Chess Fundamentals for Newbies of All Ages

When a beginner comes to play chess for the first time, it is expected that they will be somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer complexity and volume of material they need to learn. And studying the basics is challenging in itself.  Well, if you’re a greenhorn and if you want to succeed, then you can – as long as you prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. Learning a new skill is not always easy, but it can be done.

The primary step is to set up your board. After that, take time to learn what you can about each piece and how you can manoeuvre them in the game. In this article, I’ll show you how. Don’t worry. I’ll keep it simple. Here, you’ll learn my ABC method. Does the line “Simplicity is the essence of a genius” sound familiar?  I couldn’t agree more with whoever thought of such line!  So, here goes:

A)    The Board: The chess board has black squares and white squares arranged in alternating fashion. Count the number of rows, and you’ll end up with a total of 8. The number of squares for each row is also 8. According to the rules, you must arrange the chess pieces at the start of the game – only on the first 2 rows from each edge of the board.

B)    The Pieces: Before, there were only black and white pieces. Modern chess pieces are more colourful. Your choices are not limited to black and white pairs only, although in the olden times, all chess pieces were referred to as blacks or whites. Each player is expected to have a king, a queen, 8 pawns and 2 pieces for each of the following: bishop, horse and tower.  All pawns occupy the front row, while the rest of the pieces are positioned behind the first row.

C)    The Moves:

The Pawns: Two squares are allowed in the first move, but afterwards, pawns can only advance 1 square at a time.  To capture the opponent, you can advance your pawn 1 step diagonally to either left or right directions.

Rooks: Move them sideways, either vertically or horizontally. There’s no limit to the number of spaces rooks can advance. However, you are not supposed to them skip a piece as in Chinese checkers.

The Knights: This rule is a bit more complicated. They move irregularly - two spaces forward and one square to the left or right in an L shape.

The Bishops: Their movement is limited to diagonal positions only. There’s no limit to the number of squares the bishops are allowed to advance in one directional turn. However, they’re not allowed to jump over other pieces.

The Queen: The queen’s moves combine those of the rook and the bishop. She can advance or retreat vertically, horizontally and diagonally, but she can’t jump over other chess pieces.

King: Your king can only budge one step at a time, but you have the freedom to position him transversely, sideways, forward or back.

In all chess matches, the goal is one and the same: Protect your king and capture the adversary’s king. And if this means eliminating the other pieces first, then so be it! Although your first few matches will not be as good, you can see a lot of improvement match after match. Switching from basic to advanced chess is not a one-time process. Good Playing!