This move allows a pawn that has just moved two squares forward to be captured by an opposing pawn that lands in the square that the pawn would have occupied had it only moved one square forward. One unique feature of pawns is that they have a special move called en passant. Pawns capture diagonally, moving one square diagonally forward to take an opposing piece. Pawns can move one or two squares forward from their starting position, but after that, they can only move one square forward at a time. The pawn is the most numerous piece on the chessboard, with each player starting with eight of them. Let’s take a closer look at each piece and how they move on the board. The major pieces are the queen and the rooks, while the minor pieces are the knights, bishops, and pawns. The chess pieces are divided into two categories: the major pieces and the minor pieces. The pieces are positioned on opposite sides of the board, with the queen on a square of her color, and the king on the remaining square. The squares are alternating in color, typically black and white, and each player starts with 16 pieces. The chessboard consists of 64 squares, arranged in an 8×8 grid.

The Chessboardīefore we dive into the pieces themselves, let’s first take a look at the chessboard. By the end of this blog, you will have a thorough understanding of the chess pieces and their roles in the game.

In this blog, we will provide an in-depth look at each piece, its name, and how it moves on the board. In order to play this game effectively, it is essential to understand the names and moves of the chess pieces. (*) Game analysed by GM Karsten Müller below.Chess is an ancient and complex game of strategy that has captivated players for centuries. Defending champion Anish Giri beat Ju Wenjun in the longest game of the day (*).Wei Yi, who had played the event for the last time in 2018, defeated the winner of last year’s Challengers tournament, Alexander Donchenko.Van Foreest faltered in a tricky endgame with rooks and minor pieces (*). Alireza Firouzja got the better of 2021 champion Jorden van Foreest in 37 moves.Ian Nepomniachtchi needed 29 moves to take down Max Warmerdam after the Dutch GM underestimated his opponent’s attacking chances on the kingside.The first round of the event lived up to the hype, with four players grabbing wins, all with the black pieces. Ju Wenjun | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Lennart Ootes Svensen asked on X how many times this encounter of champions has been seen in the past, with (most likely) giving the correct answer: Notably, women’s world champion Ju Wenjun also accepted the invitation to play in the Masters, which means we will get to see a battle between the two current world champions: Ding will play white against Ju in the final round. Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > The ultimate chess experience every day, Pla圜 welcomes 20,000 chess players from all around the world – from beginner to grandmaster.Memorize it easily move by move by playing against the variation trainer. Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > Learn openings the right way! Build and maintain your repertoire.Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > Real Fun against a Chess Program! Play, analyze and train online against Fritz.Top authors like Daniel King, Lawrence Trent and Rustam Kasimdzhanov Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > Thousands of hours of high class video training.Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > Sac, sac, mate! Solve tactical positions of your playing strength.Store your games, training material and opening repertoire in the cloud. Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > My Games – Access your games from everywhere.Still no ChessBase Account? learn more > 8 million games online! Updated weekly, our definitive database has all the latest games.

Name of the chess pieces