Click here to look for "chess" with the Google search engine.   Hello friend!     ...............    Welcome to one of the best {private} chess sites around. (Recognized as such by several national chess federations and also "C.J.A." Site of The Year for 2004.)     ................     Check out my School of Tactics!!  ..........  Many improvements and NEW PAGES!!!!   (Be sure to check the T.L.A. in 'Chess Life' for the tournaments in your area.)  Thanks, and have a great day!!!

   A FIDE "Top 100" site.  
  Best site, CJA, for 2004.

(Navigation bar 
directly below.)

*******

 © A.J. Goldsby,
 2009.
(All rights reserved.) 

****************

    Click  HERE 
     to see my       
    Chess Items.  

  ****************  

****************

Buy a book  
from Amazon.com
(And help me out as well!)

"Special Moves" in Chess

Pawn Promotion, Castling, and 
Pawn captures Pawn "En Passant."

(All the special moves in chess.)

Click  HERE  to return to my  Training Page.

Click  HERE  to return to my  HOME Page.

______________________________________________________________

Click  HERE  to go to another site where the basics of chess are covered.

Click  HERE  to go to another site where the basics
of how the pieces move are covered.

Click  HERE  to go to another site where the basics  RULES  of chess are covered.

These moves are not absolutely critical to your chess knowledge.
You WILL see these moves being made, and to understand them, 
you will have to complete this section!

You already have all the basic information to start playing chess.

You can actually skip this, and just start playing; if you like. 
(I do NOT recommend this, but I leave it up to you.)
You will basically then learn the three rules below
"as you go." (Or as you play the game.) 

Here I will explain very simply all the special rules of chess. 

There are only 3, (THREE); at least until you decide to play in a tournament. 

(Then you'll get acquainted with all the many rules that govern pairings, 
a chess clock, The "Touch Move" Rule, the rules that govern recording a chess 
game in a tournament, etc.) 

Most of this stuff you don't need to sweat too much. 

Castling is used for King protection, and should be used right away. Pawn promotion, (If you get a Pawn all the way down to the opposite side of the Board, {8th Rank}; you can get a new/another Queen. - or any piece that you want.); may not occur right away for the beginner, at least not for his first few games. (Although your opponent may do it to you!!) Pawn capturing a pawn "in passing" (or "En Passant"), does not happen all that much, and really is not that important. You need to learn it, but once you have been playing chess for a while - you will be more than comfortable with this move. But don't get too excited about it, especially if you can't remember what it is and how to apply it. When you have been playing chess for a while, you will do it naturally. Its not really all that  critical, except maybe in certain King and Pawn endings. 

Now let's look at each one of these special moves in detail.

The Castling Rule

 # 1.)  Castling is a "King-safety" move. It gets the King OUT of the middle - 
where he is less likely to be MATED - and activates a Rook; getting the 
poor fellow out of the corner. 

# 2.)  You can't castle out of check, over check or into check. This means your King 
cannot be leaving, passing over, or landing on a check. You CAN NOT have 
already moved the Rook, or your King. 

(If you have moved one Rook, but not the other, you may try to castle with the Rook 
that has not moved yet.)

***

Once you move your King you lose the right 
(permanently!) to castle for the entire game.

***
(You will have to start a new game before you will be able to castle again.) 

# 3.) All the pieces have got to be "out of the way." (Already moved.) 
IF your King has not yet moved, you  [ALWAYS]  castle by moving the King 
 TWO  squares towards the Rook, and placing the Rook on 
the square that the King just "hopped over. 

I should also point out you can castle on either side.
(As long you meet the criteria set forth here.) 

# 4.) You get to castle ONLY ONCE per game!!
(And its a good idea [generally] to do so as early as possible.)

*****

Let's take a look at castling in action. 

This picture/diagram fits our description above. The White King is NOT in check. No enemy piece is attacking any squares between the White King and the White Rook. 

(IF there were a Black Bishop on b5, castling would be impossible. 
The White King would be castling through a check.)

Further, let us state (pretend) that neither the White King nor the White Rook has moved thus far in this game. Castling is accomplished by moving the King TWO squares toward the Rook, putting the King on g1, then placing the White Rook on the f1-square. ALWAYS move the King FIRST when castling.

So let's look at the actual move of castling. 

The blue arrow indicates the King move, the first half of castling.

The above position shows that White has just moved his King two squares.

This would be an ILLEGAL move IF we stopped now, but I just 
wanted to show you the actual process, step-by-step.

Now we continue looking at the rest of the "Castling" move.
(See the diagram below.) 

The Blue Arrow indicates that White 'completes' the 
Castling maneuver by moving his Rook. 

REMEMBER: The King (White OR Black) always moves 
TWO squares in castling. 

AND: The Rook (White OR Black) that you are castling with 
always goes on the square that the King just "hopped over." 

Look at the diagram below.

The White King (and Rook) have finished Castling. 

This is what it will always look like,
 (JUST the White King and Rook - at any rate.); 
when White castles. 

The King has been made a little safer. 
The Rook has been brought out of the corner.

Castling usually occurs somewhere between 
move FIVE (5) and move FIFTEEN. (15.)

*******

And that's about all for castling! 

Pawn captures Pawn, 
"En Passant."

(En passant is French, and means "In passing.")

# 1.)  Only a pawn captures another pawn this way!

# 2.)  Its an option, BUT the move must be played IMMEDIATELY, or you lose the right to capture that pawn "en-passant" (In passing.) permanently.

[This is the ONLY move like this in all of chess. ANY OTHER MOVE 
may be made - basically - any time you feel like it. 
(As long as it conforms to the laws of chess.) 
In other words, you can castle any time you want to AND have fulfilled the requirements for that rule. The same goes for any other move in chess, EXCEPT FOR THIS RULE!!]

# 3.) The pawn doing the capturing must be on its 5th row out. (3 squares from the square it started on.) The enemy pawn must have just moved - for the very first time - and have exercised the OPTION of moving two squares instead of one. This enemy pawn must be on the file to the immediate right or left of the pawn that is going to be doing the capturing. (I.e., they must be 'neighbors.')

# 4.) You have the OPTION for this move - AND THIS MOVE ONLY - of placing your pawn on the square that the opposing pawn "jumped over" and removing the enemy pawn from the board. 

# 5.) Either side can capture in passing, as long as they meet the above criteria. 

***

(Once again, if you have your own set, play along. 
The following sequence will be much easier to follow.)

(Look carefully at the above diagram.) 

This position has occurred after the moves: 

1. e4, e6; 2. d4, d5, 3. e5, c5; 4. c3,

Thus far all the moves are correct. Black has played a French Defense. 
(1...e6; in answer to White's e4.) 

White played "The Advance Variation." (3. e5.)
This is also a legitimate "book" opening. 

Black had just played   4...c4?!   This is a bad move, at least dubious
 in concept. We will allow Black to do this so that we may study 
the "En Passant" capture. 

Look again at the above diagram. 
It shows the position after Black's move, 4...c4. 

Now while the following moves are not really all that good, we will 
just follow along so that we understand this rule. 

Let's pretend that White plays the move 
Pawn from b2 to the b4-square; or  5. b4!?. 

The White Pawn has just moved for the very first time. Black's pawn is on Black's Fifth Rank. Black could capture the pawn by taking White's Pawn off the board, and then placing his pawn on the b3-square. BUT ... 
IF BLACK DESIRES TO CAPTURE "EN PASSANT," HE MUST DO 
IT NOW or LOSE THE ABILITY or RIGHT TO DO SO!!

Let us pretend further that Black decides to capture en passant. 
This is written as "Pawn takes Pawn, en passant;" 
or this is written as 5.  ... axb3, e.p. 
Black makes this move by first moving his Black Pawn from the c4-square to the b3-square. 
Black then removes White's b4-pawn OFF the chess-board. And if this were a tourney, 
Black would then press his clock and write down the move. 
***
(The three dots preceding Black's move is a common convention. Any time you see three dots preceding a move it is generally assumed that this is a move by the player marshalling the Black pieces.) 

Let us assume further that White recaptures 
the Black Pawn -in the normal fashion - with his Rook Pawn. 
This is "Pawn captures Pawn on b3," and is written as :  6. axb3. 
(White takes his a2-Pawn and removes Black's Pawn on the b3-square off the board. 
White will then place his pawn - that was previously on a2 - onto the b3-square.) 

(The lower-case "x" denotes a capture. In recording pawn moves in Algebraic Notation, a pawn move is always given as the square, without a "P" in front. Any other move or capture by any other piece is always given as the Piece symbol, and then the square. 
For example: If White captured any Black piece on the f6-square, with a White Knight 
on his tenth  move, this would be written or recorded as: 
10. Nxf6. Any other move is just given as the piece, and then the square it moved to. 
For example: 22...Rd6; 
means Black just moved his Rook to the d6-square. )

 Now let us carry on this hypothetical continuation just a bit further.   

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that play proceeds with 
Black advancing his f-Pawn TWO squares. 
This would be "Pawn to f5," or written as just : 6...f5.

Now White has the option of playing the "In Passing" Pawn Capture. 

White's Pawn is on its fifth row, and the enemy pawn has just moved TWO SQUARES instead of one. 

So White decides to take, "In Passing." 
White plays PxP en passant. This is recorded as: 7. exf6, e.p. 
(This is accomplished by White first picking up the White Pawn on e5. 
The first player then removes Black's Pawn of f6 from the chess board. 
White finishes this move by placing his White pawn ... that was on the e5-square ... 
onto the f6-square.) 

That's only 7 moves, and both sides have already captured an 
opposing pawn using the "en passant" rule!!

This one of the shortest sequences I could come up with, from the starting position, 
that shows both sides getting the opportunity to capture  "En Passant."

Now for just a few more examples of "En Passant" capture.

**************************

Take a good look at the diagram below. 

(Let's pretend it is Black's turn to move.)

Black decides to play his b-pawn forward two squares. 
(This is a mistake, but let's just carry on so to learn and understand this rule.)

Black advances his pawn two squares.
(The blue arrow shows the intended advance of Black's Pawn.)

Now look at the diagram below.

Black just pushed his b-pawn 'up' two squares.
(This is written/recorded as: 1...b5.)

ALL the prerequisites have been met for the "En Passant" rule. 

White's Pawn is on its fifth row out. A neighboring Black Pawn on an adjacent file has just advanced two squares, exercising the option of moving TWO squares instead of one. Now White has the OPTION of capturing in passing. BUT ... if he is going to do so, he must do so NOW, or forget about it!!

Now its White's turn to move.

The blue arrow shows the intended capture, "In Passing."

Our final position shows that White has played 
1. Pawn takes Pawn on b6, "En Passant."
The White Pawn is sitting on the b6-square, and the Black Pawn 
that was on b5 has been removed from the board.)

   (I have given the b6-square a bold, black border   
  and high-lighted that square in yellow.)   

This move is written/recorded as  2. axb6, e.p. 

**********

Now pretend that it is WHITE's move in this position. 
If White were to play 1. Pawn from h2 to h4, Black could respond 
by playing 1...PxP/h3, "en passant." 

(In fact, if White advanced either his h-pawn OR his f-pawn in the above position, Black could - if he wished to do so - capture in passing with his g-pawn. All the requirements have been met for this rule.) 

*******

And that is all for the "En Passant" rule. 

I went into a lot of detail. But it was fairly necessary as the rule is quite complicated and very often misunderstood. By now you should understand it, and be able to use it in your own games. 

Pawn Promotion

*******

Pawn Promotion is pretty simple. Get a pawn from your second row to the eighth row - 
  all the way down the Board;  and you get to  "PROMOTE." What this means is 
you can get any piece you want: a Knight, a Bishop, a Rook, or a Queen. 

(The promotion is automatic and instantaneous, although the 
player promoting gets to choose which piece he wants.)

 99% of the time, A Queen is chosen   because this is the most powerful piece. 
Usually when a pawn promotes, this is a decisive moment in the game. 

Lets take a look at this move in an actual case. 

White  to move.

(This position, as near as I can recall - - - is an ACTUAL tournament game 
 that I watched many years ago. 
I do not remember who the two actual players were.)

(Now Black is actually up a lot of material. If White's Pawns were not so far 
advanced up the board, Black would have a WON game!!)

White's first move, in this position, is to advance his c-pawn one square. 

This is written or recorded simply as  1. c7.

Look carefully at the diagram above. 

Its a testament to how the power of the pawn increases as it travels down the board.
(The Pawn on c7 is said to be "Forking" the Two Knights.)

White threatens to PROMOTE THREE different ways. 
(Pushing through to the c8-square and making a new White Queen. 
White also threatens to capture either Knight. 
This too would result immediately in a new Queen - 
as soon as the Pawn touches the Eighth {8th} Rank.)

In this position, Black RESIGNED!!
(Resign means to throw in the towel or quit.)

Why?   Well let's go through a few of the possibilities... 

If Black plays his Knight on d8 to the f7-square, trying to save it; (1...Nf7)
White responds by playing "Pawn captures the Black Knight on b8, AND promotes to a new White Queen." (Recorded as 2. cxb8=Q.) 
This would give White an overwhelming advantage,  a Queen being much superior 
to a Knight on an open field. 

Lets say instead  that Black responds to White advancing his Pawn to 
the c7-square by playing his Knight on the d8-square, to the c6-square. 
(This is recorded as 1...N/d8-c6.)
(The idea being if White played Pawn captures Knight and makes a new Queen, 
Black would respond by playing Knight captures Queen.)

White responds to 1...N/d8-c6; by playing "The Pawn on 
the d5-square captures the Black Knight on the c6-square."
(This is written and recorded as: 2. dxc6!)

<< The exclamation point means White just made a very good or exceptional move. >>

(The diagram below shows the position we have reached in our analysis.)

The poor Black Knight on c6 is trapped. Any square that he moves to, he will be captured by a White Pawn. In addition, the Pawn on the c7-square is unstoppable, and cannot be prevented from reaching the last row and becoming a new Queen. This is why Black surrendered. 

And that is all for Pawn Promotion!!

And that concludes our study of all the special moves in chess. 
And you are almost done!!

© A.J. Goldsby I, 2001.

How to make a Draw  (Basic Ways)

There are several different ways to make a draw.

# 1.) Just agree that the position is drawn and shake hands.
(You can offer a draw at any time.)

# 2.) A Draw by "Perpetual Check." 
(You keep checking the other guy's King until he gets sick 
of it and decides to accept your draw offer.)

# 3.) A Draw by Three-fold repetition of the position. 
(Forget about this one. You will never use it unless you play in a tournament.
Basically the game is drawn if the SAME position - with the same player - 
is repeated three times. It does NOT have to be repeated three times in a row. 
I.e., I once had a game where the position was repeated on move 52 or 53, 
again on move 56, and then again around move 64. My opponent ... who was a 
MASTER, and had been playing tournament chess for something like 10 {or more} 
years ... did NOT believe I was correct. I had to stop the clocks, call the TD and 
claim that I was about to make a move which repeated the exact, SAME position 
for the third time. The Tournament Director agreed with me and the game was 
declared drawn.) 

# 4.) A Draw by "The Fifty Move Rule."
I like to call this one, "The NO-Progress Rule."
(If you make 50 moves without certain preconditions having been met the game is drawn. Another rule you probably need not worry about until you compete in your first tournament. 
Basically it is 50 moves ... with NO captures made, and NO pawn moves.) 

# 6.) Stalemate.
(NO legal moves and the King is NOT in check.)

# 7.) Insufficient mating material.
(You trade down to where all you have is a Knight and a King and your opponent only has his King. But then you realize you DON'T have enough material to deliver a checkmate.)

(There are a few others. But unless you play tournament chess, you will never need to learn about them. Consult the USCF rulebook for more details.) 

  Copyright (c) LM A.J. Goldsby I 

  Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby,  1996-2008. 

  Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 2009.  All rights reserved.  

 *** 

  Last edit or save on: Thursday, June 25, 2009 .  

Click  HERE  to go to the LAST page of my  "Beginner's Chess Course."

Its called  "Some Simple Basics"  in Chess.