Chess Lesson 2: Piece Movement

Review of Lesson 1

• Board Setup:

  • Bottom right square must be a light square.
  • Place pieces as follows:
    • White Pieces:
      • Rook, Knight, Bishop on first row.
      • Queen on light square, King next to Queen.
      • Pawns in front.
    • Black Pieces:
      • Same setup with pieces on the second row.
      • Queen on dark square, King next to Queen.
      • Pawns in front.

• Practice Setting Up:

  • Practice until familiar, repeat until comfortable.
  • Common mistake: confusing Knights and Bishops.

Piece Movement

The King

• Moves one square in any direction.
• Movement Examples:
  • Edge of board: 5 possible moves.
  • Corner of board: 3 possible moves.
• Rules:
  • Cannot jump over pieces or move to occupied squares.

The Queen

• Moves any number of squares in any direction (straight lines only).
• Rules:
  • Cannot jump over pieces, must move in a straight line.

The Rook

• Moves any number of squares up, down, or side to side (files and ranks).
• Rules:
  • Cannot jump over pieces.

The Bishop

• Moves diagonally any number of squares.
• Color Remaining:
  • Each Bishop stays on the square color it started on (dark/light).
• Rules:
  • Cannot jump over pieces.

The Knight

• Moves in an L shape: 3 squares total, 2 in one direction and 1 in a perpendicular direction.
• Movement Examples:
  • Can jump over pieces.
  • Always switches square color (dark to light, or light to dark).

The Pawn

• Moves only forward: 1 square at a time, or 2 squares on the first move.

• Energy Analogy:

  • Pawns have "energy" at start (can move 2 squares) but lose it after moving.

• Rules:

  • Can only move straight forward and cannot capture pieces diagonally unless they are next to them.

Conclusion

• Next class: Focus on how pieces capture, and understanding check/checkmate.
• Objective: Prepare for your first chess game.