Chess Basics

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Author: pizazz

History

Chess has a universal appeal stretching for a span of 1400 years. It is believed that chess had originated in India and from there traveled to China and also through Arab world to Europe.

There are historical references that in India chess was used as a tool to teach military strategy to Indian princes. That is probably how chess acquired its nickname: the Royal Game.

Rules

Chess is a game for two players. It is played on an 8×8 checkered board, with a dark square in each player's lower left corner.

Each player controls its own army of pieces (chessmen). The player who controls White pieces moves first.

The goal in the chess game is to capture the opponent's king. This capture is called 'checkmate'. Checkmate happens once the king is under attack, cannot move and cannot be helped by its own army of chessmen.

History

The object in chess is to checkmate your opponent's King. Checkmate, or just "mate" occurs when a king is attacked and the king cannot escape capture on the next move.

Chess is played on a board with 64 squares set up in the following way:

The Rooks begin the game in the corners.
The Knights (many beginning players call them horses) are next to the Rooks.
The Bishops start next to the Knights.
And then the King and the queen.Note that white and black Queens both begin the game on squares of their color. The white Queen begins on a white square. The black Queen begins on a black square.
And, at the beginning of the game, always start with a white square in the lower right corner of the chessboard.