in the battle. Castling allows you to do this. It is generally a good idea to castle early in the game to get the King to safety before attacking. There are certain conditions which prevent either player from castling:

Castling is not possible if either the King or the Rook has moved.
All of the squares between the King and the Rook must be empty.
If the King is in check it cannot castle out of check.
The King cannot castle if doing so would put it in check.
The King cannot castle if it has to cross a square which is being attacked by an enemy piece.

En passant: When a pawn moves two squares on its first move and comes next to an opponent's pawn, it may be captured "en passant." It must be captured on that move; you cannot wait a turn and then capture "en passant." If a pawn moves one square and comes next to an opponent's pawn, it may not be captured "en passant." It is only when the pawn moves two squares, on its first move that "en passant" may occur. You do not have to capture.

Stalemate is when the King is not in Check and cannot move without placing himself into Check, has no other pieces on the Board to move.

Main purpose of the game: The game revolves around attacking the other side's king. When a king is under the threat of being captured it is said that the king is in check. When a king is in check it must be moved otherwise it risks being captured. The objective of each player is to checkmate his opponent. That means bringing the enemy king in such a position that when attacked it has no available square on which to move. There are times when neither of both sides can win the game. In this case the game ends at equality and it is said to be a draw (a tie). This situation is quite frequent especially when both players are around the same level of expertise.

Notes:

Remember this is a game of patience! Don't pressure your opponent in moving to fast.
If you moved a piece you can't take back your move.
If you touched a piece than you must move that piece.
If you moved a piece on a square and you didn't take your hand off it, you can move it on another square.

So try playing chess, you will surely love it and the game will sharpen your brain.

(Sources: chessguru.net, chesscorner.com, chess.about.com, chessdryad.com)