Following are the official rules of chess, which were provided by George Koltanowski.
The game of chess is a board game played by two opponents who maneuver their chess pieces in an attempt to checkmate the opposing king.
1. The chess board is composed of 64 equal squares alternately light (the "white" squares) and dark (the "black" squares).
2. The chess board is placed between the two players in a way so that the square at the right -hand corner to each player is white.
3. The eight rows of squares, running from the edge of the chess board nearest one of the players to the edge of the board nearest the other player, are called files (vertical columns).
4. The eight rows of squares, running from one edge of the chess board to the other at right angles to the files, are called ranks (horizontal columns).
5. The straight rows of squares of one color, touching each other at the corners, are called diagonals.
At the start of play, one player uses the 16 light-colored pieces ("white" pieces), and the other player uses the 16 dark-colored pieces ("black" pieces).
These pieces are as follows:
NAMES WH1TE BLACK
A KING
0
*
A QUEEN
Q
*
TWO ROOKS
Il I
TWO BISHOPS
~ i
TWO KNIGHTS
t1 •
-The Conduct of the Game
The General Definition of the Move
The Individual Moves
of
the PiecesThe initial position of the pieces upon the chess board is as shown in the following diagram:
1.
2.
1.
2.
BLACK
WHITE
The two players must alternate in making one move at a time. The player with the white pieces begins the game.
It is said that a player "has the move" when it is his or her turn to play.
Except for castling, a move is the transferring of a piece from one square to another square, vacant or occupied only by an enemy piece. (An "enemy" piece is a piece of the opposite color.) No piece, except the rook in castling and the knight can move over a square occupied by another piece.
3. A piece moved to a square occupied by an enemy piece captures this piece, which must be immediately removed from the chess board by the player who makes the capture.
The King
Except for castling, the king moves from his square to one of the contiguous squares not under attack by an enemy piece.
A square is "under attack by an enemy piece" when that piece can move to the square on its next move.
Castling is a transfer of the king, completed by the transfer of the rook, counting as a single move (of the king) and executed strictly as follows:
The king moves from his initial square two squares to one side, then the rook from that side passes over the king to occupy the square the king has just passed over.
Castling is definitely not allowed on either side if the king or rook has already moved.
Castling is momentarily prevented:
Completion of the Move
a) if the initial square of the king or the square which the king must pass over or that which it will occupy is attacked by an enemy piece, or
b) if there are any pieces between the king and the rook toward which the king must move.
The Queen
The queen moves along the length of the rank or file or diagonal upon which she stands.
The Rook
The rook moves along the length of the rank or file upon which it stands.
The Bishop
The bishop moves along the length of the diagonal upon which it stands.
The Knight
The knight moves either two squares on the rank and one on the file, or two on the file and one on the rank (an "L" shape).
The Pawn
The pawn moves as described below:
a) From its initial square, it advances one or two vacant squares for-ward on its file. Thereafter, it moves only one vacant square on its file at a time. To capture, it advances to a square contiguous to its own upon the diagonal.
b) A pawn attacking a square passed over by an enemy pawn, which has been advanced two squares in one move from its initial square, can capture but only in the move immediately following this enemy pawn, as if that pawn had only moved forward one square. This capture is called "taking in passing" ("prise en pas-sant'').
c) Any pawn that reaches the last (eighth) rank must be changed immediately, as a part of the same move, into a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color, at the choice of the player and without reference to the other pieces remaining upon the chess board. This changing of a pawn is called "promotion."
The completion of a move is achieved:
a) in the transfer of a piece to a vacant square, when the player releases the piece.
The Touched Piece
b) in a capture, when the captured piece has been removed from the chess board and the player, having placed it on its new square, has released it.
c) in castling, when the player has released the rook upon the square passed over by the king; when the player has released the king, the move is not yet completed, but the player no longer has the right to make any move other than castling.
d) in the promotion of a pawn, when the pawn has been removed from the chess board and the player has released the new piece, placed upon the square of promotion. If the player has released the pawn upon its arrival at the square of promotion, the move is not yet completed, but the player no longer has the right to move a pawn to another square.
The player having the move can adjust one or several pieces after warning his or her oponent.
Otherwise, if a player having the move touches one or several pieces, he or she must make a move using the first piece touched which can be moved or captured.
Illegal Positions 1. If a move is made illegally and if one of the players states this fact before touching a piece, the illegality will be corrected applying the rules under the Touched Pieces section above. If the illegality is not stated, the game continues without correction.
Check
2. If, in the course of a game, one or several pieces have been acci-dentally jarred and incorrectly replaced, or if, after an adjourn-ment, the position is incorrectly set-up and if one of the players states this fact before touching a piece, the irregularity can be corrected. If the irregularity is not caught before a player touches a piece, the game continues without correction.
3. If during the game it is claimed that the initial position of the chess board was incorrect, the game will be annulled.
1. The king is in check when his square is attacked by an enemy piece; it is said that this piece gives check to the king.
2. Check must be parried by the move immediately following. If check cannot be parried, it is said to be "mate."
3. A piece interposing to prevent check to the king of its own color can itself give check to the enemy king.
The Won Game
The Drawn Game
Systems
of
Chess NotationThe Algebraic
System
1. The game is won by the player who gives mate to the enemy king.
2. The game will be considered as won by the player whose oppo-nent resigns from the game.
The game is a draw:
1. When the king of the player who has the move is not in check but the player cannot make any move. It is said the king is "stale-mated."
2. By agreement between the two players.
3. Upon demand by one of the players when the same position ap-pears three times with the same player having the move each of the three times. The position is considered the same if the pieces of the same denomination and of the same color occupy the same squares.
4. When a player who has the move demonstrates that at least fifty moves have been played by himself and opponent without the capture of any piece or the moving of any pawn.
The two most widespread systems of notation are the algebraic system and the descriptive system.
BLACK ABC 0 E F G H
A B C 0 E F G H WHITE
The pieces, except the pawns, are designated by their initials. The pawns are not specifically indicated.
(In American usage knight i.'1 indicated hy Kt or N, since k indicates the king.)
The eight files (from the first rank of the white pieces) are designated by the letters a to h.
The eight ranks are numbered from 1 to 8 in counting from the first