How Chess Works

Because of its knights, rooks, kings and queens, you might think chess began in medieval times. But in truth, the game has its roots in India where it's believed to have been played as early as A.D. 300. This original game, called Caturanga, required four players. But the board (64 squares), pieces (Rajah or pawn, ship, horse, elephant) and moves are similar to the modern game [source: The Chess Page].

Chatrang is the name given to the game when it appeared in Persia in A.D. 600. From there it spread along the Silk Road trading routes to Arabia and Byzantium. Chatrang is believed to have reached Europe in the 8th century when the Moors invaded Spain. From there it spread throughout Europe, and later the Spanish brought it to the Americas where it spread across the continents.

Throughout history, variations of the game have evolved based on where and when it arrived. Byzantine chess was played on a circular board; the chessboard used in Germany beginning in the 13th century was 12 squares by eight squares and had three additional pieces.

With its foundation in the Indian version of chess, both China and Japan developed their own versions of the game, both of which are still played today. In Siang K'i, the Chinese game, the board has a five by nine grid on each end (one green and one red), separated by a moat. Players move on the intersection of the grid marks with the goal of placing the highest ranking figure, in this case the general, in check.

Japan's version of chess, called Sho-gi is played on a nine by nine grid. Each player has 20 game pieces of different value and ability to move, but all 40 pieces are the same color. Opponents' pieces are distinguished from each other by the direction they point, which naturally leads to a set of rules unique to this version of the game [source: The Chess Page].

With a few exceptions, modern chess, the game played around the world today, resembles the ancient version played in India. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the queen gained significant power with her ability to move in any direction. A rule called "castling" was introduced to protect the king. But, that's getting ahead of ourselves. The next section will explain the rules of play.

The elephants in the Indian version of chess and the knights in the Western game reflect different cultures. In addition to the character differences, until the mid-19th century, the pieces also showed class distinctions. Wealthy players' game pieces were heavy and ornate, while everyone else used lumps of wood that varied in height. In 1847, John Jaques designed the pieces we recognize today, placing symbols that represent the characters on top of pedestals of different heights [source: Chess - Online Guide].

Despite being an ancient game, today chess is enjoyed in the most modern ways. Players can compete against opponents all over the world via the computer and they can even play against the computer. Chess history was made in 1997, when a computer named Deep Blue 2 beat the best player in the world Garry Kasparov [source: Chess - Online Guide].

Chess is a game of strategy for two players. The goal is to attack your opponent's king, and put him in check. This means the king cannot move without being captured.

The rules of game are based on the pieces, half of which are black and half of which are white. True, game manufacturers, who are in the business of fun, create games with non-traditional colors and replace typical game pieces with other characters, but for the purposes of this article, we will use the standard colors.

The chessboard has 64 squares that alternate in color from black (or dark) to white (or light) across eight rows. The horizontal rows are called the ranks and they're identified by numbers (1 to 8) and the vertical rows are the files, identified by letters (A to H). A letter and a number identify each square. The four squares in the center of the board (positions E-4, E-5, D-4, D-5) are the most critical in terms of controlling and winning the game.

Each player starts with 16 game pieces, either all black or all white, including eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a king and a queen. Both players place their game pieces on the board in the same order. The way to insure that the board is facing in the right direction is to remember "white in right," meaning there should be a white square on your extreme right corner.

To make sure you place the pieces in order along the back rank, it's helpful to remember the pieces get taller as you move inwards. Rooks, or the pieces that look like a castle, go in the corners; knights, the pieces that look like horses, occupy the space next to the rooks; and, the two bishops sit on the squares inside of the knights. You have two spaces and two pieces left. Remember, the queen always goes on her own color. A clever way to remember this rule is that a "queen's dress must always match her shoes." Each of the eight squares in the next row or rank holds a pawn.

The goal of chess is to capture your opponent's king, but since actually capturing the king is against the rules of the game, players aim for checkmate. Sound confusing? It is -- at first. Think of the game as a battle. All of your pieces work to capture or remove your opponent's pieces from the board by moving onto the squares they occupy. By capturing his pieces, his king becomes more vulnerable and open to being attacked. Meanwhile, you must also defend your king and save your own pieces from being captured.

This is where strategy comes into play.

When you've got your pieces in a position where your next move would be to capture your opponent's king (if it were allowed), you have him in check. Now your opponent must make a move to save his king or get him out of check. If the king is trapped and has no way to escape, it's called checkmate and you have won.

Each piece is assigned points, and there are rules about how it can move around the board. The point value assigned to each piece is only to show its strength in terms of how it can move. At the end of the game there is no adding up of points based on the pieces you've captured. The winner is declared because he or she has trapped the opponent's king, in other words he has been checkmated.

Each chess piece has its own movement capabilities. It's also assigned a point value, which only indicates its strength. Beginning players tend to focus on the direction the pieces can move, but soon it becomes second nature, and players start seeing the pieces in terms of how they can attack their opponent. Being able to visualize and strategize is key to winning the game. Let's look at the pieces in the order they are set on the chessboard, beginning in position A-1.

The rook, which looks like a castle, is worth five points. It has the ability to move along the ranks and files in a straight line. It may not jump over other pieces or share a space with another piece of the same color. But the rook may capture an opponent's piece and remove it from the board. The rook is considered a long-range piece that moves in the direction of a cross [source: Andrews].

The knight, which looks like a horse, starts the game between the rooks and bishops. Although it's only worth three points, its power is in the way it moves. Knights move in an L shape over three squares. In other words, it moves two spaces in one direction, turns and moves one more space. Although they travel shorter distances, they can change direction, which is helpful in capturing the opponent's pieces. If a knight starts on a light square, he will end up on a dark square and vice versa [source: Andrews].

The bishop, the piece topped with a miter, is worth three points. It can only move diagonally and so is restricted to the color on which it begins. Bishops are also not allowed to jump, but they can capture and remove an opponent's piece. Bishops can cover great distances in an X formation [source: Andrews].

The queen, who is slightly shorter than the king, is the most powerful piece and worth nine points. She has the ability to move in the same directions as both the rook and the bishop. Although she may not jump another piece, she can move in eight different directions making her the most powerful attacker [source: Andrews].

The king is considered priceless in value, but not as powerful as the queen. Although he can move in any direction, he may only move one square at a time. He stays on the board throughout the entire game and may not be captured. He is the target and when he is threatened or under attack, he is in check and must move to save himself. When a king is unable to escape or get out of check, the game is over [source: Andrews].

Finally, each player has eight pawns. They line up across the second and seventh ranks, their home base. Although pawns are only worth a point each, they occupy space and can serve as a defense. They only move one square at a time and are restricted to moving forward (never backwards) along the file. Pawns may not capture a piece on the square directly in front of them, they capture diagonally forward [source: Andrews].

As you move your pieces move around the board, you not only want to defend your king, but also capture your opponent's pieces and remove them from the board.

Now let's look at some of the rules of the game itself.

It's no wonder chess can seem like a complex game. In addition to rules and regulations for each piece, there are many more dos and don'ts to learn. The more you play, the more familiar the rules will become. Here are the basics:

For a game that's been around for centuries, it's not surprising that it also has several special rules.

[source: Andrews].

Mathematically speaking, it's just about impossible to run out of chess moves, since the number of possibilities is equal to 10 to the 120th power. Practically speaking, winning at chess involves three strategies:

Endless books, articles and Web sites are devoted to chess strategy and analyzing the most famous games and moves in history. Take a peek inside one of these resources and you'll see strategies like the King's Gambit, Fork Attack and Fianchetto, all of which are pretty confusing to a beginner.

Most chess experts recommend the following basic strategies for beginners:

[source: Chess Blog]

Chess is recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee, and chess competitors must be in top shape to play. Although improvement isn't dependent on physical strength training, experts recommend doing the following mental exercises to improve your game:

Remember: Chess is a fun game. If it weren't, millions of people would not have been playing it for thousands of years.