Chess is one of the most popular Indian games played by two people simultaneously. But playing chess is tricky if you are unaware of the basics. What are the basics? Chess Board setup and rules: it might sound weird, but the most important thing is to set up your chessboard well. You’re mistaken if you think of winning the game without knowing the rules.
Furthermore, it is a game that requires time, patience, and strategy. Without having these three you can never win the game. The most important thing to remember is to know about the pieces, their names, how they move, and the best time to move which pieces.
What are the 16 pieces in chess called?
Before moving forward, it’s important to know the names and number of the pieces. It is also important to remember how they move. Well, chess has a total of 32 pieces, and each team has 16 pieces, which include:
- 8 Pawns: moves front and captures diagonally
- 2 Rooks: moves and captures vertically and horizontally
- 2 Knights: moves and captures two squares horizontally and a square vertically, i.e. L-shaped
- 2 Bishops: moves and captures diagonally
- 1 Queen: move and capture in all directions
- 1 King: moves one square in all directions
Chess Board Setup and Rules
While playing chess, what do you do first? Setting up your chess board, right? However, it follows the setup rules; let’s check the rules and set up the pieces by following the procedure.
1. Choose the right square for the corners
First, choose the right corners to play chess, meaning the chess board should face the right direction. The last square colour must be green for both players. If your chess has the dark square in the lower right corner, rotate the board at 90 degrees clockwise.
2. Put the rooks on the corner
After setting up the board, it’s time to add the materials. The first piece that should be put on the board is the rook. Starting from the corner is the best; put the rooks in the corner. It is easy to remember because the rooks represent the castle.
3. Knights next to the rooks
After the rooks, the next step is to put the knights beside the rooks. Knights are also known as “horses.” In other language, Spanish caballo, Italian cavallo, and Russian конь, are the other names of horse. It moves two steps horizontally and one step vertically.
4. Bishops next to the Knights
Bishops are one of the most important chess pieces. They are placed just beside the Knights. They are important because it has a long range. It helps protect your other pieces, such as pawns or any other material that is present just in front diagonally.
5. Queen next to the Bishop
The queen should be placed on the colour of the board that the queen is white, then it will be on the white position. Put the queen on a square the same colour as the queen. It is the most powerful piece that protects the king from every direction.
6. King next to the Queen
After putting all the material together, there will be only one vacant place and only one piece left. Put the King on the vacant piece and let him rest there till the end of the game. If there is any requirement of the king’s move, then only move the King.
What are the 4 rules of chess?
Here are the four major rules of chess that are important to note down before starting the game.
1. White is the move-maker
If you are playing the game with white pieces, you must make the move first. However, choosing who can take the white depends on the type of the game. The higher ranked can choose between black and white if the game is formal or tournament. Similarly, in informal matches, players can decide by tossing the coin.
2. Players should make one move at a time
According to the Chess board setup and rules, players can make one move at a time. However, the move can be anyone, but blindly moving any pieces is a fool thing. Create a chess strategy, read the opponent’s move and then make your move.
3. Different pieces move in a different direction
There are 16 chessmen, out of which 8 are pawns, and they move straight and capture diagonally one step. Others, such as rooks, knights, bishops, queens, and kings, have other moving and capturing abilities.
4. Checkmate and draw
- If your King is in an attack situation, you must play a move that can protect the King from capture. Either move the King in other directions or bring other pieces to save your King. You can also use a piece to block the attack.
- If your King is under attack and you have no other move to save your King. Here, the game ends with “Checkmate”. In this situation, your King must be getting checked from every direction, so it’s checkmate.
- If your king is under attack situation and you have no move left to play or all the pieces are gone. In this situation, the match draws with “stalemate.”
Last Line
Playing chess can be interesting only if the chess board setup is right. You can easily win any game by following the chess board setup and rules. You must be clear with the questions such as What are the 4 rules of chess? What are the 16 pieces in chess called? So, put the pieces in the right place and start playing the game.
Also Read About: A Complete Guide to Chess Strategy in Easy Steps