Read through the following rules. Don't worry if you don't get it right off. Castling and en passant pawn captures will be illustrated in the short sample games that follow. So get your chess set ready!

1. Castling. Once and only once during a game, a player may castle. Castling involves moving the king and a rook on the same move and is the only time when a player moves more than one of his/her men on the same move. Castling may be done only if neither the king nor the rook has been moved previously (each must be on its original square and cannot have moved off that square and then back onto it). Castling cannot occur if it results in the king being placed in check, nor can the king move over an attacked square during castling. A king may not castle if it is currently in check (you cannot "castle out of check"). Castling may not be done unless all the squares between the king and rook are vacant. Castling is achieved by moving the king two squares towards the rook and then placing the rook on the square the king has just moved over. Thus, castling kingside means moving the king from e1 to g1 (e8 to g8 for black) and moving the rook from h1 to f1 (h8 to f8 for black). Castling queenside means moving the king from e1 to c1 (e8 to c8 for black) and moving the rook from a1 to d1 (a8 to d8 for black). Although not technically required by American rules, it's always a good idea to move the king first when castling. If you move the rook first, once you release the rook you have technically made a legal move, and your opponent my try to stop you from continuing at that point.
2. En passant pawn captures. A pawn that has moved forward three squares (to the 5th rank for white pawns or the 4th rank for black pawns) can capture an enemy pawn on an adjacent file that moves forward two squares. The capture must be made on the immediately following move, or else the right to capture is surrendered. The capture is made as if the enemy pawn had moved only one square forward. Thus, a white pawn on e5 can capture a black pawn that moves from d7 to d5 (or f7 to f5) by moving to d6 (or f6), but only on the very next move.
3. Touch-move rule. You may not touch a pawn or piece unless you intend to move it. A touched pawn or piece must be moved if it can be moved legally. If you touch an enemy pawn or piece, you must capture it if you can do so legally. If you wish to adjust the position of one of your men, you must announce your intention to do so by saying "I adjust" (or j'adoube) before touching it.

Some Short Games

One play for white and then one play for black together are referred to as a move. In the following games the moves are numbered beginning with 1 (the first move). If you don't remember how the squares on the board are named, you should review this now in lesson 1.

1. white pawn on f2 to f3, black pawn on e7 to e5; 2. white pawn on g2 to g4, black queen to h4 checkmate (fool's mate). The white king can move only to f2 but is still attacked there, so this doesn't help. The attacking black queen cannot be captured--strike two. No white piece can be put between the white king and the black queen--strike three and you're out! This is the shortest possible game of chess played to checkmate. Now that you've seen it, don't fall for it.

1. white pawn on e2 to e4, black pawn on e7 to e5; 2. white bishop on f1 to c4, black bishop on f8 to c5; 3. white queen to h5, black knight on b8 to c6; 4. white queen takes black pawn on f7 checkmate (scholar's mate). Notice that the white queen cannot be captured by the black king because it is defended by the white bishop. This is another one that beginners sometimes fall for.

1. white pawn on e2 to e4, black pawn on e7 to e5; 2. white knight on g1 to f3, black knight on b8 to c6; 3. white bishop on f1 to c4, black pawn on d7 to d6; 4. white knight on b1 to c3, black bishop on c8 to g4; 5. white knight on f3 takes black pawn on e5, black bishop on g4 takes white queen; 6. white bishop on c4 takes black pawn on f7 check, black king to e7 (the only available move for the black monarch); 7. white knight on c3 to d5 checkmate. The black king has no safe flight square, and the checking white knight cannot be captured. Black could have prevented this if he hadn't gotten greedy and snapped up the white queen. Do you see how?

1. white pawn on e2 to e4, black knight on b8 to c6; 2. white knight on g1 to e2, black knight on c6 to b4; 3. white pawn on c2 to c3, black knight on b4 to d3 checkmate. White's pieces are smothering his king, and the black knight is immune from capture. Very pretty.

1. white pawn on e2 to e4, black pawn on e7 to e5; 2. white knight on g1 to f3, black knight on g8 to f6; 3. white knight on f3 takes black pawn on e5, black knight on f6 takes white pawn on e4; 4. white queen to e2, black knight on e4 to f6 (black has just fallen into a terrible trap--do you see it?); 5. white knight on e5 to c6 check (by the white queen), black bishop on f8 to e7 (the black king has no safe move, so he gets out of check by interposing his bishop); 6. white knight on c6 takes black queen (Ouch!), black resigns. Black could also have gotten out of check by putting his queen on e7, but the white knight would still have taken it.

Some More Advanced Short Games

1. white pawn on e2 to e4, black pawn on e7 to e6; 2. white pawn on d2 to d4, black knight on g8 to f6; 3. white bishop on c1 to g5, black bishop on f8 to e7; 4. white bishop on f1 to d3, black castles kingside (move the black king to g8 and then move the black rook to f8--this is legal because: the black king is not in check, the squares f8 and g8 over which the king must move are not attacked, neither the king nor the rook has yet moved, and there are no other pieces sitting between them); 5. white knight on b1 to c3, black knight on f6 takes white pawn on e4; 6. white bishop on g5 takes black bishop on e7, black knight on e4 takes white knight on c3; 7. white bishop on d3 takes black pawn on h7 check, black king to h8 (the black king could also take the white bishop, but it wouldn't be any better); 8. white queen to h5, black resigns (Durao vs Horta, Lisbon, 1954). Black is about to be slaughtered, and there is nothing he can do about it. This illustrates one of the disadvantages of being a chess master: your games are recorded for all posterity, even your terrible ones!

1. white pawn on d2 to d4, black pawn on e7 to e5; 2. white pawn on d4 takes black pawn on e5, black pawn on d7 to d6 (had black played this pawn to d5, could white have captured e.p.?--yes, but only on the very next move); 3. white pawn on e5 takes black pawn on d6, black bishop on f8 takes white pawn on d6; 4. white pawn on e2 to e4, black knight on g8 to f6; 5. white bishop on c1 to g5, black castles kingside (king to g8 then rook to f8--run through the list of requirements that makes this a legal move); 6. white queen to f3, black bishop on d6 to e5; 7. white pawn on c2 to c3, black queen to d6; 8. white bishop on f1 to c4, black rook on f8 to d8; 9. white bishop on c4 to b3, black bishop on c8 to g4; 10. white queen to e3, black queen to d1 check; 11. white bishop on b3 takes black queen on d1 (eliminating the check by capturing the checking piece), black rook on d8 takes white bishop on d1 checkmate (Krejcik vs Thirring, Vienna, 1899). The rook cannot be captured by the white king because it is defended by the bishop on g4. This game shows why most players learn quickly not to leave their king exposed.

I'll use a somewhat more abbreviated notation in the following games. I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly. Two notes: N stands for knight (because K is already used for the king), - means moves to, and x means captures. If you find that you've made a mistake in following the moves, don't worry about it. I do it all the time. Just start over.

1. Pe2-e4, Pc7-c5; 2. Ng1-f3, Pd7-d6; 3. Pd2-d4, Pc5xPd4; 4. Nf3xPd4, Ng8-f6; 5. Nb1-c3, Nb8-c6; 6. Bf1-c4, Pe7-e6; 7. Bc4-b3, Bf8-e7; 8. Bc1-e3, O-O (which means castles kingside); 9. Qd1-e2, Qd8-a5; 10. O-O-O (and this means castles queenside--move the white king to c1 and then place the white rook on d1), Nc6xNd4; 11. Be3xNd4, Bc8-d7; 12. Kc1-b1, Ra8-d8; 13. Qe2-e3, Pb7-b6; 14. Bd4xNf6, Pg7xBf6; 15. Nc3-d5, Rf8-e8; 16. Nd5xBe7+ (this plus sign means check), Re8xNe7; 17. Rd1xPd6, Rd8-c8; 18. Qe3-d4, Bd7-e8; 19. Qd4xPf6, black resigns (Fischer vs Sofreski, Yugoslavia, 1967). Most of us ordinary mortals would have continued on here, but black was playing the best player in the world at the time, and he could see that his situation would soon be hopeless. Fischer was quickly picking him apart.

1. Pe2-e4, Pe7-e5; 2. Pf2-f4, Pd7-d5; 3. Ng1-f3, Pd5xPe4; 4. Nf3xPe5, Bf8-d6; 5. Pd2-d4, Pe4xPd4 e.p. (this is the en passant capture, which is legal because the white pawn has just skated by the black pawn by moving two squares--notice that black cannot capture the f4 pawn e.p., and if black were to wait a move he would lose the opportunity to capture the d4 pawn as well); 6. Ne5xPd3, Nb8-c6; 7. Bf1-e2, Ng8-f6; 8. O-O (would this be possible if black's bishop were on c5 instead of d6? how about if it were on h4?), O-O (would this be possible if white's bishop were on a3 and black's bishop were on b6 instead of d6?); 9. Pb2-b3, Nc6-d4; 10. Nb1-c3, Rf8-e8; 11. Ph2-h3, Bc8-f5; 12. Be2-g4, Bf5xNd3; 13. Qd1xBd3, Bd6-c5; 14. Kg1-h1, Nf6xBg4; 15. Nc3-a4, Re8-e1; 16. Qd3-c4, Re1xRf1+; 17. Qc4xRf1, Nd4-f5; 18. Qf1-f3, Qd8-d1+; 19. white resigns (Stemmer vs Gerhard, Germany, 1968). Very nice! If 19. Qf3xQd1, then black would play Nf5-g3 checkmate.

1. Pe2-e4, Pe7-e6; 2. Pd2-d4, Pd7-d5; 3. Nb1-c3, Ng8-f6; 4. Bc1-g5, Bf8-e7; 5. Pe4-e5, Nf6-e4; (instead of the text move, could black have captured the white pawn on e5 e.p.?--no, this is not the situation in which the e.p. capture is legal because the white pawn did not just move two squares); 6. Bg5xBe7, Qd8xBe7 (could black have castled here?--no, because the king would have to have moved over an attacked square, viz. f8); 7. Nc3xNe4, Pd5xNe4; 8. Qd1-e2, Nb8-d7; 9. O-O-O (a queenside castle--the white king goes to c1 and the rook to d1), Pf7-f5 (can white now capture this pawn e.p.?); 10. Pe5xPf5 e.p. (altough it is the pawn on f5 that is being captured, white's pawn actually moves to f6 as if the black pawn had moved only one square), Nd7xPf6; 11. Pg2-g3, O-O; 12. Bf1-g2, Pe6-e5; 13. Bg2xPe4, Nf6xBe4; 14. Qe2xNe4, Rf8xPf2; 15. Ng1-f3, Qe7-f7; 16. Nf3-g5, Bc8-f5; 17. Qe4xPb7, Rf2xPc2+ (the plus sign means check, in case you'd forgotten); 18. Kc1-b1, Rc2-c1+; 19. Kb1xRc1 (white cannot play Rd1xRc1 here--why not?), Qf7-c4+; 20. Kc1-d2, Qc4-d3+; 21. Kd2-e1 (why not Kd2xQd3?), Qd3-e3+; 22. Ke1-f1, Ra8-f8; 23. white resigns in lieu of 23. Qb7-b3+, Bf5-e6+ and mate on the next move. (Spielmann vs Van den Bosch, Match, 1935)

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