CHESS FUNDAMENTALS
Lesson 1
Denver G. Magtibay
ECE, ECT
UB CHESS TEAM COACH
Lesson Goals
• What is chess?
• Chess facts.
• Chess history.
• Why learn chess?
What Is Chess?
• A game.
• A sport.
• An art.
• All of the above!
What Is Chess?
• A game for only two
players played on an 8x8
board where the object is
to capture the opponents
king.
What Is Chess?
• Chess requires a lot of
mental skill.
• It can be played indoors
or outdoors.
• It is played on a board
with 64 squares of
alternating colors.
• There are 32 chess
pieces...16 for each
player.
What Is Chess?
• All of a player’s pieces are
the same color.
• The objective is to
capture the king.
• Eliminating many of your
opponent’s pieces and
controlling the board are
secondary objectives.
What Is Chess?
• The game can end in a
draw with no winner.
• Each piece has its own
unique rules of
movement.
• A piece is captured by
landing on the space the
captured piece occupies.
Chess Facts
• Almost 30 nations
integrate chess into their
school curricula.
Chess Facts
• The FIDE (International
Chess Federation) is the
2nd largest sporting
organization in the world!
Chess Facts
• Chess is recognized as a
sport in over 150
countries worldwide.
Chess Facts
• Chess was played as an
exhibition sport in the
2000 Olympics in Sydney,
Australia.
Chess Facts
• There are more books
written on chess than any
other sport.
Chess History
• Chess is believed to have
originated in northern
India or Afghanistan
before the year 600 A.D.
Chess History
• As the world’s population
grew and nation’s began
to trade with each other
chess moved to the rest
of Asia and then Europe.
Chess History
• Examples of early chess
pieces.
Why Learn Chess? Who
Cares?
• Chess helps to develop
higher order thinking
skills. It will help you with
your verbal,
mathematical, and
memory skills.
Why Learn Chess? Who
Cares?
• Because your teacher said
so!
Why Learn Chess? Who
Cares?
• They played it in Harry
Potter!
Why Learn Chess? Who
Cares?
• It is fun, and you might
just learn something!
Review
• Chess is a game for two
players.
• The player that captures
the king wins.
• Chess is believed to have
originated from northern
Indian and/or Afghanistan
around the year 600 A.D.
CHESS FUNDAMENTALS
Lesson 2
Lesson Goals
• Get to know the board.
• Board orientation.
• Files and ranks.
Chess Basics – The Board
• A chess board looks very
much like a checker
board.
Chess Basics – The Board
• A chess board has 64
squares of alternating
colors. 8 rows and 8
columns.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The colors a chess board is
made up of can be any two
contrasting colors.
• White and Black are very
common.
• Chess piece colors may or
may not match the board
colors.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The board must be placed
with a light square at
each player’s right.
• “Light goes on the right.”
Player 1 sits here.
Player 2 sits here.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The rows are called
RANKS.
• There are 8 rows.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The columns are called
FILES.
• There are 8 columns.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The ranks (rows) are
numbered from 1 – 8.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The files (columns) are
labeled from a – h.
Chess Basics – The Board
• The knight is on f5.
• The king is on h3.
• The queen is on g3.
Chess Basics – The Board
• DON’T WORRY! You can
play without knowing this,
but you should be familiar
with the terms.
Review
• A chess board has 8 rows and
8 columns.
• Players sit on opposite sides of
the board.
• The board must be turned so
that the each player's right
corner has a white (light
colored) square.
• Rows are referred to as ranks
and are labeled 1-8.
• Columns are referred to as
files and are labeled a-h.
CHESS FUNDAMENTALS
Lesson 3
Lesson Goals
• Get to know the pieces.
• Rook.
• Bishop.
• Queen.
• King.
• Knight.
• Pawn.
Chess Basics – The Pieces
• There are 32 pieces in chess
(only 6 are unique).
• Each player gets 16 pieces of the
same color.
• Each player starts with the same
16 pieces in the same positions.
Chess Basics – The Pieces
• The 6 unique pieces are:
– The pawn -The rook
– The knight -The queen
– The bishop -The king
Chess Basics – The Rook
– Each player starts with 2.
– A rook can move horizontally or
vertically forwards or backwards.
– A rook moves until it captures or
hits a piece of the same color.
Chess Basics – The Rook
Chess Basics – The Bishop
– Each player starts with 2.
– The bishop moves in a straight
diagonal line forwards or
backwards.
Chess Basics – The Bishop
Chess Basics – The Queen
– Each player starts with 1.
– The queen moves like the rook
and bishop combined.
– The most powerful piece.
– Always starts on a square of her
own color.
Chess Basics – The Queen
Chess Basics – The King
– Each player starts with 1.
– Moves like the queen except only
one square at a time.
– The most valuable piece.
– Always starts on a square that is
NOT his color.
Chess Basics – The King
Chess Basics – The Knight
– Each player starts with 2.
– Moves 2 squares horizontally or
vertically and then one square
diagonally.
– The ONLY piece that can jump
other pieces.
Chess Basics – The Knight
Chess Basics – The Pawn
– Each player starts with 8.
– Least powerful piece with the
most complicated rules.
– The pawn typically moves one
square forward.
– There are 3 exceptions to this
rule.
Chess Basics – The Pawn
– A pawn may only attack
diagonally.
– A pawn may move 2 squares
forward on only its first move.
– There is a special capture a pawn
can make called “en passant”.
Chess Basics – The Pawn
Review
– Each piece has its own unique
rules of movement.
– The knight is the only piece that
can “hop” other pieces.
– The queen is the most powerful.
– The king is the most valuable.
CHESS FUNDAMENTALS
Lesson 4
Lesson Goals
• Setting up the board.
• Rules, rules, rules.
Setting Up The Board
• The board must be oriented so that
the square in the right corner facing
each player is white.
• The queen must be on a square of
her own color.
• Follow the diagram below.
Player 2
Player 1
Additional Rules - General
• White (or light color) goes first.
• You capture another player’s
piece by moving into the
square that piece occupied.
• The game ends when there is a
checkmate, stalemate, or a
draw (more on this later).
• A player may resign (quit and
loose) at any time.
• A player may propose a draw
after his/her turn.
Additional Rules – Promotion
• A pawn that makes it to the
other side of the board may
be promoted to any other
piece.
• A queen is nearly always
chosen because of its power.
• Yes, you can have two queens
on the board at once.
• If a piece can be captured, a
player may decide not to
capture it.
Additional Rules – Touching
• When a player touches one of
his/her own pieces, then
he/she must make a legal
move with this piece, if
possible.
• When a player touches one of
his/her opponents pieces, then
he/she must capture this piece
if possible.
• When castling, the king must
be the first piece touched.
• J’adoube – “I adjust”
Additional Rules – En Passant
• This is a special capture
technique for pawns and very
rare.
• It only applies to pawns that
move 2 squares on the first
move.
• If the pawn could have been
captured on the first square,
the other player can capture it
only on the next turn.
Additional Rules – En Passant
Additional Rules – Castling
• The king and rook can move
at the same time if the
following is true:
– The king and rook involved
haven’t moved.
– The king is not in check before,
during, or after the move.
– All squares between the rook and
king before the castling move are
empty.
– The king moves 2 square towards
the rook, and the rook moves
over the king to the next square.
Additional Rules – Castling
Black cannot castle!
