The question of how to learn to play chess is of interest to those people who like strategic games, but they do not know the rules of this entertainment. This article contains a guide for novice users with an explanation of the main aspects. This theoretical knowledge will be enough to begin to hone it in practice.
Board and moves
If a person wants to learn how to learn how to play chess, then first of all he should familiarize himself with the general rules. The board must be set so that each player has a white square on the bottom right. In the bottom row, the figures are set one identical on each side. First the rooks, then the horses, then the elephants, and the queen is placed on that cell of the two remaining, which corresponds to its color. The king gets the last position in the bottom row. The second horizontal line is completely occupied by pawns. It should be remembered that it is forbidden to walk through one’s figures, with the exception of the horse. Putting them in the place of other warriors on the field is also impossible. In chess, it is not necessary to beat enemy fighters, this is done at will.
General strategy and first figures
If you have a question about how to learn how to play chess, you should remember first of all the general tactics. It is not necessary to beat the pieces, but the player’s goal is to create a threat to each opponent’s warrior and at the same time save his fighter. Chess is often compared to a real battlefield, where similar laws apply. That is why the pieces on the board can be considered units in the army or fighters. Any great commander of past eras was able to have a great game in this game.
The first and most important figure on the field is the king. He has to defend with all his might and at the same time try to kill the enemy monarch. He can move only one cell in any of the directions, including the diagonal. When a threat is created for the king, it is called a "check." In this case, the user must withdraw the main figure or close it with another fighter. If it’s impossible to do this because of the blocked escape routes, the opponent put a “checkmate” and the game ends there.
Queen and Rook
So that the question of how to learn how to play chess never arises again, users should remember very clearly the moves of all the pieces. One of them is the queen - the strongest squad on the chess battlefield. They can walk in all directions to any number of positions, including diagonal transitions. The queen cannot jump over her or enemy pieces. This fighter should act extremely carefully, because his loss will greatly weaken the general position. The rook is also a strong figure and can walk horizontally and vertically for an unlimited number of positions. It differs from the queen only in that it cannot walk diagonally. In practice, coordination between the rooks is encouraged. If they cover each other, they create powerful pressure on the ranks of the enemy. This should be remembered and used in practice in different parties.
Other figures
In the manual on how to learn to play chess from scratch, you must definitely mention the figure of an elephant. At its core, it is similar to a rook, but can only walk diagonally on an unlimited number of cells. Due to the arrangement rules, each player’s elephants move the entire game only diagonally and in the same color. This is done for tactical diversity and so that the pieces could not collide.
A horse is one of the most difficult pieces to realize because of his moves. It can only move in the shape of the letter "g". This means that he steps three cells horizontally or vertically, and then one at an angle of ninety degrees. It is there that he must stop to complete the move.
A pawn is considered a simple piece only with insufficient experience. At the first move, it can be moved two steps forward, in further moves you can only move one square. A pawn can take enemy pieces when they stand diagonally in front of it in neighboring positions. Other fighters can stand right in front of her, and then the unit will have to stop. In this case, the pawn will not be able to walk, as well as remove the obstacle.
Exceptional Pawn Features
If you want to learn how to learn how to play chess from scratch, the user should familiarize not only with the moves, but also with some special rules. Two of them concern pawns - the weakest pieces. The first is that after reaching the extreme row of the enemy, a pawn can turn into any other piece. Most often, players choose the queen, but there are no restrictions in this case. This feature is available only to pawns, because it is incredibly difficult to reach the last horizontal line of the enemy. The second rule is called "taking on the aisle." You can use it in the event that the enemy pawn, on the first move two squares, slips the danger zone diagonally and stands side by side with your weakest piece. In this case, you can pick it up and stand on that position on the diagonal, where the enemy fighter should have been if he went to one, not two cells. In theory, these rules may seem complicated, especially for those who are trying to learn how to play chess on their own. In practice, their execution is elementary and does not require a lot of resources.
Castling
Another difficult rule for those who want to learn how to play chess from scratch on their own, will be the development of an opportunity called castling. This is a special move with the interaction of the king and the rook. The main piece on the board moves two squares to the side, and the second fighter leaves from the extreme corner and stands on the other side of the monarch. You can do this only if a number of important conditions are met. Firstly, both pieces must not make moves before castling. Secondly, between them there should not be other figures who occupy the necessary positions for the exchange. Thirdly, it is impossible to make a castling if this puts the king under the blow of an enemy fighter. This combination is actually very useful, because it helps to introduce a rook into the battle. At the same time, the king moves farther from the center, where he will eventually become more vulnerable. In practice, castling is actively used in both directions, the main thing is compliance with the conditions.
Game start and victory conditions
The questions of how to learn how to play chess are understandable for beginners, because the game takes time. It is impossible to sit down and immediately become a grandmaster, because this should take hundreds of hours of hard training. At the beginning of each game, you should know that the white side makes the first move. Between opponents a coin is usually popped up for the right to choose this color. The second move is the black side, and then in turn. The mate mentioned above is a signal for victory for one of the users, but victory does not always happen. There are several options that lead to a draw. This can happen by mutual agreement or as a result of the fact that there are not enough pieces on the board for the mat in either direction. He declares a draw even when the same arrangement of fighters is repeated three times on the field, even if this did not happen in a row. In a stalemate situation, when a player cannot move pieces during his turn, and the king is not in danger. The last variant of this result can be fifty moves on each side, in which the pawns remained in place, and not a single piece was taken.
Tactics Tips
If you want to learn how to learn how to play chess well, these tips will be a great start to practical exercises. Initially, the user should get used to the fact that the king is the main figure and you need to focus not only on the attack. You can be in one move before the mat, but if right now they take away the main figure of the entire detachment, then it will not matter. Take care to fulfill the conditions of castling in order to introduce a rook and create the best defense for the king. Any player should always remember the location of forces on the board. For this purpose, a simple system of scoring was specially created, where the pawn is taken as the basic unit. The remaining figures cost more, and on this basis we can draw conclusions about which units can or cannot be surrendered to the enemy. The elephant and the horse stand three pawns each, the rook five units, and the queen as many as nine. The main figure is not included in this list, because its loss means the end of the whole party. A similar system helps make decisions in moves. For example, exchanging a rook for an elephant would be a losing option, but you should not refuse to get a queen at her expense.
A number of other recommendations
If you want to learn how to quickly learn how to play chess, then this material, along with practical battles, is perfect for beginner players. Users should know that the parties here are not in vain compared with the battlefield. Another confirmation of this is the struggle for the center of the board. Capturing an advantage in these positions will greatly simplify the path to victory. Create pressure in these areas in order to prepare a bridgehead for the assault on the king. It’s not worth sacrificing important figures, the goals can be achieved by the competent use of all resources. This is due to the second simple advice - all available units should be brought into battle. As long as they stand below, they cannot do anything for attack or defense. The first to enter the battle are horses and elephants, then the queen, and the rook is connected only after castling. This is the easiest way to include this fighter in the battle.
The invention of the game and the best moves
To learn how to learn to play chess, children or adults should not only read all the theoretical information, but also have patience for practical fights. This game is far from one of the simplest, because then it would not have had such popularity among people. It is believed that similar entertainment was invented two thousand years ago in India. The modern style of chess appeared around the fifteenth century, and since then their popularity has not fallen. One of the reasons for this is the variety of this game with hundreds of different strategies. It does not have the best moves, although experienced players have identified several successful positions to start. For example, Bobby Fisher argued that it was best to start the game with a pawn over the king and move it two positions forward. That is why many users continue to do this in battles. Extending a pawn over a queen or horse is also popular. The remaining moves at the start are considered not so promising.
Skills improvement
Many players wonder where they will learn to play chess. The answer will be online battles, where thousands of other users are looking for an opponent. It is in the network that you can hone your skills and apply theoretical knowledge. For professionals it will be an aesthetic pleasure to have a personal competition with beautiful wooden pieces and a board. For beginners, digital training is more suitable. Software algorithms will not allow you to make the wrong moves, but in practice, the interaction between the figures on the battlefield is better mastered. Do not forget that chess is primarily designed to give aesthetic pleasure to users. It’s enough for beginners to train, remember mistakes, and in the future they will certainly be able to reach new heights.