How Each Chess Pieces Moves: A Step-By-Step Guide

Chess is a two-person game played on a board with 64 squares arranged in an 8x8 grid. Each piece has its unique moves, rules, and characteristics. On a traditional board, there are two colors, a dark one and a light one, usually black and white.

Each player on the board has 16 pieces in total, and the game's goal is to checkmate your opponent's king to win. If the opponent king is cornered and can't get to any safe square from its enemy, the king has fallen and no longer continues; hence, the opponent has won the game.

The player can also win by forcing their opponent to resign or by their opponent running out of time in time games.

Learn how to set up a chessboard.

PIECES ON A CHESS BOARD:

Each player has 16 pieces set on the board: a dark color set and a light color one. The pieces include a King, a Queen, two Bishops, two Knights, two rooks (or castles), and eight pawns.

Each piece has its unique value, movement, and capture abilities. Each player moves their pieces or strategically places them on a board to play, defend, or capture the opponent's king. 

The pieces stay on the board until they are captured; each has its square and different movement.

CHESS PIECES AND THEIR MOVEMENTS: 

The chessboard should always be set up so that the bottom right square of the board is always white. Then, your Rooks are set up on both ends of the board, your far right and far left ends. Then simultaneously place your Knights next to your Rooks, Then your Bishops next to your Knights, and finally, His and Her Highness, The King, and Queen are placed next to each other to complete the form on the bottom row while making it a type of slant roof from shortest to tallest pieces. Then the pawns go on the board's second last row for both players.

THE KING:

It is the most critical piece on the board and holds the most value. It can move - horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The king cannot move into a square under attack by an opposing piece and is also not allowed to move into check, a position where the king is under attack and cannot escape.

THE QUEEN: 

Queen is the most overpowered piece on the board. It can move in any direction along a straight line, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The queen can move any square in a straight line as long as no pieces are blocking its path.

ROOK: 

The rook can move up and down both horizontally or vertically in any direction and any number of squares. It sometimes controls open files and ranks, which are rows or columns, without any pawns or other pieces blocking them.

BISHOP:

The bishop can only move in a diagonal line. Each player has two bishops, one a dark bishop and another one a light bishop; they can only move in their color throughout the game. They work well together to control different areas of the board and can be used to control essential squares near the center of the board.

KNIGHT:

The knight, which also looks like a horse, is the one piece on the chess board that can leap over other pieces. It moves in an L-shaped pattern, with two squares in only one direction and one square in a perpendicular direction. Knights are often used to attack or defend important squares that are difficult for other pieces to reach.

PAWN:

Pawns are the least powerful pieces, but they play an essential role in controlling the center of the board. Pawns are bound only to move one square at a time. Only on their first move are they allowed to move two squares, but if they have already moved once, no matter what, they can not move two squares at any point in the game. Pawns capture diagonally, one square forward and to the left or right.

The pawns are the only pieces on the board that cannot go backward. It can only move forward, and once it reaches the end of the board crossing the enemy territory, it can gain pawn promotion.

No! It is not like your typical office promotions. It is slightly different from that. Once the pawn reaches the end of the board, you can sweep it out in exchange for a Queen, a knight, a bishop, or a rook, just never the king; there can only be one king at a time on the board for each team. If multiple pawns reach the end of the board, you can exchange them for various queens, knights, bishops, or rooks if you want. However, the best strategy is to get more Queens, as the queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard.

You can also check our top picks for the best opening chess moves.

CONCLUSION:

Each piece has unique movement and capture abilities, and players use their pieces together to create solid positions and attack their opponent's pieces. Chess is a battle between two armies, where players try to outmaneuver and outthink their opponent. It is a battle of each individual's mind, math, patience, intelligence, and intellect.

There are multiple categories in chess sets and chess boards. The game has been played the same for the last six centuries, but there are variants available in the modern-day boards; you can get exclusive premium chess sets from our very own “Royal Bishop,” where we have a beautiful 12-inch and 15-inch marble chess sets available in various shades and colors for your amazing gaming experience.

FAQS:

Q1: Does every chess moves differently?
A: Yes, they do! Although some of them can move in the exact directions, none of them are bound to the same moves

Q2: How many pieces are there on a chessboard?
A: There are 32 pieces on the chess board—16 pieces for each player.

Q3: Can a pawn move diagonally?
A: Pawn can move forward one square at a time, except for its initial 2 square leverage from the start of the game. However, It can only capture another piece diagonally.

Q4: Can a rook jump over other pieces?
A: No, the rook cannot jump over any pieces; only the knight can.

Q5: Should you use your king for attack?
A: You should only use your king for the offense if you don’t have any other pieces left; otherwise, protect your king at all times.