Chess

Chess is a game played on a square board with 64 squares arranged 8 on a side. The pieces are black and white, with one player playing the black pieces and the other playing the white. Each one has sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to “checkmate” the king piece of the other player by putting it in a position so that it cannot move.

Although there are much older games of chess, the game that is played today originated in Southern Europe in the 15th century. The tradition of competitive games in this sport has existed since the 16th century. Today, it is recognized as a sport of the International Olympic Committee and is part of the Olympic Games.

When playing chess, the players take turn moving their pieces so that a black and then a white piece is moved. They move the pieces to an unoccupied square on the board or one that is occupied by their opponent’s piece, thus capturing it. Each player moves the pieces so that they can best capture the pieces belonging to the other player. When the king is under attack, it is said to be in check and a player cannot make a move that would place his/her own king in check.

Some of the special moves a player can use in chess are:

Castling. This move refers to the special move a king can make, which involves moving the king two spaces forward to the rook and then placing the rook on the far side of the king.
En passant. This move occurs when a pawn advances two squares and a pawn belonging to the opponent is on an adjacent square. If this occurs the opponent’s pawn can capture the pawn and move to the next square on the next move.
Promotion. When a pawn advances to the eight rank, it can be exchanged for a a player’s choice of queen, bishop, knight or rook of the same colour.

Some games do not end in checkmate, such as if one player realizes that the situation is hopeless with no more moves and resigns. In some clubs there is a time limit for playing chess and if the player’s time runs out, then he/she loses the game.

Chess is a strategy board game. The strategy consists of making decision of where best to place the individual pieces on the board and studying the moves of the opponent. During the game players must be constantly assessing the value of their pieces and study the board before deciding where to move the pieces on their turn.