Chess is a board game that is played between two players with a chess board. The chessboard is square-shaped and contains 64 squares arranged on an 8 by 8 grid. Each player during a chess match starts with sixteen different pieces. Both players has one king and queen, two rooks, knights, and bishops, and eight pawns. Every unique piece on a chess board has unique ways of traveling up and down the chessboard. Both player in a game of chess has the goal of using the pieces to checkmate the opponent’s king. This means that the king is under attack, and there is no possible move that will deem the king safe from the attack. If a king is in check, it means it is being attacked, but there is a move that will keep it safe, either by moving the king or another piece to block the attack.

Each chess piece’s style of movement and capabilities is unique. Most pieces cannot travel through other pieces to get to squares behind it, as only the knight has the capability to do this in a chess game. When a piece lands on another piece on the opposing side, that piece is considered captured and is removed from the chess game and does not enter play for the remainder of the game.

The King:
The king is not allowed to be captured in chess games. It can be placed in “check” meaning that it is under attack and in danger of being captured in the next move. During check, the king must be moved on the player’s next turn or the attacking piece blocked in order for play to continue normally.

The king is capable of traveling in any direction, whether up, down, left, right, or diagonally, but only one square at a time. The king is allowed to make a special move once per game, called “castling”. Castling in a chess game happens when the king is moved two squares towards a rook, and the rook is moved to the opposite side of the king, in the square adjacent to it. This can only be done if the king and the rook have not yet been moved yet, there are no pieces in between the rook and the king, and the king cannot be in check or placed in check after this move.

Rooks:
A rook can move any number of vacant squares vertically or horizontally. It is also involved in the castling move.

Bishops:
A bishop is able to move in normal chess games any number of vacant spaces in any direction diagonally.

The Queen:
The queen is allowed to move in normal chess games any number of vacant spaces in any direction, whether horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Knights:
Knights are unique because they are allowed to travel through occupied squares to the nearest square that is not diagonal to it or in the same rank or file. In other words, in normal chess games, knights always move in ‘L’ shapes.

Pawns:
A pawn can only move forward one or two vacant squares for its initial move, and each subsequent move can only move forward one vacant square. Pawns can capture opponent pieces, but can only do this when a piece is forward diagonal with the pawn in normal chess games. A pawn cannot move backwards. Pawns can also be promoted if they reach the eighth rank on the board. They are usually promoted to a queen, but it is at the discretion of the player.