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Chess with a friend or the computer Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player controls sixteen pieces, comprising one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, which occurs when the king is in a position where it cannot escape capture by any of the opponent's pieces. How to play To begin, each player places their pieces on the first two rows of the board, with the pawns in the front row and the other pieces behind them. The player who moves first is chosen by a coin toss or other random method. On their turn, a player may move one of their pieces to an adjacent unoccupied square, or capture an opponent's piece by moving to the square that it occupies. A piece cannot move through or over other pieces, and pawns may only move forward one square at a time, except on their first move when they may move two squares forward. Rooks may move any number of unoccupied squares horizontally or vertically, bishops may move any number of unoccupied squares diagonally, knights may move two squares in one direction and then one square in a perpendicular direction, and queens may move any number of unoccupied squares in any direction. Kings may move one square in any direction, and may castle, which involves moving the king two squares towards one of the rooks and then moving that rook to the square next to the king. The end of the game The game ends when one player's king is checkmated, or when both players agree to a draw. A checkmate occurs when the king is in a position where it cannot escape capture by any of the opponent's pieces. A draw may occur when neither player can make a legal move, or when both players agree to end the game in a draw. Chess is a challenging and rewarding game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a great way to improve your strategic thinking skills and to learn how to think several moves ahead. If you are new to chess, there are many resources available to help you learn the basics of the game. You can find books, websites, and chess clubs in your area where you can learn to play and improve your skills.
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