How to Castle in Chess

• Also try: How to Play Chess

Guide Note: Castling is a special move in the game of Chess. It is often used as a defensive maneuver to help protect the King from a possible attack.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Conditions for Castling
• Why We Castle
• Resources

Introduction

• Castling is a move that involves a player's King and one of their Rooks. When castling, the King is moved two spaces toward the Rook, while the Rook is moved one space Over the King. While this move can be advantageous in certain situations, there are a number of conditions that must be met in order for this move to be legal. Here they are:

Conditions for Castling

1. Both the King and the Rook that are being moved cannot have moved at all so far in the game (meaning that they must be in their original positions in the first row).
2. There must be no other pieces blocking the path in between the King and the Rook.
3. The King cannot be in check when the move is initiated, nor can he end up in check after the move is completed.
4. The King cannot move through any squares that are under attack by their opponent.

• Here is an example of how Castling works:

• 

  Castling (Wikimedia Commons via GNU)

Why We Castle

• While you don't always need a reason to Castle, there are certain instances when it can provide you with a distinct strategic advantage. Here are a few situations in which you might want to Castle:

1. If an opponent is closing in on your King (but doesn't have it in "Check" yet), castling can be a great way to move your King out of danger and into a corner where it is more easily protected.
2. Castling can help get your Rook out of the corner and give it more freedom to move.

Resources

• eHow: How to Castle in Chess
• About.com: How to Castle  
• Chess Club: What is Castling?
• Chess Dryad: How to Castle

Related Searches