At first glance, it might seem that learning to play chess is quite easy, but in fact, you need to make a lot of effort and remember a few basic rules.
History of occurrence
People are still debating whether this game is a sport or an art. Today, computer technology has reached the point that any computer can easily solve "chess" problems of the highest complexity in a matter of seconds, but for this person will need years of practice.
For the first time, the game in the form in which it is now customary to see it appeared 15 centuries ago in the East. At the heart of her rules lay the Arab shatranzh and the Indian chaturanga. In the Middle Ages, the first chess tournament was held in Europe, in which only knights took part. These were real mind games. Chess in those days was considered the property of noble people.
There is one eastern legend, according to which this game made the poor man a real rich man. One wise man who first showed the world how to play chess asked for his “invention” one grain of wheat for one cell, for the second - two, for the next - four and in a similar progression further to the end of the board. The ruler agreed, but he did not suspect that in the end he would have to give 8.5 quintillion grains (a number with 18 zeros). As a result, several kilograms of wheat came out, which in those days was a great luxury.
As the legend shows, chess has so many variations in the development of events, however, there are isolated situations that most often develop on the chessboard, and they are studied by experts. Great grandmasters know dozens of winning algorithms that are being sought out and adjusted for years in the course of hundreds of games.
Today this game has become popular all over the world. Many experts even recommend chess for children as a tool for the development of deductive thinking.
Starting position
All pieces can only move along 64 squares of the board. Equally important is their correct location. The board must be rotated so that a white square is to the right of the player. On the plane itself are 32 figures of two colors (black and white).
The rules of the game of chess say that each of the “armies” of opponents should be mirrored to each other. Pawns are placed in the first line to the enemy, and all other pieces are on the last line of the board. Rooks are placed in the corners, then horses are next to them, followed by elephants. In the center of the board, as expected, there is a queen and a king, and the second must be on the square of the opposite color.
The moves are taken in turn, and White is the first to start the game. Often pawns go into battle at the beginning.
Shapes and their moves
The king is the most important in chess, but he himself is almost helpless. It moves along one cell in any direction. If it is put in a hopeless situation, then the game is lost regardless of the number of remaining pieces. This position is called obscene, which in Arabic means "die."
The second most important figure is the queen. This is the king’s most powerful weapon, which can move in any straight line and go through an unlimited number of cells in one turn.
The rook, along with the queen, is assigned to the group of “heavy” pieces. It can move only rectilinearly to the sides, except for the diagonal. There are no restrictions on the number of cells passed per turn.
The elephant is closest to the king and the queen. Variability of moves is limited by diagonals, but not by the number of cells.
The horse is the most unique and interesting piece on the board. Unlike the others, it moves only with the letter “G”, that is, two cells forward in the selected direction and one to the side. Before each move, the horse has 8 variations for maneuver.
There is another piece that is important to familiarize yourself with before playing chess - this is a pawn. And even though she is considered the weakest on the board, but without her, the king would have been faced with a very quick “death”. It only goes forward 1 or 2 cells in its half and one in the alien.
You can only take the opponent’s piece when it’s on the player’s move. Then her place is taken by a figure who beats her. If a situation has arisen when the king is threatened with being deprived of a place on the board, then he can be defended or move to the side. A pawn can take any piece that is one square ahead of it diagonally from it.
Rules of conduct and cost of figures
The king can engage in battle with anyone except the queen, as he can attack all the cells around him.
The cheapest and weakest piece is a pawn. Its main advantage is the ability to make a fork, that is, simultaneously threaten two elements of the enemy “army” at once.
A rook is equal in value to five pawns and stands above all but the queen. This is a very important figure for any strategy, with which you can checkmate at any time.
The elephant and the horse are approximately equal in value, although they have different properties. Equated to three pawns. Of the shortcomings, it is worth highlighting the “dead zones" where these pieces cannot get (an elephant - never, a horse - for several moves).
The most useful and strong element on the board is the queen. Its value is equal immediately to two rooks. The queen is able to make not only a “fork”, but also threaten 8 pieces at the same time.
Before playing chess, it is important to familiarize yourself with another nuance. If the pawn reaches the last opposite square of the board (to the first line of the opponent), then it can be exchanged for any piece that was previously taken by the opponent.
Game recording
A standard chessboard is a square and consists of 64 squares. The vertical letters are always Latin letters from “a” to “h”, and the horizontal numbers are from 1 to 8. These are the notations that are accepted in the moves record.
Thus, each cell has its own name, for example, d5, e1, f8, etc. In the record of the course of a figure, two fields (initial and final) are written through a hyphen. For example: a2 - a4.
In addition, figures have their own brief notation - these are the first letters of their names (, , , ). The exception is only the king. Its abbreviation in the record - CU. A pawn is not indicated in any way.
Party outcomes
The rules of the game of chess describe only two possible development of the final and one intermediate.
The attack on the king is called a check. This action is indicated by a “+” sign in the record. Among chess players it is customary to call it an intermediate outcome, when there is a chance of a mat. In the case of the shah, there are several ways to defend: leave the king aside, close it with another piece, or take the attacker.
If the king does not have the opportunity to evade the attack, then the opponent was put a checkmate. In this case, the game is considered to be won. It is marked with an “x”.
A draw in chess was called stalemate. This is a situation where before the mat the player has only one step left, but he will not succeed in making it, since the opponent has no options for maneuvering any of the pieces. It is indicated by the symbol "#".
Castling
The rules of the game allow you to swap the king and the rook once per game. Chess for children excludes the possibility of castling pieces, as there are nuances that are quite difficult to read in it. A permutation is permitted only when neither the rook nor the king has made a single move and is not under attack by an opponent. Also, it can not be done at the very beginning of the game. During castling, the rook gets up close to the king, and the rook stands on the neighboring field from the other side.
Russian chess
The rules of this game are no different from its Arabic counterpart. Russian chess is a chessboard with 64 squares and 32 pieces. Pawns here are called taurels. The remaining figures have names: the prince, the horseman and the warrior. The king is a magus.
How to play chess with such pieces? The main difference is the position of the "tower". During the game, not a single piece is removed from the board. If one of them hits the other, then it is placed on top of the first, forming a kind of tower, and so on.
The game continues until the first figure appears on the sorcerer.