Individual and Dual Sports (P.

E)
PROF. IRENE MABATO

Assignment #1:
THE ART OF CHESS
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By Salalac, Czarina Kassandra DC.

What is Chess?
Chess has been a popular board game since the 6th century CE. It is played by two
opposing players, one playing the white and the other black. Chess has been known as
the "Royal Game" or the "Game of the Kings" for it is played by royals, nobles or
people with high standing and wealth. It is an intellectual and strategic game in which
its main goal is to force the most important piece in the board— the King. The player
must corner or also known as to checkmate the King to which he cannot move anymore.

What is the history of the game?

There is much speculation on when and where chess originated. However, the game has
been found in the 6th century CE. It was determined to be played in some parts of
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Russia, India, Central Asia, Pakistan. There was a British educationalist and a
prominent chess historian named Harold James Ruthven Murray who published a book
called "A History of Chess". He said in his book that chess came from the North of India
then traveled to Western Persia hence spreading throughout the Asian continent. There
are also some people who think that it's not from India but rather in the Celestial
Empire, China. They believe that it was invented in early 200 B.C by Commander Hán
Xin, who made chess to represent his particular battle.

The first chess tournament was hosted in 1886 where Wilhelm Steinitz became the first
official World Chess Champion. It was the revolutionary period for all chess players, it
was dubbed as the "Romantic Era of Chess".

What are the mechanics of the game?

The nature of the game is to capture or checkmate the King. There are 2 different sides,
the white piece and the black pieces. The white always takes the first move, they can
only play 1 chess piece, usually it is the pawn but they can also move the knight due to
its unique rules. They're are a total of sixteen (16) chess pieces each player, composed of
8 pawns, two (2) Rooks, two (2) Bishops, two (2) Knights and a Queen and a King, and
vice versa to the opposing side. There are three (3) outcomes: Checkmate in which you
successfully capture the opponent's King and a Stalemate where you have no more legal
moves which leaves you to a draw or tie or a more simple way your opponent Resigns to
the game which automatically makes you the winner. Every chess piece has a value in
them: pawn = 1 point, Knight = 3 points, Bishop = 3 points, Rook = 5 points, Queen = 9
points and surprisingly the King is priceless. Piece valuations have no role in the rules
of chess but are useful as an aid to assessing a position.

What are the terminologies used?

1. The King
The king is the most important piece in the game. Sometimes people argue it's
the Queen but it varies to the player and how they perceive the pieces. The King
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is to be protected during the game. It can only move a one block from its position
but there's a special move called Castling.

1.1 Castling
- It is a special move you can only do once and with certain
conditions. Neither the King nor the castling Rook have previously
moved, no squares between the two pieces are occupied, the King is
not in check and none of the squares the king would move across or
to are under enemy attack.

2. Queen
The queen is the most powerful and the most free chess piece. It is able to move
any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally as long as there's no
obstacles in the way. It is the most powerful piece that most of the time when a
player is promoting its pawn they'll choose a Queen.

2.1 Promotion
- It is the replacement of a Pawn that managed to go to the first layer
of the opponent's side; he can substitute it with a new queen, rook,
bishop, or knight. Promoting to Queen is called Queening while for
others it is called Underpromotion.

3. Rook
There are always two (2) Rooks in the beginning of the game; they are placed on
both corners of the board. It is also known as the tower. The Rook is also one of
the highest valued chess pieces, it can move horizontally and vertically as long as
there's no obstacles in the way. The Rook can also do a special move called the
Castling together with the King for strategic purposes.
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4. Bishop
There are always two (2) Bishops in the beginning of the game. The Bishop has
also no restrictions in moving long distance like the Rook, however, their
difference is that the Rook can move in a straight line or path while the Bishop
can only move in a diagonal manner which means if the Bishop is on the white
tile he can only move on that said color; they are also called light-squared or
dark-squared Bishops.

5. Knight
There are always two (2) Knights in the beginning of the game. It is also
commonly referred to as the Horse due to its representation. Compared to other
chess pieces, the knight's movement is unique. The knight can jump over pieces
to reach its destination however they must always form the L shape to do so.

6. Pawn
There are always eight (8) Pawns in the beginning of the game. Although they
are the most numerous it is also considered as the weakest piece. It may move
one vacant square directly forward or it may move two vacant squares directly
forward but only for its first move. It may capture one square diagonally forward.
The pawn has two other special moves other than moving 2 blocks for the
beginning. The first is the Promotion and the other is En Passant or in English,
"In Passing" a special rule of capturing for Pawns.

6.1 En Passant
- An en passant capture can occur after a pawn makes a move of two
squares and the square it passes over is attacked by an enemy
pawn. The enemy pawn is entitled to capture the moved pawn "in
passing" as if the latter had advanced only one square.