Chess: rules and exercises
Checkmate the enemy king: attack it so that it cannot escape, block, or capture the attacker.
The classic: 16 pieces, one king to protect.
1. Learn the rules
How each piece moves
- ♙ Pawn — moves one square forward (two from its starting rank) and captures diagonally.
- ♖ Rook — straight lines, any distance.
- ♘ Knight — an «L»: two squares then one perpendicular. The only piece that jumps.
- ♗ Bishop — diagonals, any distance.
- ♕ Queen — rook and bishop combined.
- ♔ King — one square in any direction.
Special moves
- Castling — king and rook move together, if neither has moved, no pieces stand between them, and the king never crosses an attacked square.
- En passant — a pawn that advances two squares can be captured by an enemy pawn as if it had moved only one.
- Promotion — a pawn reaching the last rank becomes any piece you choose, usually a queen.
How the game ends
- Checkmate — the king is attacked and no legal move saves it.
- Stalemate — a draw: the player to move has no legal move and is NOT in check.
- Draw — also by insufficient material, threefold repetition, or agreement.
You may never make a move that leaves your own king in check, however convenient it would be.
2. Recognize the objective
Before choosing a check, inspect the king’s escape squares. A quiet move can restrict them and prepare an inevitable mate. In the exercise, respond to the defense that prolongs the game most.
3. Put it into practice
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