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Introduction to the Rules of Chess
'Chess : a game for two played on a board of 64 squares of alternate colors with each player having 16 pieces.' - The Merriam-Webster Dictionary


Chess is a board game played by two opponents called White and Black. The goal of each player is to attack the opponent's King so that it has no escape. Players take turns moving one piece at a time to weaken their opponent's position and to strengthen their own.

The chess pieces are symbolic of a medieval army. Each player starts with a King and a Queen (the monarchy), two Rooks (the castle), two Knights (the horsemen), two Bishops (the church), and eight Pawns (the foot soldiers).

Here's what the pieces look like in most diagrams.

  King Queen Rook Bishop Knight Pawn  
White  
Black  

In the following pages, you'll learn how to set up a chess board, how to move the pieces, and how to execute special moves like castling and en passant captures:

Print out these pages to have a handy guide beside you when you're starting to play. If you have any questions, drop me a line at question@mark-weeks.com.

Have fun learning to play the world's greatest game!

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