Chess is an exciting board game that has long been famous as a game of true intellectuals. The game contributes to the development of thinking, the ability to correctly assess the situation and find a way out of it. But not only those people who have good thinking can play chess. The rules of the game are relatively simple, so a beginner will be able to remember them for several games and even make some progress. Children easily master this game, and chess tournaments are held not only for adults, but also for children.

The legend of the appearance of chess

In ancient times, several thousand years ago, when telephones, computers, televisions and other equipment did not yet exist on earth, a very despotic and bloodthirsty ruler ruled in India. The biggest entertainment for him there was a war, he could not sit still for a year, so as not to fight. All neighboring states and tribes fled from the horror that the cruel ruler of India instilled in them. And the Indian people are very tired of all these wars. But the ruler could not be distracted from his favorite pastime.

One day, a wise man came to the ruler and offered to play a game that simulated a war between two states, but not live, but on a board with drawn cells. In the game, in addition to the king, there was cavalry, fortresses and pawns, which the ruler liked very much. The sage had a goal not only to distract the ruler from real wars, but also to show him that he means nothing without his subjects.

The Indian ruler liked the game so much that he played it almost non-stop and completely forgot about real wars. When he asked the wise man What does he want as a reward? for the invented game, the sage, after a little thought, replied that he wanted grain, and about its quantity he answered as follows: “Put me 1 grain on the first cell, 2 on the second cell, twice as much on the third, and so on until they are filled all cells. The ruler was a little offended by this answer, he thought that the sage considered him too stingy, but nevertheless fulfilled the sage's desire.

When the court mathematicians calculated how much the ruler owed grain to the sage, it turned out to be a huge amount - much more than all the country's farmers grew in a year. Then the ruler realized that the sage was truly smart, and made him his main assistant.

Purpose and description of the game

The rules of the game have changed and transformed over the centuries. The classic rules of the game, by which the whole world plays today, were formed a couple of centuries ago.

The game takes place on the board, which consists of 64 black and white cells (cells of different colors alternate with each other). The game is designed for two players, with two sets of figures (one set is white, the second is black). Each set consists of 16 pieces:

Each piece moves in its own way, and only one piece can be moved in one move. The player with the white pieces starts the game. All pieces can be "killed" except the king.

There are two types of chess game:

  • For a while;
  • Without time.

If this is an ordinary friendly game, then it is usually played over a cup of coffee, without time, the players take turns until one loses. At tournaments and competitions, they play for a while - this is when each player is given a certain amount of time to think. As a rule, time is given not for one move, but for the whole game as a whole.

By time The game is divided into 3 types:

  • Bullet. This is when each player is given only one minute for the entire game.
  • Blitz. Another type of game is called rapid chess. Each player is given from 12 to 20 minutes for the whole game.
  • Classic chess. In this game, time is allocated from 20 minutes to several hours. You can calmly think and plan the tactics of the game.

It is very important to know the following concepts:

  • Shah - the king is under attack by an opponent's piece. But the king can be closed by any of his pieces, or the king can leave the cell on which he is under attack.
  • Checkmate - the king is under attack and he has no way to leave or hide behind any of his pieces. In other words, when the king cannot get away from the attack, checkmate means losing.
  • Stalemate - the player cannot move any of his pieces anywhere. Pat means draw.

The goal of the game is to "capture" the opponent's king before his army "captures" your king. To announce checkmate to the opponent or create a situation where the opponent wants to surrender on his own. Most often this happens when almost all of his pieces are beaten.

The first thing a novice chess player needs to get acquainted with is how the pieces are correctly placed on the chessboard, and how each piece moves.

Chess pieces occupy 2 lines on the board - those that are closer to the player. On the second line there are pawns in each cell. On the first line, rooks are placed along the edges, then horses are placed closer to the center, then bishops (officers), the two remaining cells are occupied by the king and queen (queen). The black queen stands on a black square, and the black king, respectively, on a white one. The white queen is on a white square, and the king is on a black one. There is a saying that the queen loves her color, which is why the pieces are arranged like that.

On the side of the board, numbers are written on one side, and letters on the other. White pieces are placed on lines 1 and 2, and black pieces on lines 7 and 8.

The most basic thing to know before you start playing is how all chess pieces move. They all walk differently, so it is important to remember and not to be confused.

Pawn

More often the game starts with a pawn move, since all other pieces are covered by pawns (a knight's move is also possible, but more on that later). The pawn moves in a straight line and only forward (it is forbidden to move backward). You can walk one cell or 2 cells forward (that is, through one). If the pawn rested against another piece, then it can no longer move until there is room for a move. A pawn can capture (beat) any piece except for the king. The capture occurs diagonally one cell forward.

The unique property of a pawn is that it can be promoted to any piece except the king. To do this, she needs to reach the last row on the opposite side.

Elephant

The bishop in its appearance can easily disguise itself as a pawn and confuse an inexperienced player. But the bishop is similar to the pawn only outwardly. This figure moves diagonally in any direction. The capture, like that of a pawn, occurs diagonally. The queen cannot jump over a piece. If an alien figure stands on the barrier, then he can kill it, and if his own, then the passage will simply be closed, and the bishop will not be able to move further.

Each player has two bishops, one of them is white - this is the one that initially stands on a white square and controls the white diagonals. The second bishop, which stands on a black square, is called black, it controls the black diagonals. If the bishop is in the center of the board, then as many as 13 cells can be controlled by him (depending on the workload of the pieces).

Rook

It is located on the extreme cells of the board. Rooks move in a straight line horizontally and vertically to any number of cells that space allows. Jumping over pieces is prohibited. The capture also occurs in a straight line, vertically or horizontally. In terms of its ability to walk, the rook is very similar to the bishop.

Most often, the rook does not take an active part in the first part of the game, as it is behind the fence of pawns. A figure gains its strength when it is given space.

Horse

This is the most cunning and insidious piece in chess, especially for beginners. It is the horse that is most difficult to learn to walk and notice the threat of an enemy horse. This figure moves with the letter "G". Several options are possible:

The knight can jump over pieces both through its own and through others. The knight can only beat the piece that stands on the cell where his move ends, all other pieces that interfere with his move, he simply jumps.

King

The king is unique in that he cannot disappear from the chessboard, he can't be killed. If the king is under attack, then he must leave, or any other piece must cover him. If the king cannot escape the threat, checkmate is declared and the game is considered over. All pieces, in addition to the fact that they must checkmate the opponent as quickly as possible, must not forget about their king and his guard.

The king can move horizontally, vertically and diagonally, but only one cell. He can also beat pieces diagonally, vertically and horizontally, but only if the opponent's piece is at a distance of one cell from the king.

Queen

The queen is considered the most valuable piece in chess. The queen can move any distance diagonally, vertically and horizontally. It is very similar to the possible moves of the king, but with a difference in the range of the move. The queen cannot jump over pieces.

You have probably heard that chess develops thinking, observation, the ability to assess the situation, otherwise you would not have opened this article. Sovsport tried to summarize the rules of chess for beginners - if you have never played this game before, then it's time to learn. If you played a little and for a long time, then you can refresh your knowledge. If you want to teach your children, we will try to help.

THE LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF CHESS

If you are going to explain the rules of chess to children, then first try to captivate them with the legend of the origin of chess.

A long time ago, about two thousand years ago, when there were no iPads or even TVs, the despotic and frivolous Raja Bagram lived and ruled in India, who constantly entertained himself by fighting with his neighbors.

And one of his close associates named Nazir decided to distract the ruler from the wars with a game that he invented, and at the same time show that the king means little without the support of his subordinates. In this game, on a 64-cell board, in addition to the king, infantry and cavalry, elephants and fortresses were placed and fought - everything is like in a real Bagram army, so he really liked the game. He asked Nazir what reward he wanted for his invention.

“Put 1 grain of wheat on the first cell of the board, 2 on the second, twice as many again on the third, that is, 4, on the fourth, 8, and so on, until you fill all 64 cells,” the sage replied.

“You don’t think well of my generosity! Is this a worthy reward? All right, you'll get your sack of wheat!" Bagram waved his hand.

But when the court mathematicians calculated how many grains Bagram should give to Nazir, they got a huge amount - 18,446,744,073,709,551,615! This is more than grains of sand in the largest desert of our Earth, the Sahara! After that, the raja realized how smart Nazir was, and even more respected the game that he had come up with.

The rules of the game of chess were refined for many centuries, but in their classical version they were established several centuries ago. The game is played on a board consisting of 64 alternating black and white cells. You need to start arranging the pieces when the board lying in front of you in the near right corner has a white cell.

There are 16 pieces in your army - a king, a queen (queen), 2 knights, 2 bishops, 2 rooks and 8 pawns. In the row closest to you, rooks are placed along the edges, then, closer to the center, horses, then bishops. The remaining two cells are occupied by the king and queen, and it is easy to remember their location by the phrase "the queen loves her color." That is, the white queen is on a white square (and the white king is on a black one), and the black queen is on a black one, leaving a white square for the black king. The second row from the players is entirely occupied by pawns.

White makes the first move. In one move, only one piece can be moved by any number of cells allowed for it. If your piece "lands" on the cell where the opponent's piece stands, then his piece "dies" and is removed from the board.

The goal of the game is to "capture" the other's king before the other's army "captures" yours. The situation when the opponent's king is attacked by any of your pieces, but can hide on an adjacent square or behind another piece, is called "check". And if he is under attack and there is nowhere for him to hide, it means you checkmate and win.

HOW CHESS PIECES WALK

To show how chess pieces move on the board, there is nothing better than to present this part of the rules of chess in pictures. But first you need to remember: according to the rules, if you took up any piece, then you must make a move to it.

King. Moves one square in any direction. An exception is castling (more on that below). You cannot lose the king, so the king can never move to the cell that is under attack by someone else's piece. If your opponent accidentally put the king on a square where he could not go, do not shout "Ha ha, I won!", but put his piece back and explain what he made a mistake.

Queen. The strongest figure. Moves any number of cells in any direction.

Elephant. Moves any number of cells along any diagonal. As you can see, one bishop starts on a white square (and it can never be on a black one), and the other starts on a black one (and never jumps to a white one).

Horse. The most unusual figure moves with the letter “G”, that is, two cells in any direction, then makes a 90-degree turn in any direction and moves one more cell. At the same time, the horse is the only piece that can "jump" over others.

Rook. Moves in a straight line - that is, forward, backward or in any direction for any number of cells.

Pawn. The simplest soldiers in your army can only move forward. On their first move, they can step either one or two squares. But in the future they walk carefully - one cell and no more. But if someone else's piece is standing in front of them, then they cannot attack it. Why? Because pawns attack other people's pieces also with a one-cell step, but not directly, but diagonally!

However, as often written in the rules of chess for children, the slow and clumsy pawn has a dream that she sometimes manages to fulfill. If it reaches the opposite edge of the board, it can turn into any other piece (except the king and itself, that is, a pawn). Usually a pawn is made into a queen, because, as you already know, this is the most powerful piece.

The so-called “capture on the aisle” is connected with the pawn, which we will discuss below.

SPECIAL MOVES

There are two special moves. Again, for clarity, we will explain these nuances of the rules of the game of chess in the pictures.

The first special move is called castling. If the king and rook have not yet moved since the beginning of the game and there are no other pieces between them, then they can castle. To do this, the king takes two steps towards the rook, and she "jumps" over him. At the same time, neither the cell on which the king stood, nor the cell that he crossed, nor the cell on which he stood, should be under attack by the opponent's pieces.

"En passant capture" refers to the pawn's first move, when it moved two squares at once. If a pawn - for example, white - stepped two squares and at the same time caught up with the opponent's black pawn, then the player with black pieces can next move his pawn to the square that the white pawn just jumped over and remove the frisky opponent from the board. But if he does not make this move right away, then in the future he can no longer claim to “eat” the white pawn.

END GAME

As already noted, the game ends when the king of one of the chess players is under attack and cannot "escape" from him or defend himself with another piece. This is called "checkmate". The one who managed to drive someone else's king into such a trap is declared the winner. The party can also end in the victory of one of the participants, if the other himself declares his surrender.

If the king of one of the participants in the game is not under attack, but this participant cannot move any of the pieces, then this situation is called a “stalemate”, and a draw is declared in the match. In addition, a draw is fixed if a position is repeated three times (not necessarily for three moves in a row) or if there are no pieces left on the board sufficient for a checkmate (for example, kings and one minor piece from one of the opponents, that is, a knight or bishop) .

The above is enough for you to sit down to play chess - with a friend, with a child, or just with a computer program. But to play successfully, you need to take into account at least something else.

First, always think: why did the opponent go this way or that way? What is he up to? If you unravel his plan, then with a high probability you will be able to find protection.

Second, try to develop your plan. For example, it makes no sense to just put "check" just to proudly pronounce this word if the opponent can easily defend against your single attack. But if you start attacking the enemy king with several pieces of your "army" at once, then this will have a much greater effect.

Third, know the value of each piece. It is foolish to "eat" someone else's pawn in order to immediately lose your queen. When exchanging pieces, take into account their conditional price: a knight and a bishop cost about three pawns, a rook - six, a queen - nine. The king, as you know, is priceless.

Fourth, try to control the center of the board, at least the central four squares. The pieces in the corners and on the edges are less agile, they are less involved in the game. That is why, by the way, do not delay the introduction of significant pieces into the game - you cannot win the initiative with pawns alone!

Fifth, remember that "double" pawns (that is, standing on the same line after you "ate" an opponent's piece with one of them) cannot defend each other. This is especially important at the end of the game.

Sixth, always think about the safety of the king! No matter how confident the position of your pieces on the board looks, all this will be useless if your king is under attack and cannot avoid it.

And most importantly - have fun!

Chess... Are there those who have not heard the name of this game? I think no. Many have seen the board with squares, the smart and concentrated expression on the faces of players who take turns moving different pieces in the hope of defeating the opponent by saying such a long-awaited word “checkmate”. Let's take a closer look at this game.

This is a game that is played on a 64-cell board with 16 white and 16 black pieces, which develops tactical abilities, strategic thinking, combinational vision, visual memory and much more. Chess is based on logical thinking, since during the game you are focused on finding the best solutions to the current situation on the board and anticipating the opponent's moves for your own favorable arrangement of pieces. Thus, developed logic will enable you to find a causal relationship and find the very essence of certain things. This will help you stand out in society with your foresight and be pragmatic. In addition, the development of intellectual abilities is guaranteed to you!

The name of the game itself consists of two words of the Persian language - "shah" and "mat", which, in turn, means only one thing - "the king is dead." As for history, the data suggest that a game called chess comes from India and is quite old - at least 1,500 thousand years old (impressive figure, isn't it?).

The board and the properties of the pieces

Chess is a board game, so all actions take place on a board that is divided into cells, or, in other words, fields - 8 × 8. Vertical rows (fields that are at the bottom and top of you on the board) are indicated by letters of the Latin alphabet starting from "a" to "h", going from left to right. The rows are horizontal (located to the right and left of you) are indicated by numbers from 1 to 8 - the unit is at the bottom, and all the numbers from it go to the top, right up to the very eight at the top.

The game begins with the fact that each of the chess players has the same number of pieces that are in a certain order. The players have such sets of pieces: king, queen, two rooks, a pair of bishops, two knights and eight pawns are painted in the color that the chess player represents (white or black). The figures are placed in the following order, as shown in the figure below.

moves

White always moves first, so the move is made by the player who owns pieces of exactly that color. How does each of the pieces mentioned above move? Let's dwell on this in more detail:

  • you can walk on a cell that is not occupied by your piece, or you can stand in place of someone else's, having previously "killed" it;
  • the king can move one square in three directions: horizontally, vertically and diagonally;
  • the queen goes in the same three directions, but having freedom of movement, not being limited to one cell, but has all the space at her disposal;
  • rook - move to any distance but only in two directions: horizontally and vertically;
  • elephant - unlimited movement in only one direction - diagonal;
  • the knight moves to a cell that is at a distance of 2 vertically and 1 horizontally or 1 vertically and 2 horizontally from its position (letter "G") and has its own unique opportunity - to jump over everything ( both your own and others') figures and stand on any cell;
  • the pawn has the ability to move one square of the board forward vertically, and when capturing another piece, one square diagonally. If the pawn (at the very beginning of the game) has not yet made a single move, then it has the opportunity to make a move two cells forward along the vertical. Another possibility for a pawn is to transform into any piece if it has reached the opponent's last rank.

Situations in a chess game

  • a check is a situation when the king is under attack by any of the pieces and is obliged to eliminate this situation with the next move in order to be able to continue the game;
  • checkmate - it is impossible for the player to prevent the check being put by any move, and the king is "killed". At the same time, the opponent who managed to "kill" the king pronounces the phrase "checkmate" - this is the goal of the game;
  • stalemate - a situation where a player, in his turn to move, cannot make a move that would comply with the rules, but the king is not in check.

Tips for those who want to learn how to play chess on their own from scratch

  • always analyze everything that happens on the board - remember that not only you, but also your opponent has a strategy and most (if not all) of his moves are aimed at threatening your king, so try to anticipate moves and be focused;
  • do not rush to put "check", if only to pronounce this phrase more often. It will be more appropriate if you approach the attack not with a single piece, but in a complex way, having thought through the options for the "escape" of the opponent's king and creating your own "ambush" already there;
  • understand the value of each of the pieces and keep in mind that the essence of the game is to checkmate the king, and not to interrupt, at the cost of your own losses, other people's pieces;
  • here is advice, akin to such a sport as boxing and many others - try to control the center, it is in this part of the board that all the most important events take place, which are often decisive;
  • keep in mind that the protection of the king is important in the game, because without reliable protection it is impossible to fully attack the enemy;
  • after you get stronger tactfully, practice - play together with acquaintances, friends, parents, studying various situations in a “live” game, and most importantly ... do not forget to enjoy the game, experiencing both the joy of victories and the bitterness of defeats that turn into invaluable experience and the basis for future victories.

I hope that we have answered your question, how to quickly learn how to play chess correctly for beginners. Read additional literature and you will succeed!

Do you want to have a good rest and switch your brains from endless work or study to something more pleasant? Evenings are made to play chess with a computer - it's hard to find a more interesting and more mind-boggling activity! The main thing is that, contrary to popular belief, playing chess with a computer is almost as cool as playing with a live opponent. Of course, it is impossible to break the rules in this case, and it will not be possible to move the opponent on the head with the queen in case of a loss - this is a minus ...

If you want to become the strongest in this intellectual sport, you will certainly need live opponents with non-standard logic and the ability to generate creative solutions. But you can't enter a tournament with real champions unprepared: online chess will allow you to train as long as you need! And when you practice playing chess online, you can safely challenge even Kasparov himself to the tournament. There is no doubt: as in any sport, regular training will allow you to prevail in any situation!

A bit of history

Not without reason, we immediately began to compare the board game with a military strategy. It is difficult for us now to imagine that a knight, rook or bishop (which, by the way, does not look like a bishop at all) can have something to do with military operations. Where are the tanks, you ask? Where is aviation? Well, if we decided to get by with the infantry - let there be infantry ... But why then do the pawns rather look not like harsh infantrymen, but like girls in ball gowns?

It is not difficult to answer all these questions if we remember that the history of the game of chess originates in ancient India: scientists agree that the game appeared no later than the 6th century AD. Since at that time humanity was already a fairly civilized and organized society, the battles looked little like primitive fights. It was not the personal endurance and strength of warriors that came to the fore in the art of war, but the ability of their commander to build tactics and plan a battle strategy.

It was somewhat expensive even in those days to work out various tactical schemes on living people, and therefore the ancient rulers decided to come up with something that would allow them to simulate the course of the battle. And they came up with chess - not so much a game as a training ground for generals, a tool for planning and practicing possible tactics. On the board were exactly those troops that the then generals had at that time. Yes, and for the commanders themselves, there was a place: in the role of a king, who brings little use as an ordinary warrior, but without whom the battle is lost instantly.

Of course, there were no tanks in those days - that's why we still play with rooks (chariots), bishops (actually, elephants are elephants) and cavalry. Well, the infantry - where without it? Pawns have the shortest move, but there are always a lot of them, and it is they who start the battle. Well, do you still have doubts that a game of chess perfectly reflects the picture of hostilities?

Chess players of all countries, unite!

Of course, time cannot but affect traditional entertainment. And, although chess has not only existed for a long time, but has also been popular for many centuries, the rules of this game more or less settled down only in the 19th century. Finally, the game acquired the status of not only “ubiquitous”, but “international” with the creation of the FIDE organization. The history and purpose of this community is typical of any such association in the sports world. With the growing popularity of some kind of entertainment, the number of different interpretations of the rules increases, which make it almost impossible to hold more or less large-scale competitions.

To turn a board game into a real sport, it is necessary to create a unified system of rules, a mechanism for awarding sports titles and competition rules. It is these issues that FIDE has been solving since 1924 - that is, almost a century. Of course, no one prevents you from creating your own set of rules - but who will you play with? And after studying the generally accepted rules approved by FIDE, you can play chess with a computer, with a Chinese or with a world champion - and with everyone according to the same rules! In this regard, the game of chess is a universal language of communication, because wherever you go, you can always play a game or two with any local resident without worrying about the language barrier. You just don't need to talk: your moves will say everything for you!

Computer chess player

It so happened that not all of the mind sports are considered equally valuable for mental development. For some reason, an avid gambler will be more likely to be associated in society with some kind of asocial element, while a chess player is a well-deserved and respected person.

I single out this sport among all board games precisely because the importance of manifestation of all aspects of human thinking is greater than anywhere else in it. By reading books and studying the games played by other people, a novice chess player gains a theoretical knowledge base, which you can partially even try to transfer to practice: we all know such a concept as, for example, the “classic opening” - what is it if not an attempt to replace the work of one’s own imagination with reproduction from memory of accumulated combinations?

However, any really talented chess player will beat a beginner in no time, who will reproduce entire scenarios read from books. The fact is that all standard schemes have long been known to the whole world, and therefore are easily predictable. Reproducing even the most ingenious sequences of actions on the board, the player puts himself under attack, because the enemy knows all his steps several moves ahead.

A complex combination of simulated compositions and original finds - this is what true mastery lies in. It is no accident that beating a real champion is more than a difficult task for a computer, which, by definition, is only capable of choosing the most successful options from hundreds of thousands of once played chess games loaded into its memory.

However, this does not mean that there is no point in playing online if)