Learn Chess Special Moves

Many beginner chess players often shy away from special chess moves. However, to completely learn chess beginners must understand how and when to execute one of the three special chess moves. Special moves are named so as each move has specific precursors (one or more conditions that must be met before the move is made) and a special set of dedicated rules. Special chess moves include castling, en passant and pawn promotion. Each move can be used tactically to aide in progressing a game, and therefore should be learned as soon as possible.

Castling is the most complex of the special chess moves. Castling is often used in the opening game to provide a defensive structure for the king. When castling, two pieces, namely the king and the rook, are moved in a single turn. Castling can involve either rook as long as the rook being played has not previously moved. Furthermore, the king must also not have moved. All squares between the rook and the king must not be occupied. Also, all squares over which the king will traverse must not be attacked by your opponent as the king cannot be placed in check at any point during the move. Finally, the king must not currently be in check, or finish in check after the move has completed. To castle, slide the rook until it sits next to the king then place the king on the other side of the rook. This is not strictly the order of how castling should be played as castling is strictly speaking a king move, and therefore the king must be played first. Note that after castling the rook is placed closer to the center of the chess board where it is more effective. Those who are observant may note that castling on the queen side requires the rook to move further. This is called castling long. Unsurprisingly, castling on the king side is called a castling short. Please refer to the diagram below for further clarification. Note that whites king is now very well defended (although this tactic is more commonly played on the shortside).

The next special move is en passant. To assist in quickening the opening game, a rule added in the late 12th century allowed pawns to move two squares on an initial move. Many beginner chess players will be aware of this rule. En passant is an extension to this and literally translates from French as in passing. Simply, en passant allows a pawn attacking the first square over which a player has previously "skipped" while moving a pawn two squares to take the pawn previously moved by occupying the skipped square. I know this sounds like a riddle, but please bear with me. Referring to the diagram below, note the pawn in square e4. Assuming white has just made the move f2 to f4, black can now take white at position f3. This is made so as white has actually made two moves. Black is therefore entitled to take white on the first move as black is attacking the first square. There are a couple of rules that must be followed though. Only a pawn can make an en passant capture. Also, the en passant capture must be made immediately after the opponent has moved the pawn.

The final special move is pawn promotion. As pawns only have the ability to move forward, they become useless when they reach the other side of the chess board. However, a pawn that has played the hard yards and made it to the other side is said to have earned the right to be a man. This unfortunate pre-political-correctness-era term refers to the fact that all of the powerful chess pieces are called men. Pawns are called minor pieces. Therefore, a pawn can be promoted to any other chess piece other than a king when it reaches the opposite back row (called the 8th rank). The modern game of chess has evolved from an Indian game called Chaturanga. In Chaturanga, pawns can only be promoted to a queen. This has lead many people to incorrectly misrepresent the rules of modern chess. There are instances when promoting to a piece other than queen is advantageous. Promoting to a knights for example may assist checkmate as knights have the ability to "jump" over a defensive line. This form of promotion is called underpromotion. Also, pawns can be promoted to a queen, knight, bishop or rook even if these pieces are still in play. It is perfectly acceptable to have two or more queens or three rooks in play at the same time.

To conclude, beginners may find special chess moves a little difficult to understand at first. Perseverance is advised as once the special moves have been learned they will become a powerful tool in your chess tactics toolkit.