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Chess Pieces |
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The King |
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The king can move to any of the squares
pointed to by an arrow in the diagram on the left. The king is the main chess piece. The
side whose king is captured loses. This capture is called 'checkmate'. Checkmate happens
once the king is under attack, cannot move and cannot be helped by its own army of
chessmen. To underscore the highest value of the King
relative to other pieces in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the king was
assigned a value of 200 points. |
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The Queen |
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The Queen can move any number of squares
diagonally and also in horizontal and vertical directions. The Queen, however, cannot jump
over any pieces. The diagram on the left illustrates that the Queen can move to any of the
squares pointed to by an arrow and also to any of the squares marked with red dots. To underscore the high value of the Queen relative to other chess pieces in a
chess game, in early computer chess programs, the Queen was assigned a value of 9 points. |
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| The Rook |
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The Rook can move any number of squares in
horizontal and vertical directions. The Rook, however, cannot jump over any pieces. The
diagram on the left illustrates that the Rook can move to any of the squares pointed to by
an arrow and also to a square marked with a red dot. To
underscore the value of the Rook in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the
Rook was assigned a value of 5 points. |
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The Bishop |
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The Bishop can move any number of squares
diagonally only. The Bishop, however, cannot jump over any pieces. The diagram on the left
illustrates that the Bishop can move to any of the squares pointed to by an arrow. To underscore the value of the Bishop relative to other chess pieces in a
chess game, in early computer chess programs, the Bishop was assigned a value of 3 points.
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| The Knight |
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The Knight can move from one corner to the
other of any 2x3 rectangle of squares. The Knight is also the only piece that can jump
over any other chess pieces. The diagram on the left illustrates that the Knight can
move to any of the squares pointed to by a red dot. To
underscore the value of the Knight relative to other chess pieces in a chess game, in
early computer chess programs, the Knight was assigned a value of 3 points. |
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| The Pawn |
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The Pawn can move from straight ahead
only. From its starting square, the pawn can move or 2 squares straight ahead. If
the pawn is not on its starting square, it can only move 1 square straight ahead. The
diagram on the left illustrates that the pawn can move to any of the squares pointed to by
an arrow and a red dot. Although pawns move only forward, they capture only sideways 1
square diagonally forward -- see diagram in Chess Rules) To underscore the value of the Pawn relative to other chess pieces in a chess
game, in early computer chess programs, the Pawn was assigned a value of 1 point. |
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