Rules of chess

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Staunton style chess pieces. Left to right: king, rook, queen, pawn, knight, bishop.

While the exact origins of chess are unclear, the modern rules of chess first took form in Italy during the 16th century.^[1][2][3] The rules continued to be slightly modified until the early 19th century, when they reached essentially their current form. Today, these standard chess rules are widely accepted by national and international chess governing bodies such as United States (USCF) and World (FIDE) Chess Federations.^[4][5]

Chess is a two person game that is played on an 8-by-8 chessboard, with thirty-two pieces (sixteen for each player) of six types. Each type of piece moves in a distinct way. The goal of the game is to threaten one's opponent's most valuable piece, the king, with inevitable capture (checkmate).

[edit] Initial setup

Chess pieces
	King
	Queen
	Rook
	Bishop
	Knight
	Pawn

Chess is played on a square board that is divided into sixty-four squares (8-by-8) of alternating color, which is very similar to that used in draughts (checkers). The chess boards used at chess tournaments have squares of approximately 50 to 65 mm (2.0 to 2.5 inches). The chess boards used at chess tournaments are usually green and buff, which is considered "easier on the eyes" than black and white, and because it is easier to distinguish occupied and empty squares when the board colors are different from the piece colors.^[6][7][8][9] No matter what the true color of the board (which come in a wide variety of colors), the (thirty-two) lighter colored squares are called "white", and the (thirty-two) darker colored squares are called "black". Sixteen "white" and sixteen "black" pieces are moved on the board. The chess pieces used at chess tournaments are usually Staunton style shapes, and (unlike the board) often are black and white.

Sets used for play are commonly made of wood or plastic, although ornamental sets exist made of stone, glass, or metal, which are often used to decorate homes. Ivory was fairly commonly used at one time. Chessboards are commonly made out of vinyl or wood. They can be made of cardboard, leather, stone, glass, or any other material that the design can be placed on.

Pieces at the start of a game and a chess clock.

The board is placed so that a white square is in the near-right corner, and a black one in the near-left. Each player controls sixteen pieces:

• 1 king
• 1 queen
• 2 rooks
• 2 bishops
• 2 knights
• 8 pawns

Starting position

At the beginning of the game, the pieces are arranged as shown in the diagram to the right.

• The second row from the player contains the eight pawns.
• The row nearest the player contains the remaining pieces:
  • The rooks are placed on the outside corners.
  • The knights are placed immediately inside of the rooks.
  • The bishops are placed immediately inside of the knights.
  • The queen is placed on the central square of the same color of that of the player: white queen on the white square and black queen on the black square.
  • The king takes the vacant spot next to the queen.

Popular phrases used to remember the set-up, often heard in beginners' clubs, are "queen on color" and "white on right". The latter refers to setting up the board so that the square closest to each player's right is white.

To describe moves and locations on the board, a chess notation is used. Algebraic chess notation is now the standard, but there are other systems such as the obsolete descriptive chess notation.

[edit] Gameplay

Each player has control of one of the two sets of colored pieces and are typically referred to by the nominal color of their respective pieces, i.e., White or Black. White moves first and, as in most board games, the players alternate moves. Play continues until a draw is declared, a player resigns, or a king is checkmated, as explained below.

Unlike Go, where the order of play is determined by the relative skills and handicaps of the players, the official chess rules do not include a procedure for determining who plays White. Instead, this decision is left open to tournament-specific rules (e.g. a Swiss system tournament or Round-robin tournament) or, in the case of non-competitive play, mutual agreement, in which case some kind of random choice is often employed.

[edit] Movement

Moves of a king also the positions after kingside (White) and queenside (Black) castling	Moves of a rook
Moves of a bishop	Moves of a queen
Moves of a knight	Moves of a pawn The white pawns can move to the squares marked with "X" in front of them. The pawn on c6 can also take either black rook. The pawn on h5 can also take en passant the black pawn on g5 if the last Black move was g7-g5, which will result on the white pawn going to g6 (the dot).

Each chess piece has its own style of moving. Moves are made to vacant squares except when capturing an opponent's piece.

With the exception of the knight, pieces cannot jump over each other. When a piece is captured (or taken), the attacking piece replaces the enemy piece on its square (en passant being the only exception). The captured piece is thus removed from the game and may not be returned to play for the remainder of the game.^[10] The king cannot be captured, only put in check.

• The king can move exactly one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. At most once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as castling. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook, then placing the rook on the other side of the king, adjacent to it. Castling is only permissible if all of the following conditions hold:

1. The player must never have moved either the king or the rook involved in castling;
2. There must be no pieces between the king and the rook;
3. The king may not currently be in check, nor may the king pass through or end up in a square that is under attack by one or more enemy pieces (though the rook is permitted to be under attack);
4. The king and the rook must be on the same rank (to exclude castling with a rook from a promoted pawn).

In serious play, the king must be touched and moved first when castling; its move of more than one square makes clear that castling is intended.

• The rook moves any number of vacant squares vertically or horizontally. It also is moved while castling.
• The bishop moves any number of vacant squares in any diagonal direction.
• The queen can move any number of vacant squares diagonally, horizontally, or vertically.
• The knight moves to the nearest square not on the same rank, file, or diagonal. Equivalently, the knight moves two squares like the rook and then one square perpendicular to that. Its move is not blocked by other pieces, i.e. it leaps to the new square.
• Pawns have the most complex rules of movement:

• A pawn can move forward one square, if that square is unoccupied. If it has not yet moved, the pawn has the option of moving two squares forward provided both squares in front of the pawn are unoccupied. A pawn cannot move backward.
• When such an initial two square advance is made that puts that pawn horizontally adjacent to an opponent's pawn, the opponent's pawn can capture that pawn "en passant" as if it moved forward only one square rather than two, but only on the immediately subsequent move.
• Pawns are the only pieces that capture differently from how they move. They can capture an enemy piece on either of the two spaces adjacent to the space in front of them (i.e., the two squares diagonally in front of them), but cannot move to these spaces if they are vacant.
• If a pawn advances all the way to its eighth rank, it is then promoted (converted) to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color, the choice being at the discretion of its player. In practice, the pawn is almost always promoted to a queen. If it converted to another piece, this is called "underpromotion".

[edit] Check and checkmate

Check. Black king on e8 is check by white's rook on a8. Black has three ways out of check: move king to d7, capture rook with bishop b7, move bishop to c8 to remove the check.

Main articles: Check (chess) and Checkmate

When a player makes a move that threatens the opposing king with capture (not necessarily by the piece that was moved), the king is said to be in check. If a player's king is in check then the player must make a move that eliminates the threat of capture; a player may never leave his king in check at the end of his move. The possible ways to remove the threat of capture are:

• Move the king to a square where it is not threatened.
• Capture the threatening piece (possibly with the king, if doing so does not put the king in check).
• Place a piece between the king and the opponent's threatening piece (not possible if the threatening piece is a knight).

In informal games, it is customary to announce check when making a move that puts the opponent's king in check. However, in formal competitions check is rarely announced (Just & Burg 2003:28).

Checkmate. White king is checkmated, Black wins.

A player may not make any move which places or leaves his king in check. (This also entails that a player cannot place his king on any square adjacent to the enemy king, because doing so would leave his king able to be taken by the enemy king and therefore in check.)

If a player's king is placed in check and there is no legal move that player can make to escape check, then the king is said to be checkmated, the game ends, and that player loses (unlike other pieces, the king is never actually captured or removed from the board^[11]). The diagram to the right shows a typical checkmate position.

The white king is threatened by the black queen; every square to which the king could move is also threatened; and he cannot capture the queen, because he would then be threatened by the rook.

[edit] Draws

White is in stalemate if it is his turn to move. The game ends in a draw.

Main article: Draw (chess)

The game ends in a draw in any of these conditions occur:

• The game is automatically a draw if the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. This situation is called a stalemate. An example of such a position is shown in the diagram to the right.
• There is no possibility for either player to checkmate the opponent. For example one player has a king and a knight and another only a king.
• Both players agree to a draw (Draw by agreement).

A typical agreed draw position.

Either player may claim a draw by indicating that one of the following conditions exists:

• Fifty moves have been played by each player without a piece being captured or a pawn moved.
• The same board position has been repeated three times, with the same player to move and all pieces having the same rights to move, including the right to castle or capture en passant.

If the claim is proven true, the game is drawn.

At one time, if a player was able to check the opposing king continually (perpetual check) and he indicated his intention to do so, the game was drawn. This rule is no longer in effect; however, players will usually agree to a draw in such a situation, since either the threefold repetition rule or the fifty move rule will eventually be applicable.

[edit] Resigning

Either player may resign at any time; this normally happens when the player believes he is certain to lose the game. This typically arises because:

• he can foresee an unavoidable checkmate a few moves ahead, or
• he is at or can foresee a decisive material disadvantage - e.g. he has lost or is about to lose a major piece, or the opponent is about to promote a pawn.

In master play, it is much more common for a game to be resigned than for it to end with checkmate, because players can foresee checkmate well in advance.

[edit] Competition rules

[edit] Touch-move rule

Main article: Touch-move rule

In serious play, if a player having the move touches one of his pieces as if having the intention of moving it, then he must move it if it can be legally moved. So long as the hand has not left the piece on a new square, the latter can be placed on any accessible square. If a player touches a hostile piece then he must capture it if the piece can be captured.

When castling, the king must be the first piece touched. If the player touches his rook at the same time as touching the king, he must castle with that rook if it is legal to do so. If the player completes a two-square king move without touching a rook, he must move the correct rook accordingly if castling in that direction is legal, and otherwise the move must be reverted and another king move made.

When a pawn is moved to its eighth rank, once the player takes his hand off the pawn, it can no longer be substituted for a different move of the pawn. However, the move is not complete until the promoted piece is released on that square.

If a player wishes to touch a piece with the intention of adjusting its position on a square, he must first alert his opponent of his intention by saying "J'adoube" or "I adjust". Only the player whose turn it is to move may touch the pieces on the board.

[edit] Timing

Tournament games are played under time constraints, called time controls, using a game clock. Each player must make all his moves in a specified time, or be subject to forfeiting the game.

• If there is a checkmate on the board, the player delivering checkmate wins instantly, no matter what is subsequently noticed about the time.
• If player A calls attention to the fact that player B is out of time, player A is not out of time, and player A has the possibility to checkmate, even against the most unskilled defense, then player A wins automatically. If player A does not have the possibility of checkmate then the game is a draw.
• If player A calls attention to the fact that player B is out of time, but it is then noted that player A is also out of time, then

(1) if it is a sudden death time control, and it can not be established which player ran out of time first, the game is drawn;

(2) if it is not at the end of a sudden death time control, the game continues in the next time control.

Various tournament rules have been devised to prevent players from playing on with no practical chances of winning on the board, intending merely to win when their opponent runs out of time. For example, a king and rook versus a king, bishop, and pawn cannot be won by either player virtually all of the time, even though both sides theoretically have enough material to checkmate. The player with more time might play quickly in hopes of inducing a blunder or running out the opponent's clock. If a player believes his opponent is attempting to win a drawn position on time, he may appeal to a tournament official, who may impose a result or a penalty in accordance with whatever rules are in effect for that tournament. Under both FIDE and USCF rules, if a player's opponent is not trying to win by "normal means" (i.e. win by a checkmate as opposed to running out his opponent's clock), the player may claim a draw.

[edit] Recording moves

Main articles: Chess notation and Algebraic chess notation

In formal competition, each player is obliged to record each move as it is played in order to settle disputes about illegal positions, overstepping time control, and making claims of draws by the fifty move rule or repetition of position.^[12] Algebraic chess notation is the accepted standard for recording matches today.

Offers of a draw are indicated by writing "=". Notations about the time on the clocks can be made. If a player has less than five minutes left to complete all of his moves, his is not required to record the moves (unless a delay of at least 30 seconds per move is being used). The scoresheet must be made available to the arbiter at all times. A player may respond to an opponent's move before writing it down (Schiller 2003:25-26).

[edit] Equipment

Original Staunton chess pieces, introduced in 1849. Left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king

Pieces of the Staunton chess set design are the standard, and are usually made of wood or plastic. The height of the king should be between 85mm and 105 mm (3.35 to 4.13 inches). A height of approximately 95 to 102 mm (3¾ to 4 inches) is preferred by most players. The diameter of the king should be 40 to 50% of its height. The size of the other pieces should be in proportion to the king. The pieces should be well balanced. The size of the squares of the chessboard should be approximately 1.25–1.3 times the diameter of the base of the king, or 50 to 65 mm. Squares of size of approximately 57 mm (2¼ inches) normally are well-suited for pieces with the kings in the preferred size range.

See also: Chess piece, Chessboard, Game clock, Staunton chess set.

[edit] Irregularities

[edit] Illegal move

A player who makes an illegal move with a piece must retract that move and make another one, if possible, with the same piece. If the mistake is only noticed later on, the game should be restarted from the position in which the error occurred.

If blitz chess is being played (where both players have a limited time, e.g. five minutes) the rule varies. A player may correct an illegal move if he has not pressed his clock. If he has pressed his clock, the standard USCF rule is that two minutes are added to the offender's opponent's clock. An alternative USCF rule is that the opponent can claim a win by forfeit if he has not touched a piece. If the player has left his king in check, the opponent may touch his piece that is giving check, remove the opponent's king, and claim a win (Just & Burg 2003:291-92).

[edit] Illegal position

• If, during the game, it is discovered that the starting position was incorrect, the game is restarted.
• If during the game it is discovered that the board is oriented incorrectly, the game is continued with the pieces transferred to a correctly-oriented board.
• If the game starts with colors reversed, the game continues (unless the arbiter rules otherwise).
• If a player knocks over pieces, it is his responsibility to restore them to their correct position on his time.
• If it is discovered that an illegal move has been made, or that pieces have been displaced, the game is restored to the position before the irregularity. If that position can not be determined, the game is restored to the last known correct position (Schiller 2003:24-25).

[edit] Conduct

• High standards of etiquette and ethics are expected.
• Players may not use any notes, outside sources of information, or advice from other people. Scoresheets are to record objective facts about the game only.
• Analysis on another board is not permitted
• Players may not leave the competition area without permission of the arbiter.
• A player may not distract or annoy another player. This includes repeatedly offering a draw (Schiller 2003:30-31).

[edit] History

The rules of chess have evolved quite a bit over the centuries. The basic move of the king, rook, and knight are unchanged. Pawns originally did not have the option of moving two squares on their first move and did not promote to another piece if they reached their eighth rank. The queen was originally the fers, which could move one square diagonally in any direction or leap two squares diagonally, forwards, or to the left or right on its first move. The bishop was originally an alfil, which could leap two squares along any diagonal. The first group of changes to the rules changed the movements of the bishop and queen to their modern versions.

A second group of laws emerged in the Middle Ages. The king and rook acquired the right to castle. (See Castling#Variations throughout history for different versions of the rule.) Pawns gained the option of moving two squares on their first move, and the en passant rule was a natural consequence of that new option. Pawns also gained the ability to be promoted to a higher piece if they reached their eighth rank.

Three other new rules were introduced, each of which have changed through the years:

• The stalemate rule was added, and the outcome has changed several times (see Stalemate#History of the stalemate rule).
• The threefold repetition rule was added, although at some times up to six repetitions have been required, and other conditions have been firmed up (see Threefold repetition#History).
• The fifty move rule under which a draw can be claimed if there has been no pawn move and no capture in the last fifty moves. At various times, the number of moves required was different, such as twenty-four, sixty, seventy, or seventy-five. For several years in the 20th century, the standard fifty moves was extended to one hundred moves for a few specific endgames (see fifty move rule#History).

A third group of new laws included the touch-move rule and the accompanying "j'adoube/adjust" rule. Other laws in this group are that White moves first; the orientation of the board; the procedure if an illegal move was made; the procedure if the king had been left in check for some moves; and issues regarding the behavior of players and spectators. The Staunton chess set was introduced in 1849 and it became the standard style of pieces. The size of pieces and squares of the board was standardized (Hooper & Whyld 1992).

[edit] Codification

The first known publication of chess rules was in a book by Luis Ramirez de Lucena about 1497, shortly after the movement of the queen, bishop, and pawn were changed to their modern form (Just & Burg 2003). In the 16th and 17th centuries there were big differences of opinion concerning rules such as castling, pawn promotion, stalemate, and en passant. Some of these differences existed until the 19th century (Harkness 1967:3).

As chess clubs arose and tournaments became common, there was a need to formalize the rules. The 18th century player François-André Danican Philidor wrote a set of rules that were widely used, as well as rules by later writers Jacob Sarratt and George Walker. In the 19th century, many major clubs published their own rules, e.g. The Hague in 1803, London in 1807, Paris in 1836, and St. Petersburg in 1854. In 1851 Howard Staunton called for a "Constituent Assembly for Remodeling the Laws of Chess" and proposals by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa were published in 1854. Staunton had published rules in Chess Player's Handbook in 1847 and his new proposals were published in 1860 in Chess Praxis; they were generally accepted in English-speaking countries. German-speaking countries usually used the writings of chess authority Johann Berger or Handbuch des Schachspiels by Paul Rudolf von Bilguer, first published in 1843.

In 1924 the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) was formed, and in 1929 it took up the task of standardizing the rules. At first FIDE tried to establish a universal set of rules, but translations to different languages differed slightly. Although FIDE rules were used for international competition under their control, some countries continued to use their own rules internally. FIDE issued new editions of the rules every few years (1929, 1952, 1955, 1966, 1974, 1992, etc.), with amendments in some other years. In 1984 FIDE abandoned the idea of a universal set of laws, although FIDE rules are the standard for high-level play (Hooper & Whyld 1992). The rules of national FIDE affiliates (such as the United States Chess Federation, or USCF) are based on the FIDE rules, with slight variations (Just & Burg 2003). Kenneth Harkness published popular rulebooks in the United States starting in 1956, and the USCF continues to publish rulebooks for use in USCF tournaments.

[edit] Articles about rules

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

1. ^ GamesandSports.
2. ^ ICCF.
3. ^ CafeDemetrio.
4. ^ USChess Official Rules.
5. ^ FIDE Laws Of Chess.
6. ^ USChess Info.
7. ^ TLU.
8. ^ FIDE.
9. ^ EdCollins.
10. ^ Following the promotion of a pawn, an actual physical piece previously removed from the board is often used as the "new" promoted piece. The new piece is nevertheless regarded distinct from the original captured piece; the physical piece is simply used for convenience. Moreover, the player's choice by promotion is not restricted to pieces that have been captured previously. FIDE Laws of Chess. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
11. ^ USChess Goal Of Chess.
12. ^ FIDE Official Handbook.

[edit] References

• FIDE Laws of chess. FIDE. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
• Harkness, Kenneth (1967), Official Chess Handbook, McKay 
• Hooper, David & Whyld, Kenneth (1992), The Oxford Companion to Chess (second ed.), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-866164-9 
• Just, Tim & Burg, Daniel B. (2003), U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess (fifth ed.), McKay, ISBN 0-8129-3559-4 
• Schiller, Eric (2003), Official Rules of Chess (second ed.), Cardoza Publishing, ISBN 978-1-58042-092-1 

[edit] Further reading

• Golombek, Harry (1977), Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess, Crown Publishing, ISBN 0-517-53146-1 
• Harkness, Kenneth (1970), Official Chess Rulebook, McKay, ISBN 0-679-13028-4