You don't need to be an expert to play with your children. With these basic rules you can play at home and support what they learn in class.
The board
It has 64 light and dark squares. Place it so each player has a light square in the right-hand corner. White always moves first.
How the pieces move
- King: one square in any direction.
- Queen: any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally.
- Rook: in straight lines, forwards, backwards or sideways.
- Bishop: diagonally; each bishop always stays on the same colour.
- Knight: in an "L" shape (two squares and one to the side). It's the only piece that can jump over others.
- Pawn: forward one square (two on its first move) and captures diagonally.
Check and checkmate
Check means attacking the opponent's king, which must escape the attack. If it can't, it's checkmate and the game ends. If the player to move has no legal move but isn't in check, it's a draw by stalemate.
Three special moves
- Castling: the king moves two squares towards a rook and the rook jumps to the other side of the king. Only allowed if neither has moved, there are no pieces between them and the king is not in, or passing through, check.
- Promotion: when a pawn reaches the last rank it becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
- En passant: if a pawn advances two squares and lands next to an opponent's pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one, but only on the very next move.
Tips for playing with your children
- Let them think and don't correct every move.
- Praise good ideas, even when they lose.
- Shake hands before and after the game, like in tournaments.
If you'd like them to learn with a coach, the first class at the club's Chess School is free. And if you want to learn yourself, we have lessons for adults.
