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Pawn Chess Piece
The pawn chess piece is often the most overlooked of all of the chess pieces. The piece itself is very simple. On most chess sets, the pawn chess piece is the smallest piece on the board. Each player begins a chess game with eight pawns, standing in front of their other eight chess pieces.
How A Pawn Chess Piece Moves
Pawns are both simple and complex in their movements. The pawn piece has the fewest options of any chess piece on the board in where it can move and it can only move forward until it reaches the other side of the board. Here are a few things to know about how a pawn chess piece moves:
- Pawn chess pieces can only directly forward one square, with two exceptions.
- Pawns can move directly forward two squares on their first move only.
- Pawns can move diagonally forward when capturing an opponent’s chess piece.
- Once a pawn chess piece reaches the other side of the chess board, the player may “trade” the pawn in for any other chess piece if they choose.
Pawn Names & Terms
Not all pawns are created equal. Each pawn is named after piece behind it. For example, the two outer pawns are called “Rook Pawns”, while the pawns in from of the King and Queen at the start of a game are called “King Pawn” and “Queen Pawn” respectively. In addition, pawns on each side of the board are named. This is to help clarify which pawn is which, when referring to a Bishop Pawn, Knight Pawn or Rook Pawn. The pawns on the Queen’s side of the board are called Queen side and the pawns on the King’s side of the board are called King side. For example, at the start of the game, the pawn on the far left side would be called the QR-pawn (Queen Rook Pawn). The pawn second from the right at the start of the game would be called the KN-pawn (King Knight Pawn).
Often, pawns are referenced as opposition. Your opponent’s pawn directly across the board from your own pawn is called the “Counterpawn”. Each pawn on your board begins the game with it’s own counterpawn. At the start of the game, all pawns are considered “unfree”, or not able to reach the opposite side of the board because of it’s counterpawn. Once it’s counterpawn has been captured, the pawn is then considered “half-free”.
Each pawn on the board also has opposing pawns called “sentries”. Sentries are the opponent’s pawn chess pieces that sit directly across from it, but are to the left and right by one square. These pawns are the pieces your opponent could use to capture your pawn. While sentries can make it difficult for your pawn to cross the board, their obstruction of your piece is not absolute.
Each of your own pawn chess pieces has “helpers”. These are it’s neighboring pawn pieces that can be used to help the pawn chess piece cross the board. When trying to reach the other side of a board, a pawn piece is known as a “candidate”. In most cases, your candidate piece would advance first, followed by its helper pieces, trying to ensure it’s safety.
Once the sentries of a pawn piece have been captured, the pawn is now considered “free”. This means it no longer has any opposing pawns in it’s path to reaching the other side of the board.
The Pawn Ram
When two pawns meet at squares directly in front of each other, they are considered part of a “ram”. In basic terms, a ram occurs when two pawn pieces are blocking each other’s movements across the board. When helper pawns get involved, a ram can be broken, allowing the pawn chess piece to move forward. Avoiding rams is important when attacking an opponent as it eliminates your ability to use the pawn in the attack.
Pawns can be very useful tools as you play the game of chess. Gaining a more in-depth understanding of how to use pawns in chess is crucial to becoming a better chess player. Here are some great books we recommend for studying pawn play in chess:
Moving your chess pieces can be a very confusing concept. There are six different types of chess pieces on a chess board and every piece has it’s own unique way of moving across the board. Some pieces move only diagonally, while other pieces only move forward. Some pieces can only move one square at a time. Keeping track of your chess pieces and knowing how they move is key to understanding how to play chess.
Basic Chess Movements
While every piece is restricted by it’s own set of rules, there are a few rules that all pieces must abide by.
- No chess pieces can move through or past any other chess pieces in it’s path, except the Knight piece, which can jump over pieces during it’s movement.
- All chess pieces must remain on an unoccupied square during the game until captured. This means you cannot move pieces on and off the board.
- Chess pieces can only make movement in one direction, except the Knight chess piece. For example, a Rook cannot move 5 squares forward, and then 3 squares to the side in the same turn.
- Chess pieces can capture opposing chess pieces by moving onto the square they occupy, where they must remain until the next turn.
- Unlike checkers, chess pieces are not required to capture opposing pieces if the opportunity presents itself. Instead, the player can elect to not capture the opponent’s piece, which may put them at risk to have their own piece captured.
Pawn Movement
Pawns are the most restricted pieces on the chess board. The pawn can only move forward one square, with two exceptions. The pawn can move forward two squares (if desired) on it’s first move of the game, but can then only continue forward by moving one square forward per turn. When capturing other pieces, a pawn can only move forward diagonally one square. Pawns cannot capture pieces that are directly in front of them, but must wait for the blocking piece to move or be captured by another piece.
Rook Movement
The rook chess piece is allowed to move in any direction, but is restricted to moving in a straight direction. The rook can move forward, backward, left or right until it reaches the edge of the board or another piece blocks it’s path. The rook can move anywhere from 1 to 7 squares, as long as the path is not blocked by another piece. Rooks can capture any other piece on the board, as long as it is within it’s movement range.
Bishop Movement
The bishop piece behaves the same as the rook chess piece, except it’s movement is restricted to diagonal movement. The piece can move in any diagonal direction, as long as the path is not obstructed. The piece can move anywhere from 1 to 7 squares, as determined by the player.
Knight Movement
The movement of the knight chess piece is a little more complicated to describe. Often, the piece is described as being a “wild card” piece because it moves in such an odd direction. Essentially, the knight piece can move in one direction two squares and then turns to the left or right moving one more square. The movement shape looks similar to the shape of the letter “L”. During this movement, the Knight chess piece can skip over other chess pieces to reach it’s destination. The knight piece cannot move to any square already occupied by the same player’s piece, but it can capture an opponent’s piece when it lands on a square occupied by an opponent’s chess piece.
Queen Movement
The queen is often considered the least-restricted chess piece on the chess board. The queen combines the movement of both the Rook and Bishop pieces, meaning it can move in any direction, diagonally or straight. As with the Rook and Bishop, the Queen can only move forward as long as there are no other pieces in it’s path. The Queen can move 1 to 7 squares in any direction.
King Movement
The king piece is the most simple and straight-forward piece. The King can move in any direction by a single square, as long as it is not restricted by another piece. The King can capture any other piece, but it can only move to a square as long as it does not put the piece into a “Check” position, where an opponent’s piece could capture it on the next move.
These are just the most basic movements of the chess pieces. We will be exploring more in-depth movement and terminology of each piece moving forward.
The official way to set up a chess board.
While there are many different ways you can set up your chess board, there is only one “official” way to set up your board. It can also be difficult to undertand and even remember how to set up your chess board.
White At The Bottom
First, remember that white always starts out at the “bottom” of the chess board. To start, the bottom left square should be a dark-colored square. Rotate your chess board until a dark-colored square is found at the bottom left corner of the board (left for the person playing as white). This square is also known as “a1″ in chess notation.
Set Up Your White Chess Pieces
Now you can begin to set up your white pieces. Place a white Rook on a1. The Rook is the piece that looks like the top to a castle. The next square to the right (from the white player’s position) is “b1″. Place a white Knight (looks like a horse) on b1. Going right, the next square (which should be dark) is c1. Place a white Bishop (the piece that has a strange chip taken out of the top) here. On d1, place your white Queen (the piece with the crown), then on e1, place your white King (the piece with the cross on top of the crown). Next, place a white Bishop, then a white Knight and finally your last white Rook on f1, g1 and h1 respectively.
Once you’ve placed your major pieces, you need to place your 8 white pawns (they should all look the same and are the smallest pieces in the set). They should all be placed on the squares between a2 and h2, just in front of your other white pieces.
Set Up Your Black Chess Pieces
Now you can set up your black chess pieces. It is easiest to set it up from the white side. Start at the top left corner. This square should be a light square and it is known as “a8″. Place a black Rook. Your next square to the right is “b8″. Place a black Knight here. Next on c8, place a black Bishop. At this point, it may seem a little backwards, but you should put your black Queen on d8, the next square to the right. On e8, place your black King, followed by your second black Bishop on f8. Next put your last black Knight on g8 and your last black Rook on h8. The pawns for black are all placed on the row in front of your current pieces, between a7 and h7.
That’s right! You could be saving on the Premier Tournament Chess Set this weekend! Our Premier Tournament Chess Set is available Friday through Sunday, March 25 at a low $29.99 per set. Only the Ivory set is on sale. That’s a killer deal! Buy The Premier Tournament Chess Set Here.
Not interested in the whole set? The pieces are on sale, too! Only Ivory is available for the sale. Buy The Premier Chess Pieces Here.
Finding the perfect tournament chess set takes time and consideration, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. While there are definitely a lot of standards involved, you do have some room to make the perfect set for you.
At Wholesale Chess, you’ll find a great variety of tournament sets to get you geared up for the next big event. We have both weighted and non-weighted pieces in a variety of colors, shades, and heights. We also have many board colors, textures and weights to choose from. It can be confusing to find the right set, but we’re here to help you get started. Here are some of the industry-standard tournament sets we have available.
The most basic tournament set we have is the Quality Tournament set. This set features a basic board with 2″ squares and unweighted pieces standing at 3 3/4″ king height. The package also comes with a carry-all bag that holds the board, pieces, and a few other supplies you may want to bring along. The vinyl board is well constructed and will last for a long time. it’s quite lightweight and portable. It also comes in three colors: black, forest green, and navy blue, meaning the board and bag will be in those colors. The pieces are all black and natural colors. This set is excellent for the beginning chess player and the player on the go.
Our least expensive set with weighted pieces, the Heavy Tournament Chess Set includes pieces, the vinyl board and the carrying bag. Like the Quality Set, the Heavy Tournament Set comes in navy, black and forest green. The pieces are a set up from the Quality Set, featuring triple-weighted pieces standing at 3 3/4″ king height. The king weighs in at a hefty 52 grams, giving the pieces that comfortable, weighted feel. The board and bag are the same as used on the Quality Set. This set is our best value set for the serious tournament player.
With a slightly taller set of pieces and a mousepad board, the Executive Tournament Chess Set is a step above the Heavy Tournament set. This set features the carry-all bag, the 2″ vinyl board and a full set of Executive Staunton pieces. The board rolls very well and handles abuse quite well. The set is also available in black, navy and forest green. The pieces have an ivory color or black color and are triple weighted. The king weighs in at 45 grams, slightly lighter than the Heavy Tournament set.
Our Premier Tournament Chess Set is one of the highest quality tournament sets available. This set features our Premier pieces paired with a full-size regulation mousepad board and our Premier tournament bag. Our Premier pieces stand at a towering 4 1/8″, our pieces feature a king weight of 65 grams, making them some of the best pieces in the industry. The mousepad board features squares at 2 3/8″, and comes in three different colors: black, navy and forest green. The set also includes our 27″ premier tournament bag that can easily fit the set along with any other supplies you may need to bring. The set is highly durable and will last a long time.
The Thursday Deal of the Day is sure to please traditional chess players who like that feel of nice wood chess pieces against a wood chess board. Nothing quite like it–is there!
We are offering our American Staunton Wood Pieces in ebonized hardwood. The king stands 3 3/4 inches tall with a 1 5/8 inch base. The knight has the traditional raised head–ears laid back, teeth bared and nostrils flared–ready to do battle! This set—today only—is $42.49, half the regular MSRP. If you have been waiting for a nice wood set, now is the time.
You can also choose a compete wood set, The Kramnik Chess Gift Box. This boxed set features weighted Golden Sheesham Chess Pieces with Drawstring Bag (featuring a 3.5″ King), a folding wood Walnut & Maple Chess Board, a DGT Easy Plus Clock and a special CD featuring 120 games by the World Champion Kramnik, all in an attractive gift box. The MSRP is $154.99. Our regular everyday low price is $99.99. But today only you can get this fine set for just $63.99—an amazing value.
Today only, (January 27,) you will find our Quality Chess Pieces 
and Basic Chess Boards on sale at a huge discount. (You can get 
5 of each.) Go to our Homepage and then click through on our Thursday Chess Deals to take advantage of today’s bargains. Even with this huge discount, you can still apply our shipping specials.
Written by Laura Sherman of YourChessCoach.com
One common misconception that I hear a lot, is that in a game of chess, the king can be captured. It makes sense, since every other chess piece can be taken. However, during the game, the king is never removed from the board.
Sometimes a student of ours will become puzzled because their parent or grandparent will insist that the king can be captured. After all, it was how they were taught.
After I ran into this problem a few times, I started offering to give parents a free 1-hour lesson. The purpose was so that they could play with their children in between lessons, and we’d all be on the same page.
When I hit on this concept, I was pregnant, so I would stipulate that they needed to buy me coffee and a scone (I’d get hungry at the drop of a hat). It was a hit and I’ve kept it in as a tradition. Even though I’m no longer pregnant, I still ask for a scone. I like scones.
One father pointed out that sometimes people knock the king over. Perhaps that helps to create a confusion.
Knocking over the king is more of a dramatic statement than a true ritual of chess. It looks good in a picture or movie, but you rarely see the gesture in a tournament. Certainly you wouldn’t knock over your opponent’s king (that would be very rude).
One friend pointed out that throughout history, when a war was won, the losing king was often permitted to live, out of respect. Perhaps this is the reason that the king isn’t captured in chess – it mirrors life.
Whatever the reason, trust me, you do not remove the king from the board. He stays on, through to the very end. If you have any questions on this, buy me a coffee and a scone, and we can talk about it some more.
Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach (YourChessCoach.com) with her husband, Dan Sherman. Together they teach children to play chess through various schools in Pinellas County, Florida, as well as online.
If you would like to ask Laura a question about chess, you can ask the question in the comment space below, leave your email, and Laura will respond directly to you – OR – you can always find YourChessCoach on Twitter or visit her new blog.
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