play chess

Play Chess

11. Promotion
Pawns have another special ability and that is that if a pawn reaches the other side of the board it can become any other chess piece (called promotion). A pawn may be promoted to any piece. A pawn is usually promoted to a queen. Only pawns may be promoted.
12. En Passant
The last rule about pawns is called en passant, which is French for in passing. If a pawn moves out two squares on its first move, and by doing so lands to the side of an opponents pawn , that other pawn has the option of capturing the first pawn as it passes by. This special move must be done immediately after the first pawn has moved past, otherwise the option to capture it is no longer available.
13. Castling
One other special rule is called castling. This move allows you to do two important things all in one move: get your king to safety (hopefully), and get your rook out of the corner and into the game. On a players turn he may move his king two squares over to one side and then move the rook from that sides corner to right next to the king on the opposite side. However, in order to castle, the following conditions must be met: it must be that kings very first move it must be that rooks very first move there cannot be any pieces between the king and rook to move the king may not be in check or pass through check.
Notice that when you castle one direction the king is closer to the side of the board. That is called castling kingside. Castling to the other side, through where the queen sat, is called castling queenside. Regardless of which side, the king always moves only two squares when castling.
14. Check and Checkmate
As stated before, the purpose of the game is to checkmate the opponents king. This happens when the king is put into check and cannot get out of check. There are only three ways a king can get out of check: move out of the way, block the check with another piece, or capture the piece threatening the king. If a king cannot escape checkmate then the game is over. Customarily the king is not captured or removed from the board, the game is simply declared over.
15. Draws
Occasionally chess games do not end with a winner, but with a draw. There are 5 reasons why a chess game may end in a draw: The position reaches a stalemate where it is one players turn to move, but his king is NOT in check and yet he does not have another legal move The players may simply agree to a draw and stop playing There are not enough pieces on the board to force a checkmate. A player declares a draw if the same exact position is repeated three times Fifty consecutive moves have been played where neither player has moved a pawn or captured a piece.
16. Time control
Tournament games are played under time constraints, called time controls, using a game clock. Each player must make his moves within the time control or forfeit the game. There are different types of time controls. In some cases each player will have a certain amount of time to make a certain number of moves. In other cases each player will have a limited amount of time to make all of his moves. Also, the player may gain a small amount of additional time for each move made, either by a small increment added for each move made, or by the clock delaying a small amount of time each time it is started after the opponent s move