G. Chamath Pabasara Gunadasa
Chess as a Hobby: Introduction to Chess
Chess is one of the most popular board games that is played as a hobby. Many players enjoy playing chess in their free time, and chess has become a profession in the modern world. Chess is a two-player game, and it consists of 16 pieces for each side. Which means that to play chess, a chessboard needs to have 32 pieces. Some people argue that chess is a stressful activity. Chess is a good activity for brain development and a “fun” activity. However, chess is considered a game of the smartest people as it tests the knowledge, expertise, focus, and time management capabilities of individuals. This article aimed to identify key chess pieces and how the game is played.
Chess board
A board consists of 64 squares. Which means there are 8 squares on each side. These squares have unique names for each square, and generally, chess squares involve dark squares and light squares. This combination of light and dark squares allows players to identify easily how they need to play the game.
Key pieces of chess
When considering chess pieces, there are 06 pieces involved in chess. These are king, bishop, rook, knight, pawn, and queen. Each piece has a unique behavior and attitude. These can be identified as follows.
King
The king is one of the most important pieces on the entire chessboard and in the game. King can move in any direction to one square. King can capture pieces by moving in any direction by one square. In chess, checkmate is considered the end of the game, and in this situation, the king has no safe squares to travel. In other words, in a checkmate situation, the king has no way out. There is 01 king for each side. Therefore, chess aims to protect the king while attacking the opponent’s king.
Pawn
Pawn is considered a piece with less value. There are 8 pawns for each side, which means a total of 16 pawns are on the chessboard. Pawns can only move forward, and they cannot go backwards, left, or right. Pawns can only capture opponents’ pieces by moving diagonally, and when a pawn moves forward to the other corner of the board, that pawn can be promoted as a bishop, rook, knight, pawn, or queen, depending on what the player likes to promote. Therefore, even pawns have less value, but if they are used rightly, pawns can have a significant impact on the game.
Bishop
A bishop is another important piece on the chessboard. There are 02 bishops for each side on the board. One bishop covers dark squares while the other bishop covers light squares for each player. This formation allows the bishop to cover the entire board. Bishop can move any number of squares diagonally and capture any piece by moving diagonally. Therefore, bishops are adding higher value to the game compared to pawns.
Rook
Rook is another piece that possesses a special ability to move both horizontally and vertically to any number of squares. Rook is the most valuable piece compared to the pawn and bishop, while it is only less valuable than the king and queen. There are 02 rooks for each side of the board, and 04 rooks available on the entire board for both sides. Rooks have the ability to capture pieces as they move horizontally and vertically.
Knight
Knight is another valuable piece that possesses the ability to jump over other pieces. It is the only piece that has the ability to jump across other pieces. Knight generally moves in an “L” shape. In other words, the knight is moving 02 squares forward and one square to the left or right. Due to the knight’s capability to move across other pieces, it is considered the most important piece in the opening of the game. Knight mainly facilitates players to enhance their opening positions. There are a total of 04 knights on the board. This includes 02 white knights and 02 black knights.
Queen
The queen is the most valuable piece on the chessboard, only less valuable than the king. However, the queen is considered the most powerful piece on the chessboard. The queen possesses the capability to move any number of free squares horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Therefore, the queen adds huge value to the game, and losing the queen is considered a huge loss. There are 02 queens available in the entire chess board, this means 01 queen available for each side.
How to play
Chess Pieces Positioning
When considering the pieces’ positioning, all the 8 pawns are positioned in the second rank of each side. The first rank of the chessboard involves all valuable pieces, and these pieces are located as one rook, one knight, one bishop, queen, king, one bishop, one knight, one rook from left to right respectively on both sides of the board.
How to Win
The game can be won by “checkmate”. In chess, checkmate is considered the end of the game, and in this situation, the king has no safe squares to travel. In other words, in a checkmate situation, the king has no way out. Therefore, each player focuses on attacking the other side’s king and pieces while protecting their own king.
Check and Check-mate
Check is a situation where one player is moving a piece to attack the opponent’s king. In this situation, the opponent king needs to capture that piece, move to another safe square, or block an attack by another piece. In a checkmate situation, the king has no way out. In checkmate, the king has no way to move to another safe square or block an attack by another piece.
Draw
In chess, on some special occasions, draws can occur. It is the situation where the player has no legal moves. It is called a stalemate in chess.
Other Key Rules
On some special occasions, the king has the ability to move two squares toward a rook, while the rook is moved one square with the passing rook. In this situation, the king’s safety is increasing as this move allows the king to hide under the protection of the rook and pawns. This special move is called castling the king. This is the only situation where other pieces besides the knight have the ability to jump across another piece.
Conclusion
Many players enjoy playing chess in their free time, and chess has become a profession in the modern world. Chess is a two-player game, and it consists of 16 pieces for each side. A chessboard consists of 64 squares. Which means there are 8 squares on each side. When considering chess pieces, there are 06 pieces involved in chess. These are king, bishop, rook, knight, pawn, and queen. Each pieces have a unique behaviour and attitude.
