Use and Care Manual

All pawns of both sides are subject to the en passant rule of chess.

Promotion

We have already mentioned promotion of the pawn, but lets review exactly how this happens and what your

options are. Promotion occurs when you get a pawn clear across to the other side. In the same move of the

pawn reaches a far square, you remove the pawn and replace it with any chess piece you want, that is, excep

a second king. Even if you already have all of your chess pieces. For example, most people naturally choose

a queen. So you can have two queens, and that's quite an advantage. But you can choose some other chess

piece if you prefer, it's entirely up to you. Here are a couple of diagrams to illustrate just how promotion

works:

Before Promotion

Let's Play

Now that you have the chess board all setup, you know how each chess piece moves along with the special

chess rules, let’s get the game underway. White always moves first and most players prefer to be white

because you can achieve a slight advantage by moving first. So what we recommend is you have a best out

of three "rock-scissors-paper" to determine who keeps to be white. Or, if you prefer, you can cast lots by

putting a different color pawn in each hand and then letting your friend choose one. From this point on, it's

real easy, white makes the first move and then you just take turns moving chess pieces and trying to

checkmate your opponent's king while taking as many chess pieces as you can along the way. But before

that first move, there's a few more rules that we better go over.

Don't Let Go (until you're sure)!

This is a very important chess rule, when you move your chess piece and let go, you're beyond the point of no

return. The move is final. Now, if you move it to a square and keep your finger on top while pondering the

genius or folly of the move, it's okay to backtrack and decide on a different move. So be certain about your

move before you let go!