Chess Moves

When playing chess, learning about what chess moves each individual chess piece is allowed to make legally can help an indivudal’s chess game immensely. Good chess moves can a person win a game of chess while bad chess moves can make one lose, even if the person is experienced. While there are 16 total chess pieces on each side of the board, there are only six different kinds: the pawns, the bishop, the knights, the rooks, the queen and the king. Each chess piece has a different set of moves they can make and directions that they can go in. When making chess moves, it is important to know the rules and functions of each piece.

• The pawns are eight pieces that block the more powerful chess pieces, such as the king, the queen, the knights, the bishop, and the rooks. When looking at a chess board, it should be set up in way so that the eight pawns are in the second to last row to the player. The first chess move will always be made by a pawn. The pawn is considered the least valuable chess piece but it is also the one that will be responsible for making a lot of the chess moves and setting up larger chess moves for strategies. Pawns can move one square forward, although they cannot capture any opponents chess pieces this way. They can only capture if they move one square diagonally. In a chess move where a pawn is still in the starting line up, it can move two squares up instead of one.

• The knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces. One should be aware that in a chess move, the knight making a jump can only capture an opposing piece if it lands directly on the square of that piece. A chess move that involves a knight jumping over an enemy piece does not mean it has captured it. When playing a chess move, a knight can move one square diagonally in any direction and one square vertically or horizontally. This chess move is called being L-shaped.

• The rook can move any number of squares that are free as long as they are in straight line. When using the rook in a chess move, it is able to capture an opponent’s piece by landing on the square that the opponent is on. This is true of all chess moves by the six different pieces. The bishop, in a chess move, can move diagonally for as many spaces are unoccupied, while it is in a straight line. Because of this, the bishop will always be on the same color square.

• The queen is the most important and powerful chess piece to be used in any chess move. As long as the line is a straight direction, the queen can move in any direction for as long as the squares are unoccupied. The last piece is the king. Although it is the most important chess piece, mobility is limited to moving one square in any direction.

All other pieces work to protect the king with their chess moves. A scenario in which the king cannot avoid being captured by the opponents, he is in checkmate and the game is over.