Travel Chess & Checkers
(600-2219)                 Basic Chess Instructions   Faxback Doc. # 57704

The Game Board

Following international chess notation, the game board is made up of 8 
vertical rows called files, and 8 horizontal rows called ranks.

Each file (left to right) is designated by a letter of the alphabet (A 
through H), and consists of 8 squares alternately colored black and white.

Each rank (bottom to top) is designated by a number (1 through 8), and 
also consists of 8 squares alternately colored black and white. 

The Game Pieces 

Description

There are 16 white and 16 black pieces, 32 in all.  Each color has these 
pieces:
        Qty.  Name

         1    King
         1    Queen
         2    Bishops
         2    Knights
         2    Rooks
         8    Pawns

Note:  Your Travel Chess & Checkers also comes with two extra pawns and 
       two extra queens of each color.

Setting Up

Set the board in front of you so the display and buttons are to the right.

Set up the white pieces on the side of the board closest to you this way;

  Place the rooks on A1 and H1 

  Place the knights on B1 and G1

  Place the bishops on C1 and F1 

  Place the queen on D1

  Place the king on E1

  Place a pawn on each square A2-H2

Set up the black pieces on the opposite side of the board this way:

  Place the rooks on A8 and H8

  Place the knights on B8 and G8

  Place the bishops on C8 and F8

  Place the queen on D8 

  Place the king on E8

  Place a pawn on each square A7 - H7

Hint:  The queen always begins on a square of her own color.

Movement

Each kind of piece moves in a different way. 

The rook can move any number of squares vertically or horizontally, but it 
cannot move diagonally or through a square occupied by another piece. 

The knight moves in an L-shaped pattern. It moves two squares horizontally
or vertically, then moves one additional square at a right angle from its
first move.  At the end of its move, the knight must land on a square of a
different color than the one where it started.

The knight can move even if the squares it moves through are occupied.
(The knight is the only piece that can "jump" another piece.)

The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally, but it cannot move 
vertically, horizontally or through a square occupied by another piece. 

The queen can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or 
diagonally.  (The queen's moves are a combination of the rook's and 
bishop's moves.)  The queen cannot move through a square occupied by 
another piece. 

The king can move only one square vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

The pawn can move only one square directly forward (or two squares on its 
first move from its original position), except when capturing another 
piece. It captures a piece by moving diagonally forward one square, except
when capturing en passant.  (See "Capturing En Passant" below.)  When it
moves from its original position, it can move one or two squares forward.
On subsequent moves, it can move only one square.

A pawn can be promoted to a piece of higher rank.  See "Promoting a Pawn" 
below. 

Chess Rules

Checkmate - The Object Of The Game

The object of chess is to position your pieces so your next move would 
capture the opponent's king and your opponent cannot move or protect the 
king, or capture your piece.  This is called checkmate.

Check

Check occurs when a player's piece directly threatens to capture the 
opponent's king, but the opponent can move the king to escape capture, or 
move another piece to protect the king.

Capturing 

To capture a piece, you move your piece into the square occupied by the 
piece you are capturing, except when capturing an opponent's pawn en 
passant see "Capturing En Passant," below.  Remove the captured piece from
the board.

Capturing En Passant

A pawn can capture an opponent's pawn that has just moved two squares from 
its original position. 

Here's an example of an en passant capture. 

1.  The white pawn advances from E4 to E5.  The black pawn is still in its
    original position (D7).

2.  The black advances from D7 to D5.

3.  The white pawn advances to D6 (one square behind the black pawn's
    position).  The black pawn is captured by the white pawn, even though
    the exact square it is on is not occupied by the white pawn.

Promoting A Pawn

When your pawn reaches the opposite end of the board from where it started 
(like the 8th rank), you can promote it to a queen or another piece, even 
if the queen or other piece is still on the board.  See "Pawn Promotion" 
in Faxback Doc. # 57705.

Castling

Castling protects the king from a potential check or checkmate situation 
by hiding it behind a fortified position or moving it out of immediate 
danger of attack.

You can castle if all of the following conditions exist:

  The king has not moved from his original position.

  The rook that you want to move by castling has not moved from its 
  original position.

  The king is not placed in check on its current square, the square to
  which it is going, or a square it passes over.
 
  The squares between the king and the rook are not occupied.

In castling, the king moves two squares in the direction of either rook.
The rook that is closest to the king after the king has moved now moves to 
the square next to and on the other side of the king.  Castling counts as 
one move.

Notes:  If a rook is on the same side of the board as the king's square, 
        this is called a king's side castle.  If the rook is on the same 
        side of the board as the queen's square, this is called a queen's 
        side castle. 

        In castling, the king always moves first, then the rook.

(BR EB 11/29/99)