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What is the board game called Chess?
A similar game to Checkers but more involved is Chess. Chess has an antiqued and unclear history dating back centuries. It is played on basically the same checkered board as Checkers. It is also engaged in by two opposing players. However the pieces and the rules are markedly different.
What are the pieces and their powers on the board?
The crucial piece, the king.
There is one king on each side. The king can move one square at a time in any direction. It can’t be directly adjacent the other king.
The queen is also one piece to a player.
The queen is able to move as far in any direction as possible meaning as long as it is not blocked by another piece. It is therefore the strongest piece in the game.
The rook.
The rook can move as far as possible in any direction except it can’t make any diagonal movements. There are two of these on each side.
The bishop.
The bishop is like the queen and the rook but can only move in diagonal directions. There are two of these on each side.
The knight.
The knight moves in the shape of an L, two squares in one direction then one over. This can be easily remembered by the rhyme “The knightly knell is to move like an L”. There are two of these on each opposing side also.
The pawn.
The pawn is the only piece of which there are eight per side. It can move straight ahead only. It can move out from its starting position either one or two squares but after that it must move only one at a time.
Placement of the pieces.
The pawns begin filling up the second row. The rooks rule the ends of the back row, then are the knights on each side and then the bishops. On the white team the king is on the right in the back center and the queen is on the left. On the black team the opposite is true.
The object and strategy of playing Chess.
As we can see, unlike Checkers, the pieces may move on any square not restricted by their individual limitations of power. The primary object is to take the king. However it helps to take or capture the other pieces first to get them out of the way. You can capture any piece you can land on. Only the pawn is unique in this. The pawn can’t capture moving as it normally would. However it can capture moving forward and diagonally one square when this will allow it to land on and take a piece. When the pawn moves ahead two spaces without taking an opponent’s pawn, which it may have taken, if done immediately the opposing pawn may take it. White always makes the first move in the beginning of the game.
Advanced play.
Advanced play involves several optional moves that are not necessary for play though to beat an advanced player might be needed to win. These include Queening in which a pawn that makes it to the other side may be substituted for by a queen or other piece more powerful than a pawn.
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