Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

After you learn how to set up a chessboard it’s time to learn how chess pieces move and the chess pieces’ names.

After reading this article you will know the chess pieces’ names and how the chess pieces move. Watching titled players discuss chess games is a great way to help you remember what you learn.

Before you begin learning how the chess pieces move, getting to know the chessboard is vital. GM Susan Polgar has coached chess players who were absolute beginners and grandmasters too.

Here she is to explain everything you must know about the chessboard.

  • Kings move one square in any direction, so long as that square is not attacked by an enemy piece. Additionally, kings are able to make a special move, known as castling.
  • Queens move diagonally, horizontally, or vertically any number of squares. They are unable to jump over pieces.
  • Rooks move horizontally or vertically any number of squares. They are unable to jump over pieces. Rooks move when the king castles.
  • Bishops move diagonally any number of squares. They are unable to jump over pieces.
  • Knights move in an ‘L’ shape’: two squares in a horizontal or vertical direction, then move one square horizontally or vertically. They are the only piece able to jump over other pieces.
  • Pawns move vertically forward one square, with the option to move two squares if they have not yet moved. Pawns are the only piece to capture different to how they move. The pawns capture one square diagonally in a forward direction.
    Pawns are unable to move backward on captures or moves. Upon reaching the other side of the board a pawn promotes into any other piece, except for a king. Additionally, pawns can make a special move named En Passant.

After you have learned the chess pieces’ names and how they move you will want to begin playing games and getting better at chess. Be sure you bookmark our blog, as you can learn a lot more about chess from the many informative articles.

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is chess difficult to learn?

Chess is easy to learn, but it takes a lifetime to master. Lots of people learn chess, however, few master the game and it is this challenge that attracts many people to it.

You can learn how the pieces move and the rules of the game in a few minutes.

How do you win in chess in 2 moves?

Winning a chess game it two moves requires a lot of cooperation from your opponent. White needs to advance the f-pawn and g-pawn on the first two moves.

For example, 1.f4 e6 2.g4 Qh4#

What are the 16 pieces in chess called?

Eight of the sixteen pieces are called pawns, two are rooks, two are knights, two are bishops, one is a queen, and one a king.

Is chess a sport?

Yes and no.

The Yes – Some people argue chess is a sport because it is similar to archery and golf in terms of concentration.

and

The No – The dictionary defines sport as “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. In light of this strict definition of a sport, we must conclude chess is not a sport, because there is not a lot of physical exertion.

How do I get good at chess?

Getting good at chess involves a lot of learning and practice. Remember, you can find a lot of helpful chess training courses and books at iChess.net suitable for all levels of chess players.

Another very good way to get good at chess is to have lessons with a coach.

Can I learn chess for free?

There are many websites where you can learn to play chess for free online. One very popular and free website is lichess.org.

How do you start a chess game?

According to the rules of chess, it is possible to begin the game by moving a pawn or a knight.

Although there are a total of twenty possible first moves, there are only four main opening moves. These moves are 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3.

Chess Is a Game for Everybody

Almost every person in the world knows the famous board game of chess! However, many look at the chessboard and feel totally overwhelmed, thinking that it is a game only for extraordinarily smart people and a game they could never understand.

They look at the black and white chessboard, see 32 chess pieces that they don’t know the names of, and have no idea what to do with them.

  • Note: If you already know how chess pieces move, check out this article on finding the best squares for each piece!

If you’re curious about chess, we want to end your confusion and show you that learning to play chess isn’t something to be afraid of!

Therefore, we will provide you with the basic rules of chess, tell you the chess pieces’ names, show you how the pieces move, and some other essential information for anyone who wants to start playing chess!

Before we start with all the chess rules about the pieces, we have some basic facts for you. The chessboard consists of 64 squares, half of them visibly white, the other half black.

Each player has 6 different types of pieces. Here are the chess pieces’ names and the number of each piece: 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, a queen and the most important one – the king!

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

At the beginning of the game, we find 32 pieces on the chessboard, half of them are white, and the other half black.

All together they cover half of the whole chessboard and each side tries to use them effectively to checkmate the opponent’s king.

Now that you know the chess pieces’ names, we can move on to the really crucial question. How do all those chess pieces move?

The Pawn

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

Each player has 8 pawns at the beginning of the game situated in front of the other 8 pieces. The pawn is one of the most underestimated chess pieces.

The two reasons for this are it is quite small and you have plenty of them on the board.

But that’s a fatal mistake, some famous chess players even call them “the soul of chess”. One reason for that is having reached the other side of the board, they can get promoted. You can transform them into any other piece except for the king.

Pawns have the fewest options of movement of all the pieces, but on their first move, they have the option to go one or two squares forward. On all other moves, a pawn can only go one square straight forward.

The exception to this is when pawns capture the opponent’s chess pieces – then they move forward one square diagonally. Moreover, there is one exceptional rule for pawn moves which is called “en passant”. You can read all about this chess rule in this article: En Passant Pawn Capture Rule.

Let 4 time Women’s World Chess Champion GM Susan Polgar help you learn all about chess pawns.

GM Susan Polgar’s course is the ideal course to introduce you to the wonderful game of chess. You will receive 7 hours of coaching covering all the basics from setting up the board to playing a game.

The Rook  

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

At the start of any game, you have 2 pieces resembling towers sitting in the corners of the chessboard.

In the chess world, we name this piece a rook. A rook is a very valuable piece being worth as much as 4 to 5 pawns, with a wide reach.

The movement is the easiest to learn of all pieces. Rooks can go forward, backward, to the left, or to the right. Of course, the rook can not change directions in the same move.

Rooks can move any number of squares in the chosen direction unless blocked by another piece. The knight, up next, is the only piece that can jump over a piece.

The Knight

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

The chess pieces which look like little horses are named knights. These chess pieces are the minor pieces in the chess game. In the beginning, they stand inside the rooks and their value is equal to 3 pawns.

This chess piece, sometimes called “horse”, has a quite mysterious way of moving on the board which can puzzle beginners just start to learn the chess rules. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.

It moves in an L-shape over the squares. This means that this chess piece first moves two squares in one direction (to the left, to the right, back- or forwards) and then one square into a horizontal or vertical direction. If that sounds confusing, don’t worry – just check the diagram on the right.

  • Improve your chess quickly with GM Lemos’ FREE Grandmaster Guide for Beginners – 2.5 hour video!

Of course, it is also possible to move in the same shape in reverse – the knight can move one square into any direction (but not diagonally) first, and then across or down two squares. Try drawing with your finger a three-squared L-shape on the board.

Take a look at the diagram above showing how the knight moves, and you will notice something exciting. The knight always moves to a square of the opposite color.

This special piece can only move to eight squares while it is standing in the middle of the board.

  • GM Damian Lemos is one of the most popular coaches and presenters at iChess.net. Here he presents a game between two strong players from the early 1900s. See how much you can learn from watching the game. Then check to see how much you learned by reading the rest of this informative article.

Why Do We Say “A Knight on the Rim Is Dim?”

When it is standing on the edge of the board, the knight can only reach four squares or half that number. That’s why you will often hear people say, “A knight on the rim is dim.”

Although it can not move as far as other pieces, the knight is very useful in positions with lots of pieces. In light of the knight’s ability to jump over a piece. Thus making it good in a blocked, or closed, position.

Although the knight cannot cover as many squares as other pieces, it is very useful for different kinds of tactical chess motifs in your games. This is what makes this chess piece notably precious.

The knight is a tricky piece and even intermediate players find it challenging to keep track of the dangers a knight can pose. Learn from Susan Polgar how to get the most from this piece with its unusual move pattern.

You can learn a lot about all the pieces and much more in her wonderful Secrets of Chess Strategy course for beginners.

The Bishop

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

The other minor pieces in the game are chess pieces with the name bishops. They sit next to the chess pieces we named knights and, just as with the knights, they are worth 3 pawns each (some grandmasters would value them at about 3.3 pawns due to how powerful they can be in open positions).

Happily, the movement of the bishop chess piece, which was originally named the elephant, is far easier than the knight.

The bishop is the ruler over the diagonals of the chessboard. One of them is light-squared, the other one is dark-squared.

When there are no other pieces in their way, bishops can move in any direction diagonally, as many squares as desired.

They can capture any piece along the diagonals, and as they can reach so many squares (they can move from one end of the board right to the other in one move), they can prove very useful, especially when working in tandem.

In tandem, the two bishops cover the black and white squares of the chessboard.

When you have one bishop, you can only cover half of the squares.

This is because the bishop only moves on the color of its starting square.

Your opponent can take advantage of this by placing his pieces on squares of the opposite color. Now your bishop cannot attack his pieces.

Because each bishop is restricted to squares of one color, it helps if you place your pawns on opposite-colored squares. This allows your bishop to move more freely across the chessboard.

The Queen

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

The Queen, with a crown on her head, is (besides the king!) the most important and powerful piece in the game of chess. Each player has just one queen and she is worth 9 pawns!

The queen sits next to the bishop – on the central square that matches the piece’s color (a black queen starts on the black square in the middle of all the other pieces, a white queen on a white square).

As she has the widest reach of all pieces, she can become the most dangerous member of the game for your opponents. It is essential to protect her and use her effectively at the same time.

For most players, the loss of the queen means the loss of the whole game. So, always be careful with your Queen as she is unique.

She can move in any direction and any number of squares. The one thing she can’t do is jump over other pieces. The Queen can capture any of the opponent’s pieces that are in her way.

This piece is very useful for different kinds of tactics and attacks. Be careful not to bring your queen out into the open too soon. The queen is such a valuable piece she will soon come under attack from the opponent’s pieces.

Although the queen is a powerful attacking piece in the game of chess, do not underestimate her abilities to help you keep your king safe.

Keeping the queen close to your king aids in his defense, but the queen can defend from long-range too.

As long as there is an open path to the king, the queen can act as a defender from across the chessboard.

This path can be in a straight line or diagonal because the queen can travel in all directions!

The King

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

The King is the most important piece in any chess game. He is placed next to the Queen, wearing a cross on his head. A king is worth endless pawns and the lives of all your other pieces. When you checkmate the opponent’s King, the game is over and you carry home a victory!

Thus, it is crucial to keep your king safe and try to weaken the opponents’. The king is limited in his movement. Surprisingly, this chess piece with the regal name has a limited range.

He can move just one square in any direction, but only if he isn’t placed in check by doing so.

Check in the game of chess is when the king is under attack by an enemy piece and in danger of being captured on the next move.

There are three ways to deal with a check. These are:

  • capture the attacking piece,
  • block the check with one of your pieces, so the king is shielded,
  • or move the king to a square where he isn’t under attack.

When none of these options is available, then the check becomes checkmate, and the game is over.

You cannot move another piece in chess while your king is in check, except to block the check or capture the attacking piece. This threat must be dealt with first.

Sometimes it happens that your king is not in check but doesn’t have a safe square to move to. When this happens, and you can’t move another piece, it’s called a stalemate, and the game is drawn.

Knowing when your king cannot move is very important. This allows you to use a stalemate to draw a game even if you have less material. This is a common tactic at the end of a chess game.

Besides, the square the king wants to go to mustn’t be occupied by any other of your pieces (only one piece can ever occupy a square).  The king can participate in a special move called “castling”. When you castle, you simultaneously move your king and one of your rooks.

Thereby, you move the king two squares towards your rook and then move the rook to the square over which the king crossed (be sure to do it in this order – if you move your rook first, it’s counted as a normal rook move and you’ll lose the chance to castle). In chess, there are two types of castling:

  1. Castling on the kingside (often called castling short)
  2. And castling on the queenside (often called castling long)

Castling might sound complicated in theory, but let’s see how easy it is in practice:

However, there are a number of rules when castling is possible and when not. You can only castle, if:

  1. Your king has not moved in the game yet.
  2. Your king is not in check.
  3. The king does not castle through a square which is controlled by an opponent’s piece.
  4. The king is not in check after castling.
  5. The rook has not been moved in the game yet.

Now that you know how the pieces move it is time to learn how to start your chess games. Thanks to his many years of playing and coaching chess GM Damian Lemos is the perfect grandmaster to help you begin your journey to becoming a star chess player.

Enjoy the next video from his course The Secrets to Mastering Chess Openings which is tailor-made for beginners.

How Chess Pieces Move: Summary

Now, as we’ve seen how every individual chess piece moves and their names, let’s put it all together and see how a chess game with all chess pieces on board could start:

We hope this article was informative for you and you are motivated to learn more about chess rules and chess pieces now! If you want to make any remarks, then feel free to leave a comment.

Since we’re happy to share what we know, you’ll be happy to know that there are more special rules with these pieces you must know going into your next match. By clicking the link, you’ll discover more chess pawn moves, the new 75-move rule, and more!

If this article motivated you to quickly learn chess or improve your chess skills, we’ve got a special deal for you.

All chess players were beginners at some point, including Grandmaster Damian Lemos.

With hard work, persistence, and the right training, Damian was able to obtain the FIDE Master title at 14 years old, then went on to become an International Master at 15, and a Grandmaster at 18. It was a journey of pain, sacrifices, determination, and triumph.

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Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally?

Other Interesting Articles for you:

  • What are the Best Chess Opening Moves? – The Definitive Guide
  • Chess Pieces Set Up: The Definitive Guide for Chess Beginners
  • What is a Stalemate in Chess?
  • Best Chess Strategy Tips for Beginners

Which chess piece moves vertically and horizontally but Cannot jump over other pieces?

The Queen is considered the most powerful piece on the board. It can move any number of squares in a straight line - either vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The queen moves like the rook and bishop combined. Unless capturing, the queen must move to an unoccupied square; and it cannot jump over pieces.

Can move horizontally and vertically in straight direction in chess?

Rook. The rook moves in a straight line, horizontally or vertically.

Can a rook move horizontally?

The rook can move any number of unoccupied squares in a straight line, both vertically and horizontally. A rook may not move past pieces of the same color, except for the king during castling. The rook captures by occupying the square on which an enemy piece sits.

Can pawns move horizontally?

Unlike all other chess pieces, Pawns move and capture in different ways. The Pawn can only move forward. It never moves sideways or backwards.