Slate and Artsmith

The Board

Chess is played on a chequered board containing 64 squares.

The squares of the board alternate in color and are termed light, and dark squares.

These squares are arranged into rows and columns.

Rows are called ranks and are numbered from 1 – 8

Columns are called files and are labeled from A – H

Pieces are set up in lines which are parallel to the files, and perpendicular to the ranks of the board.

The Pieces

Pieces are divided into two sets which are generally called white and black, despite what the colors of the pieces actually are. Each player starts with 16 pieces. Those pieces are…

1 King: Arguably the most important piece on the board, the point of the game is to try and capture your opponent’s king. The king can move in any direction one space.

1 Queen: A powerful piece the queen can move in a straight line in any direction, as far as the player wants, as long as another piece doesn’t get in the way.

2 Bishops: The bishop can move diagonally in any direction, as far as the player wants, as long as another piece doesn’t get in the way,

2 Knights: A Knight can move two squares forward and one step to the right or left. This move can be done in any direction, as long as the same amount of distance is covered in the same way. The knight can also make his move over other pieces.

2 Rooks: The Rook can move in a straight line in any direction, as far as the player wants, as long as another piece doesn’t get in the way.

8 Pawns: Pawns are the backbone of a chess army. In general they can only move forward and can only move one space at a time. However, on their first move they can go forward two spaces. Also, the only way for a pawn to capture an enemy, is to move diagonally to take them. The board is positioned so that the closest square to each player on their far right is light colored.

The row closest to each player contains the non pawn pieces. If you are the white team, the pieces are set up from left to right as rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishops, knight, rook. If you are the black team the pieces are set up from left to right as rook, knight, bishop, king, queen, bishop, knight rook. The two armies should be mirror images of one another. Each queen should stand on a square of its own color.

Game Play

The player who is designated to be white makes the first move. Pieces are moved either to an unoccupied square or to a square with an opponent’s piece on it. Each player can move one piece on each turn, and turns are alternated. When your piece moves onto an opponents piece, their piece is said to be captured, and is taken out of play.

En passant is a move done by two opposing pawns, in which one pawn can capture the other, under special conditions, without moving to his square. Casteling is a move in which both the king and the rook move during the same turn, to a predefined position, under special circumstances.

If during play a pawn reaches the other end of the board, they are promoted, and can be exchanged for an extra of any piece the player wants except the king. The object of the game is to capture your opponent’s king.

When a player maneuvers their pieces such that on their next move they can capture the opponent’s king, the opponent is said to be in check. When a player is in check, they have to move their pieces in such a way that they get out of check before the next move.

If it is not possible to move their pieces in such a way that they get out of check before the opponents next move, the player is said to be in checkmate, and loses. Not all games are ended by putting a player in checkmate. A player can resign, or if it seams impossible to achieve checkmate, a game may end in a draw. If it is a timed game a player can also lose by running out of time.

PebbleZ.com is the source for marble chess sets. They have a huge selection of beautiful pieces, in a variety of sizes and colors. Marble is the classic look for chess and these designs are the same that have been used in the palaces of princes and kings for generations.