Use and Care Manual

Castling
Castling can be a very effective strategy in the defense of your king and providing a safe-haven for him. The
act of "castling" involves two chess pieces, the rook and king and there are two different ways to
castle. Rather than trying to describe the two methods (which might get confusing), we'll rely on the diagrams
below to guide you through the correct moves. Now, there are special rules of chess and conditions that must
exist in order to castle. The special conditions are:
 Neither of the chess pieces involved, your king or rook that is being castled, have been
moved during the chess game.
 There are no other chess pieces between the king and the rook involved in the castling.
 Your king is not in check and neither your king or rook can be taken by your opponent's next
move after castling.
You can castle with either of the rooks as long as these special conditions are met. The moves involved in
castling with the Queen side rook are different than castling with king side rook. This is quite natural given that
there 2 spaces between the king and rook on the king side and respectively 3 spaces on the queen side.
Below are diagrams showing both methods of castling:
King Side Castling (white)
Before After Castling