A Quick Chess Primer

Almost everyone will know what I'm talking about when I say "chess". However, not very many people actually know how to play chess. Well, today you too will know how to play the wonder that is chess. First of all, you will need to grab a chess set. There are many different types of chess sets -- wooden, glass, 4-in-1 games, and cheaper plastic chess sets. It really doesn't matter which one you choose; when it comes right down to it, all chess sets do the same thing. 

Once you have your equipment, you will need to know the fundamentals of chess. The board is a checkered black and white pattern, with a total of 67 squares. When playing, always make sure that a white square on the board is on the right-hand side of you. The object of the game is to get your opponent's king. 

During a turn, you move a piece, and then it is your opponents turn. There are 16 pieces for each player; one player has black pieces while the other player has white. A chess set has six pawns. It also has two rook, knight and bishop pieces. Also, there is one queen and king piece. All of the pawns are placed on the second row of the game board. Pawns generally move in a straight line, on square at a time. One exception to this is when it is the pawns first move (when it is still in the second row of the board). On it's first move, it can move one OR two squares. To capture another piece, it moves diagonally, either left or right. It can only move diagonally when it's capturing a piece. Pawns cannot jump over any pieces. 

The rooks are placed on each corner of the game board. Rooks can move horizontally and vertically. They can move as much or as little as you would like them to. They cannot jump over any pieces. Knights are next; they go next to the rooks. Their move is a bit tougher to figure out. They move one square (horizontally or vertically), and then they move one square diagonally (left or right). It can jump over any piece that is in the way of it; it is the only piece that's able to do that. 

Then come the bishops. Bishops go next to knights. Bishops move diagonally. They can move any number of squares. Bishops cannot jump over any pieces. That leaves two open squares in between the bishops for the queen and king. For the white pieces, the queen is placed on the white square. For the black pieces, the queen is placed on the black square. 

The queen is the strongest piece on the board. It can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. A queen can move as many squares as you want. Even though it is the strongest piece, it cannot hop over other pieces. Kings are simple to place, just put it in the remaining open square by the queen. A king's movement is pretty simple: it can move 1 square in any direction. Now that you know the basic fundamentals of chess, go buy yourself a travel chess set and start playing!