Nearly unaltered for the past five hundred years, the game of chess remains immensely popular. Today, it’s approximated that over six hundred million individuals world-wide are knowledgeable of the game.
How to become involved yourself?
It’s not as difficult as you may imagine, but it does take a little bit of a primer. To begin, let’s initiate with the basic instruments of the game. There are actually only 2 essentials: 1) the chess board and secondly, the Chess Set.
Let’s Commence
Comprised of 64 squares (placed 8 rows by 8), alternating between white and black, a chess board offers the analogical battlefield on which participants play. From this point forward, chess players are able to design their attacks, protect their king, and defend their territory.
At the beginning of each game, Chess Pieces are placed at the top and bottom rows. From these starting positions, strategies and tactics develop. Executed between 2 adversaries, chess is fundamentally a fight between 2 armies. The chess pieces correspond to that of a historical armament, furnished with a king, a queen, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, and eight pawns.
The final goal of chess is to capture the king of the opposing side, which if productive, will in effect finish the fight (and game). To do so is to checkmate their opposition. Take Note that a match may also end in a impasse, if it’s apparent that no sure checkmate is possible.
Again, a chess board comprises of 64 squares, which has been the case for more than 1,300 years now, going back to the game’s beginning with the Indian game Chaturanga. The rows are referred to as rank and the columns file. Ranks are numbered one to eight, while files are counted as a-f. Thusly, every square has its own corresponding key on the grid.
A Couple Of Rules of Thumb
When notating, recall that it’s file 1st, which signifies the file key is forever 1st. For example, the bottom right square would be a8 or a-file, 8th rank. While the notational system isn’t required for the beginning chess player, maintaining track of files and ranks is a effective way of imaging the playing field, measuring space, and consequently, planning one’s strategy.
Equally for the Chess Sets, each one comprises of 32 color-coded pieces: sixteen are reserved for the white player and the other sixteen for the black. At the games start, a color/side is selected: white or black, which also decides who proceeds first. The player assigned the white chess pieces always has the honor.
Also, talking of color, when putting together a chess board, keep in mind: white=right. This mnemonic rhyme will assist you turn the board correctly, as appropriate setup of chess sets is essential, especially if somebody is scoring the game. In the bottom right-hand corner, there should always be a white square. For all players. If it’s a black square, turn the chess board one time before putting the chess pieces down.
Performing the 1st Movement
Congratulations! Now that you’ve got your chess board turned correctly and your chess set properly distributed, it’s time to play and to create that important initial move.