RNIB
Challenging blindness
RNIB CHESS SETS
GB68-GB71
RNIB challenging blindness
INSTRUCTIONS
RNIB CHESS SETS GB68-GB71
General description
In order that a blind person may play chess, some of the rules have been
slightly modified. These modifications have been approved by the
International Governing Body of Chess, FIDE. A full list of the rules which
apply when a blind person plays against another blind person or when a blind
person plays against a sighted person can be obtained from the Braille Chess
Association. This association can offer advice on all aspects of chess for
blind and partially sighted people. It organises over-the-board and
postal tournaments and runs a library of chess books and study material in
braille and on tape.
It also produces a number of periodicals devoted to chess on tape.
Membership is open to all blind and partially sighted individuals-,
associate membership is open to sighted friends and supporters and free
membership to those under 21 who are not in full-time employment. For
further information, To Join B.C.A. is easy. All you need to do is send the
annual subscription along with your request to be accepted as a member. You
will receive a membership pack in the medium of your choice.
The Rules of Chess
The following is a summary of the rules of chess, just enough to get you
started. Some adaptations have been made to the print rules which are
included in chess sets for sighted people. Namely, play on two boards,
announcing moves and the ”touch and move” rule.
THE CHESS BOARD
Chess is played on a square board of 64 squares coloured alternately
black and white. For the benefit of blind players, the black squares may be
raised and all the squares may be drilled with a hole into which the pieces
fit so that they will not fall over when touched. The rows of squares are
known as ranks and files.
The ranks are the rows of squares from side to side of the board (left to
right) and the files are the rows of squares from top to bottom of the board
or from the near end to the far end.
The ranks are identified by numbers from 1 to 8 and the files are identified
by letters from A to H.
Thus, the square in the left hand corner of the board nearest to the player
with the white pieces, is naimed A 1 and the rest of the squares in the
first rank, travelling from left to right, are: B1, C1, D1, E1, F1, G1 and
H1. The squares in the A file leading away from the player with the white
pieces are named: A1, A2, A3, etc up to A8. In the starting position, the
white pieces occupy the first and second rank and the black pieces occupy
the seventh and eighth rank.
The Chess Pieces
At this point, we must assume that you are able to recognise the various
chess pieces. If not, please study the following until you are able to
identify the various pieces.
A chess set consists of two teams of pieces or ”men”, with 16 pieces in each
team. One, known as the white and the other known as the black. Each team
consists of the following men: 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Rooks (Castles), 2
Knights, 2 Bishops and 8 pawns.
The King and Queen
These are the two largest pieces in each team. The King is slightly taller
than the Queen and has a shape of a cross standing upright on his head. The
Queen has a bobbled edge around her head representing a coronet.
The Knights
These are easy to identify as they are shaped like a horse’s head.
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The Rooks
These are shaped like a tower of a castle, thus justifying their alternative
name.
The Bishops
These have a bulbous head with a cut in the side meant to represent a mitre,
or bishop’s hat.
The Pawns
These are the remaining 8 smaller round-headed pieces.
The Game of Chess
Chess has fascinated players for centuries, and international
tournaments are now played at the very highest levels. No-one canbe be sure
where or when the game was invented, but it was probably in India during the
6th century AD. By the 15th century, it was being played in Its present form
in this country, as a medieval battle between two royal households, each
trying to capture the other’s leader, the King.
Setting up the Pieces
Place the chess board in front of you with a black square in the lefthand
near corner and a white square in the righthand near corner. (Note.,the
black squares are the raised squares). Now, set out the white pieces, start
with the rank nearest to you. This is the first row of squares from left to
right.
Place the two Rooks in the corner squares, A1and H1, now the two Knights in
the next squares in B1 and G1, now the two Bishops in the nextsquares in C1
and F1, now place the Queen on D1 and the King on E1. Note that the Queen
always starts the game on a square of her own colour and the King always
starts the game on a square of the opposite colour. Now, set out the 8 white
Pawns along the second rank on each square from A2 to H2.
Now, setup the black pieces atthe the far end of the board. The Rooks in the
two corners on A8 and H8, the Knights on the next squares B8 and G8, the
Bishops on the next squares C8 and F8, the Queen on her own colour, D8 and
the King on E8. Now, set up the black Pawns on the seventh rank on each
square, from A7 to H7. The two teams, or armies, are now facing each other
and you are ready to start.
Rules of Play
One player takes white, the other black. The players move alternately and
white always has the first move. No one is allowed to miss a move and once a
piece is raised from the board, it must be moved. Similarly, once a piece
has been moved to another square and the player’s hand has been taken away,
the move cannot be changed (Note- this is a slight modification to the rules
which apply to sighted players which state ”once a piece has been touched,
it must be moved, etc,”).
The different pieces move in different ways, but no piece may be moved to a
square occupied by a piece of its own colour. When a piece is moved to a
square occupied by one of the opposing men, the latter is taken, or ”captured”
and removed from the board and out of play. The King, however, is never
removed from the board - see rules concerning Check.
How the Pieces Move
The King.- The King is the most important ”man” on the board and his capture
signals the end of the game. His mobility, however, is very limited. He may
only move one square at a time, but in any direction.
The Rook or ”Castle”: The Rook may move any number of squares forward,
backward or sideways but not diagonally. He may not pass over any other
piece.
The Bishop: Bishops may move any number of squares forward or backward
diagonally, but they may not pass over any other piece.
The Queen: The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She may move
any number of squares backward or forward, horizontally as the Rook does, or
diagonally as the Bishop does.
She may not, however, pass over other pieces.
The Knights- Knights are allowed a complicated move pattern. They are the
only men which are allowed to jump over other pieces, either of their own
colour or of the opposing team’s colour. Their move pattern takes the shape
of a print capital letter L or of a braille letter V, i.e. two squares
forward and one to the left or right, two squares backward and one to the
left or right, two squares left and one forward or back, and two squares
right and one forward or back.
The Pawns: Pawns are the only pieces in the team which cannot move backward.
They are also the only pieces which capture in a method which is different
to their normal move. They move one square straight forward except on their
first move when they have the option of moving either one or two squares
straightforward. Each pawn has this option on its first move. A Pawn
captures an opponent’s piece by moving one square diagonally forward. A Pawn
may not capture when moving straight forward, but only by this diagonal
movement.
Pawns are special in that, if a Pawn reaches the far end of the board, you
can promote it to the piece of your choice: Queen, Rook, Knight or Bishop,
The ”En Passant” Rule
This is a rule which applies only to Pawns. If, when making its first move,
a Pawn moving two squares forward, lands beside a Pawn of the opposition, it
can be taken ”en passant”, e.g. a black Pawn moving from E7 to E5 lands
beside a white Pawn on D5. The black Pawn has moved over E6 which is
controlled by the white Pawn on D5. Therefore, the white
Pawn can capture on E6. The white Pawn is placed on E6 and the black Pawn is
removed. (Note: this capture can only be carried out on the move when it
becomes possible. It may not be deferred to a later move).
Capturing a Piece
Capturing is entirely optional. Even if you are able to take a piece, you
are not compelled to do so. When a piece moves onto a square occupied by one
of the opposing team, the opponent’s piece is taken or ”captured” and
removed from the board. All the pieces, with the exception of the Pawns, can
take opposing pieces by moving in their particular way onto a square
occupied by a piece of the opposing team.
Pawns, although they move straight forward, can only take diagonally
forward, e.g. a white Pawn on the D4 square can take an opposing piece on
the E5 or C5 square. (See also ”Taking En Passant”).
Castling
Castling is a special combination move involving the King and Rook, which is
allowed once to each side in a game provided the following conditions are
observed. It is the only time that a King may move more than one square at a
time.
To castle, the King moves two squares towards the Rook and the Rook moves
over the King and stops on the other side on the next square to the King.
(Please note: when castling on the King’s side, the King is moved to the G
file and the Rook to the F file, but when castling the Queen’s side, the
King is moved to the C file and the Rook to the D file. Castling is only
allowed provided that (a) squares between the King and Rook are not
occupied-, (b) neither the King nor the Rook have been moved previously in
the game-, (c) a King may not castle to get out of check, nor may a King
castle into check, nor may a King castle over a square which is controlled
by an enemy piece which would, in effect, be castling through check (note: a
definition of check follows).
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Check and Checkmate
When a King stands in a position where he is threatened with capture from
his opponent’s next move, he is said to be ”in check”. A King must never be
left ”in check”. A player whose King is ”in check” must, therefore, do one
of three things:
(a) Move the King onto a square where he is not ”in check”.
(b) Take the opposing piece which is checking the King.
(c) Place another piece so as to shield the King from the piece which is
checking him.
If none of these things are possible, then the King is ”check-mated” and the
game is finished. (Note: the King may not take the checking piece if, by so
doing, he becomes ”in check” by another piece.
The use of another piece as a shield for the King is useless if the checking
piece is a Knight, as the Knight can jump over other pieces).
Other Ways to end a Game
A game of chess does not always end with a ”checkmate”. It is normal for a
player whose position has become so hopeless that the end is inevitable, to
resign.
A draw is reached when-,
(a) Both players agree that the position is equal and that neither can find
a win.
(b) Where ”checkmate” is no longer possible because insufficient pieces are
left on the board to force ”checkmate”.
(c) When stalemate is reached, e.g. a player’s King is not in check, but no
legal move can be made by the player whose turn it is to move with
Rules of Play
Before you start your first game, you should learn some of the more
important rules of play. The following is not, by any means, a list of all
the rules, but the essential points for a learner are covered.
1. A move consists of picking up a piece and transferring it to another
square. The move is completed when the player has removed his/her hand from
the piece being moved.
2. Once a move has been completed, that move cannot be changed.
3. If a player lifts one of the opponent’s pieces from the board, that piece
must be captured, provided there is a legal way of doing this.
4. If an illegal move is made and discovered later in the game, the pieces
must be reset in the position which existed immediately before the illegal
move was made and the game continues with a legal move using the piece which
was used for the illegal move. If the position before the illegal move
cannot be decided, the game is declared void.
5. Players should not comment on moves whilst the game is in progress nor
may they refer to any written notes which bear upon the game. Players may
not seek advice or information from onlookers while the game is in progress.
Some Examples of ”Check”, ”Checkmate”,Getting out of ”Check” and ”Stalemate”
1. ”Check”: Set up both sets of pieces in the start position. Now remove
black’s Pawn from E7 from the board and move black’s Knight from B8 to C6
and black’s Bishop from F8 to C5. Now, move white’s Pawn from E2 to E4 and
place the white Queen on E5. The black King is in check as it is threatened
with capture from white’s next move.
2. Getting out of ”Check”: The black King can get out of ”check” in the
following three ways:
(a) The King can move from E8 to F8 and it is no longer in ”check”.
(b) By capturing the piece which is checking the King, e.g. Knight from C6
takes Queen on E5.
(c) By using a piece as a shield. Interposing a piece between the King and
the Queen which is checking him. There are four possibilities.. Knight from
C6 to E7-1 Knight from G8 to E7; Bishop from C5 to E7 or Queen from D8 to
E7.
k A
3. ”Checkmate”. Return to the start position. Move black’s Pawn from E7 to
E5, black’s Knight from B8 to C6 and black’s Bishop from F8 to C5. Now, move
white’s Pawn from E2 to E4, white’s Bishop from F1 to C4 and white’s Queen
from D1 to F3. It is white’s turn to move and white moves the Queen from
F3to F7 capturing the Pawn.
This is ”checkmate” as the enemy King cannot move into a square where he is
not in ”check” from the Queen. He cannot capture the Queen as he would then
be in ”check” by the Bishop and no piece can be interposed.
4. ”Stalemate”- Stalemate is reached when the player whose turn it is to
move cannot make any legal move with the King or with any other piece. Clear
all the pieces from the board and set up the following position-. white King
on E6, white Pawns on A4, B5 and E7, black King on E8, black Pawns on A5 and
B6. It is black’s turn to move. As you will see, although the black King is
not ”in check”, there is no legal move that he can make as wherever he
moves, he’ll be in check. Also, there are no moves possible for the black
Pawns. This position is ”stalemate” and the game is a draw.
(Note, if it was white’s turn to move, the game would not be ”stalemate” as
there are a number of legal moves open to the white King).
Guidance for Blind Players
1. Two Boards. When two blind players play against each other or when a
blind player plays against a sighted player, it is normal to use twoboards.
This enables each player to study the position continually without hindering
his/her opponent. Each player is responsible for moving both the white and
the black pieces on the board on which that player is playing.
2. Announcing the moves. In order that the game can progress, you will need
to be able to announce the move you have made to your opponent. This is done
by using the name of the piece and the letter and number of the rank and
file from which the piece has moved and to which it is moving, e.g. Knight
from G1 to F3. It is not necessary to say the name of the piece which is
moving when it is a Pawn, e.g. E2 to E4. (Note- when you feel ready to study
from written materials, you can
obtain a copy of the braille chess code from RNIB Customer Services. Further
information and advice can be obtained from the Braille Chess Association).
Now you are ready to start your first game. Once you start to get the hang
of it, there are many books and cassettes which can help to improve your
game.
Revised in April 1997.
With best regards.
God Bless.
Alan
Plantation, Sunny South Florida