Лексика по теме «Шахматы» (Chess)
англо-русский глоссарий
с транскрипцией

Every type of piece moves differently. Here are the names of every piece and how they move (with one or two exceptions, that we'll cover in a bit):

• The pawn: The most basic piece in the game (you have 8 of them). On its initial move, it can move forward one or two spaces, but it is only allowed to move forward by one space afterwards. Pawns are only allowed to attack other pieces one space diagonally from it, and cannot move backwards.

• The rook: It looks like a castle tower. It can move horizontally and vertically as many spaces as are available. It can attack pieces in its path.

• The knight: It's represented by a horse and is the most complicated unit. It moves in an 'L' shapes that consist of two spaces horizontally then one space vertically, or one space horizontally then two spaces vertically, in any direction. The knight is the only piece that can jump other pieces. He attacks only the pieces that are in the spaces he settles.

• The bishop: It can only move diagonally, but it can move an unlimited amount of spaces until it attacks. It's shaped like a bishop's hat.

• The queen: She is the most powerful piece (usually has a more feminine crown). She can move either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally by any number of spaces and attack from any of those directions.

• The king: He can only move one space each turn in any direction and attacks in the same manner. He is the unit you do not want to lose at all costs, as it will make you lose the game.

• Remember the strong points of the pieces.

• The king is invaluable and must be protected.

• The queen is the most versatile piece and is the most useful for supporting pieces, and often used for forking. The queen combines the power of a bishop and a rook in one piece. She is considered to be the most valuable, next to the King.

• Knights are excellent for surprise attacks and forks. Their pattern of movement is often missed and confusing to novice players.

• Bishops tend to be an excellent in an open position. However many novice players often underestimate bishops and do not make full use of them.

• Rooks are strong and have a long range of movement. They work best on open files.

• Pawns may seem insignificant, but they can be great for trapping an opponent when sacrificed to capture a more valuable piece. If played right, a pawn can even checkmate the King!

The last rule about pawns is called "en passant", which is French, meaning "in passing." If a pawn moves out two squares on its first move, and by doing so lands to the side of an opponent's pawn (effectively running past the other pawn's ability to capture it), that other pawn has the option of capturing the first pawn as if it only moved one space. This special move must be done on the very next move after the first pawn has moved past, otherwise the option to capture it is no longer available.

One other special rule is called castling, the only time you can move two pieces in one move. This combination move allows you to do two important things all in one turn: get your king to safety (hopefully), and get your rook out of the corner and into the game. On a player's turn he may move his king two squares over to one side and then move the rook to the other side of his king. In order to castle, however, the following conditions must be met:

• It must be that king's very first move

• It must be that rook's very first move

• There cannot be any pieces between the king and rook

• The king may not be in check or move through check

Occasionally chess games do not end with a winner, but with a draw. There are 5 reasons why a chess game may end in a draw:

• The position reaches a stalemate where it is one player's turn to move, but his king is NOT in check and yet he does not have another legal move

• The players may simply agree to a draw and stop playing

• There are not enough pieces on the board to force a checkmate (example: a king and a bishop vs. a king).

• A player declares a draw if the same exact position is repeated three times (though not necessarily three times in a row)

• Fifty moves in a row have been played by each player, without anyone moving a pawn or capturing a piece. This means no progress is being made!