Chess is a game played by two people on a chessboard with sixteen pieces of six types for each player. Each type of piece moves in a distinct way.
The goal of the game is to checkmate – that is, to threaten the opponent’s king with an inevitable capture. Games do not necessarily end with checkmate – players often resign if they believe they will lose. In addition, there are several ways that a game can end in a draw
At the beginning of the game, for each side there is one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The pieces are placed, one on each square, as follows:
- The rooks are placed on the outside corners, left and right.
- The knights are placed next to the rooks.
- The bishops are placed next to the knights.
- The queen is placed on the central square of the same color of that of the player: white queen on the white square and black queen on the black square.
- The king takes the vacant spot next to the queen.
- The pawns are placed one square in front of all of the other pieces.
Except for any move of the knight and rook, pieces cannot jump over other pieces. A piece is captured (or taken) when an attacking enemy piece replaces it on its square (en passant is the only exception). The captured piece is thereby permanently removed from the game. The king can be put in check but cannot be captured
- The king moves exactly one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. A special move with the king known as castlingis allowed only once per player, per game .
- A rook moves any number of vacant squares in a horizontal or vertical direction. It is also moved when castling.
- A bishop moves any number of vacant squares in any diagonal direction.
- The queen moves any number of vacant squares in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal direction.
- A knight moves to the nearest square, not on the same rank, file or diagonal. (This can be thought of as moving two squares horizontally then one square vertically, or moving one square horizontally then two squares vertically—i.e. in an “L” pattern.) The knight is not blocked by other pieces: it jumps to the new location
- Pawns have the most complex rules of movement:
- A pawn moves straight forward one square, if that square is vacant. If it has not yet moved, a pawn also has the option of moving two squares straight forward, provided both squares are vacant. Pawns cannot move backwards.
- Pawns are the only pieces that capture differently from how they move. A pawn can capture an enemy piece on either of the two squares diagonally in front of the pawn (but cannot move to those squares if they are vacant).
The pawn is also involved in the two special moves: en passant and promotion.
Checkmate
If a player’s king is placed in check and there is no legal move that player can make to escape check, then the king is said to be checkmated. The game ends, and the player loses. Unlike other pieces, the king is never actually captured or removed from the board because checkmate ends the game
Resigning
Either player may resign at any time and their opponent wins the game. Players typically resign when they believe they are very likely to lose the game
Draws
The game ends in a draw if any of these conditions occur:
- The game is automatically a draw if the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. This situation is called a stalemate. An example of such a position is shown in the adjacent diagram.
- The game is immediately drawn when there is no possibility of checkmate for either side with any series of legal moves. This draw is often due to insufficient material, including the endgames
- king against king;
- king against king and bishop;
- king against king and knight;
- king and bishop against king and bishop, with both bishops on squares of the same color
- Both players agree to a draw after one of the players makes such an offer.
The player having the move may claim a draw by declaring that one of the following conditions exists, or by declaring an intention to make a move which will bring about one of these conditions:
- Fifty move rule: There has been no capture or pawn move in the last fifty moves by each player.
- Threefold repetition: The same board position has occurred three times with the same player to move and all pieces having the same rights to move, including the right to castle or capture en passant.
Chess is the ultimate game when it comes to strategy, tactics, patience and perseverance.
Our work environment is just like a chessboard. A chessboard on which we place and use our pieces effectively so that we can win the game. The game’s outcome defines our continuity not only in our work environment but also in our lives.
MRK can show you how to make the right moves, develop a winning strategy and make the most of your potential so as to ensure that you win the game against workplace bullying.
In MRK we help prevent and manage workplace bullying. It’s time for Checkmate ,