Session #1: Meeting the King, Pawns and Rooks

We learned that chess has been around for at least 1500 years and probably came from India.  There was an emperor who taught the game to his children so they could learn to think, especially in battle.  So, chess is really a war game that's been around for hundreds of years.

The first piece we learned about was the king.  We learned:

• The king is the most important piece and must be protected at all times.
• The king can move only one space at a time, in any direction.
• The king cannot be taken by another piece.  When he is trapped by other pieces, then the game is over.  This is called "checkmate."
• When the king is being attacked, but can escape, that is called "check."

The second piece we learned about were the pawns.  We learned:

• Pawns are the least valuable pieces (only one point), but they can be important pieces if used wisely.
• Pawns can move one or two spaces on their first move.  After that, they can only move one space forward at a time.
• Pawns can only move forward.  Never backward.
• Pawns attack the two squares that are diagonal from the piece.
• When a pawn gets all the way to the other side of the board, it can be changed into a queen or any other piece that the player wants - except for a king.

The third piece we learned about were the rooks.  We learned:

• Rooks are called rooks and never "castles."  Really.
• Rooks are worth 5 points and so are fairly valuable pieces.
• Rooks can move in a straight line in any direction.

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See you next week!