History UsefulNotes / Chess

[[quoteleft:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/knight_1.png]]

Players alternate turns, with White always having the first move. The object of the game is to check the enemy king such that he will be attack no matter what move is played, which is known as ''checkmate''. The game also ends with a victory if a player ''resigns'', or gives up. Most high-level games end this way (or in a draw), as it's considered unsportsmanlike for advanced players to keep playing when they are obviously going to lose.

Chess is played on a checkered board with 64 squares in an 8-by-8 arrangement. The initial setup is literally a MirrorMatch; Black's set up is the reverse of White's, so that the respective Kings and Queens appear to be facing one another. (The simple mnemonic is that the Queen is fashionable and "her dress matches her shoes," meaning she should always start on a square of her own color.) Another mnemonic is that '''d'''ames are set up on '''d''' squares (algebraic notation). The board is orientated so that both players have a white square at the bottom right of the board from their perspective ("white on the right")—getting this wrong indicates a complete beginner in RealLife and a CriticalResearchFailure in fiction (unless depicting complete beginners).

If a pawn makes it all the way to the farthest row on the board, they're instantly upgraded into any other piece of their player's choosing apart from the king, usually a [[MagikarpPower queen]].

Players alternate turns, with White always having the first move. The object of the game is to check the enemy king such that he will be attack no matter what move is played, which is known as ''checkmate''. The game also ends with a victory if a player ''resigns'', or gives up. Most games between advanced players end this way.

* Dead position: The game reaches a position where checkmate cannot be reached by any series of moves. This can happen due to circumstances such as insufficient material.[[note]]Any endgame resulting in two lone kings, a lone king against a single knight or bishop, or opposing bishops on the same color is automatically drawn by this rule.[[/note]]

Chess is frequently played with a timer so that each player has a limited amount of time to make their moves. In this case, the game ends when a player runs out of time, whereupon they lose if their opponent has a possible checkmate and draw otherwise.

* Draw by agreement: Players agree to a draw. This usually occurs in lifeless positions where both players consider checkmate to be unlikely, e.g. endgames with each side having a bishop on opposite-colored squares.

* Dead position: The game reaches a position where checkmate cannot be reached by any series of moves, such as by having insufficient material.[[note]]Any endgame resulting in two lone kings, a lone king against a single knight or bishop, or opposing bishops on the same color is automatically drawn by this rule.[[/note]]

* Dead position: Checkmate cannot be reached by any series of moves. This includes the possibility of insufficient material.[[note]]Any endgame resulting in two lone kings, a lone king against a single knight or bishop, or opposing bishops on the same color is automatically drawn by this rule.[[/note]]

Two per player. The horses; probably the most recognized board game piece in the world. Represent armored cavalry. The knight moves to an opposite colored square from the one it's on that is at exactly two squares away, ignoring any pieces in the way, highlighted in dark green in the illustration to the left.

The illustration above also compares the movement of the knight (green lines) to that of the queen (red lines). A queen moves ordinally (north, south, east, or west) or diagonally (northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest). The knight moves along some lines located between these; these lines are similar, but not identical, to wind lines on a compass rose (north-northeast, east-northeast, etc.). Since these lines do not pass through the center point of the squares adjacent to the knight, it moves to the first available square along the line.

Note that the knight is sitting on a light square, and it can move to any of the eight dark squares that lie two squares away. A queen sitting on its square can move to the other eight squares in this ring (highlighted in red).

The illustration above also compares the movement of the knight (green lines) to the queen (red lines). A queen moves ordinally (north, south, east, or west) or diagonally (northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest). The knight moves along some lines located between these; these lines are similar, but not identical, to wind lines on a compass rose (north-northeast, east-northeast, etc.). Since these lines do not pass through the center point of the squares adjacent to the knight, it moves to the first available square along the line.

The illustration above also compares the movement of the knight (green lines) to the queen (red lines). A queen moves ordinally (North, South, East, or West) or diagonally (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest). The knight moves along the lines between these, known as wind lines on a compass rose (North-Northeast, East-Northeast, etc.). Since these lines do not pass through the center point of the squares adjacent to the knight it moves to the first available square along the line.

If a pawn makes it all the way to the farthest row on the board, they're instantly upgraded into any other piece of their player's choosing apart from the king, usually a [[MagikarpPower Queen]].

This special move allows the knight to [[TacticalRockPaperScissors threaten a queen without putting itself in danger]]. Indeed, a knight is never threatened by the pieces it's attacking and can never threaten a piece that is attacking it unless said piece is another knight.

Chess is played on a checkered board with 64 squares in an 8-by-8 arrangement. The initial setup is literally a MirrorMatch; Black's set up is the reverse of White's, so that the respective Kings and Queens appear to be facing one another. (The simple mnemonic is that the Queen is fashionable and "her dress matches her shoes," meaning she should always start on a square of her own color.) Another mnemonic is that Dames are set up on D squares (algebraic notation). The board is orientated so that both players have a white square at the bottom right of the board from their perspective ("white on the right")--getting this wrong indicates a complete beginner in RealLife and a CriticalResearchFailure in fiction (unless depicting complete beginners).

All pieces in chess move in straight lines for one or more squares (yes, even the knight — see below). The pieces that can move more than one square cannot move through squares occupied by allied pieces and cannot move beyond the squares occupied by enemy pieces. If an enemy piece blocks a line of movement it can be captured — to do so, remove the piece from the board and replace it with the capturing piece.

Setup in the corners of the board and shaped like castle towers in most sets. Originally, they represented war chariots or siege towers. They move along ordinal lines — that is forwards, backwards, left, and right. In the illustration, the squares the rook can move to are in green.

Two per player. Have a top shaped like a bishop's miter. They originally represented war elephants, but such were unknown in Europe (Hannibal Barca notwithstanding) and the imagery eventually aligned to the environment. Can move any number of squares diagonally. In the diagram to the left, these squares are highlighted in green. A consequence of the bishop's move style is it can only ever see half the board — that is, a bishop that starts on a light square will remain on light squares for the whole game. As a result, players often refer to them as their "light square" or "dark square" bishop.

The King is [[InstantWinCondition the heart of the player's force]]. If he is ever in "check," a position in which he can be captured on the next turn, his player ''must'' take action to protect their King; it is literally against the rules to leave the King in check. They must either move the King out of the line of fire, interpose another piece between King and attacker, or capture the attacker. The King is also not allowed to move ''into'' or ''through'' check.

Unlike all other pieces, a pawn does not capture the same way it moves. When capturing, a pawn moves diagonally forward one square. If a pawn moves two squares, skipping over a square that an enemy pawn could have captured it on, then on the next move (and ''only'' on the next move), the opponent may choose to capture it ''en passant''. The capturing pawn moves to the square the enemy pawn passed over.

Beginning players tend to write pawns off as useless and obstructive, but players of skill know they are one of the most critical parts of the game. If a pawn makes it all the way to the farthest row on the board, they're instantly upgraded into any other piece of their player's choosing apart from the king, usually a [[MagikarpPower Queen]]. [[note]]Pawns' ability to become Queens is not their only strength — they are [[StoneWall highly effective defenses as well]], as the other player is very unlikely to sacrifice another piece to take one, almost regardless of context.[[/note]]

The illustration also compares the movement of the knight (green lines) to the queen (red lines). A queen moves ordinally (North, South, East, or West) or diagonally (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest). The knight moves along the lines between these, known as wind lines on a compass rose (North-Northeast, East-Northeast, etc.). Since these lines do not pass through the center point of the squares adjacent to the knight it moves to the first available square along the line.

Note that the knight is sitting on a light square, and he can move to any of the eight dark squares that lie two squares away. A queen sitting on his square can move to the other eight squares in this ring (highlighted in red).

This special move allows the knight to [[TacticalRockPaperScissors threaten a queen without putting itself in danger]]. Indeed, a knight is never threatened by the pieces it's attacking and can never threaten a piece that is attacking it (unless they're knights).

Players alternate turns with White always having the first move. The object of the game is to check the enemy king such that he will be attack no matter what move is played, which is known as ''checkmate''. The game also ends with a victory if a player ''resigns'', or gives up. Most games between advanced players end this way.