Making moves

Chess Board

The board displays the current position of the game. The player to move is normally on the bottom side of the board, his opponent "sits" on the top side. Paying members, however, may configure the orientation of the chess board.

Notice the letters "a" - "h" at the bottom of the board and the numbers "1" - "8" on the right side of the board. These are the names of the columns and rows of the board. They provide a "coordinate system" to identify every field on the board. On the example board, the white Queen is on field "d2" and the black King is on "g7".

Entering moves with the keyboard

In the move dialog, there are two input fields for the source and the destination field of your move. You enter the coordinates (see above) of these fields. You need not enter the piece you want to move; this is determined automatically by the piece that is on the source field of your move.

Examples:

• Ng1-f3 is entered as g1 in the first and f3 in the second field,
• d4xc5 is entered as d4 in the first and c5 in the second field
• O-O is entered as e1 in the first and g1 in the second field (for White)
• O-O-O is entered as e8 in the first and c8 in the second field (for Black)
• e5xf6 e.p. is entered as e5 in the first and f6 in the second field (en passant)
• a7-a8Q is entered as a7 in the first and a8 in the second field (pawn promotion)

Important hint. As soon as you pressed one of the "Move" buttons, no correction is possible. The move HAS been made, a "take back" is NOT possible.

Entering moves with the mouse

Entering moves with the keyboard works on all browsers. Some browsers allow you to enter your move with the mouse (Internet Explorer 4+, Opera 5+). Click on the piece you want to move, then click on the destination field. The coordinates of the move (source and destination field) are inserted into the move dialog automatically.

Important hint. The coordinates in the two input fields of the move dialog determine the move that will be made. Using the mouse is just another way to fill these input fields. You must always check if the content of these fields is correct - before hitting the "Move" button. This is especially important, if you change your mind after entering the source field of your move with the mouse. If you want to move a different piece, please clear the source field of the move dialog first.

Special Moves

Castling

Castling is indicated by entering the source and destination fields of the king. King-side castling of White is entered as "e1 - g1", Queen-side castling of Black as "e8 - c8".

En passant

If, for example, your white pawn is on f5 and your opponent moves his pawn from g7 to g5 you may capture it (as if your opponent has moved from g7 to g6) with your immediately following move. Consequently, you enter "f5 - g6" into the move dialog to take that pawn away. This rule is called "en passant" (French for "while passing by").

Pawn promotion

If one of your pawns reaches the last row, it is promoted into any of the higher-valued pieces (except King). In theory, you could even create 8 additional queens. Just enter the pawn move as usual (e.g. "e7 - e8") and press the "Move" button. On the following page you may select the piece your pawn promotes to.

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