Welcome back to the Chess Academy, Level 2. We’ll delve further into the mechanics of each piece and the special moves in the game. Keep your board and pieces handy to practice as we go along.
Special Movements:
Castling: This move is a special privilege given to the king and rooks. It’s the only move where you can move two pieces at once, and it’s also the only time in the game the king can move more than one square. There are certain conditions for castling to be legal: it must be that king’s very first move, it must be that rook’s first move, the squares between the king and rook must be unoccupied, and the king may not be in check or pass through check.
Pawn Promotion: A pawn that reaches the opposite side of the board (the 8th rank) can be promoted to any other piece (queen, rook, bishop, knight) of the same color, except the king.
En Passant: This is a special pawn capturing move that can occur under very specific conditions. If a pawn moves two squares from its starting position and lands beside an opponent’s pawn, the opponent has the option of capturing the first pawn “en passant”, as if the pawn had moved only one square forward.
Pieces’ Values:
Each piece has a value reflecting its power and capabilities. These are approximations and can change depending on the position on the board, but as a guideline: a pawn is worth 1 point, knights and bishops are worth 3 points, rooks are worth 5 points, and the queen is worth 9 points. The king’s value is considered infinite as losing the king means losing the game.
The concept of Check and Checkmate:
Check: You place the opponent’s king ‘in check’ if you threaten it with one of your pieces. This means the king could be captured on the next move. The opponent must do something about this immediately.
Checkmate: If a player’s king is placed in check and there is no legal move to remove the threat of capture on the next move, the king is said to be checkmated, the game is over, and that player loses.
Practice these special moves and familiarize yourself with the value of the pieces. In our next lesson, we’ll start to explore basic opening principles and strategies. Remember, the key to mastery is patience and practice. Happy playing!