Castling is the only time you're allowed to move two pieces at once and can be a powerful offensive and defensive move. When a rook and the king are still on their initial squares, haven’t moved, and have no pieces between them, the king and rook can both move by castling. The rook is ideally placed on open ranks and files where it won’t be blocked by friendly pawns and they’re particularly valuable when they’re forming a battery, which is when they’re on the same rank or file so that they’re defending one another.Ĭhess grandmasters like to use the strategic strength of the rook during the end game as they can stop their opponents from advancing when in key positions.įind out more about the queen in chess CastlingĬastling involves the king and one of the rooks. This movement gives it a wide reach across the board and allows it to move quickly across the length or width of the board. Each player has two rooks and white’s rooks start on squares a1 and h1 and black’s rooks on a8 and h8.Īfter the queen, it’s considered the second most valuable piece in the game. The bishop and knight are “lighter” pieces as they’re more powerful than a rook in the middle of the board and far more mobile, which can lead to the rook becoming more powerful as the game progresses and there’s less material on the board.

Initially, the rook represented a Persian chariot ( rukh), the term that would eventually become a rook. The rook is thought to represent a siege tower but the piece itself is often more similar to a small castle. It can move horizontally or vertically as far as it likes. While the rook is thought to be a siege tower, its name in English is taken from Persian. The rules were codified several times, particularly with the chess treatises.įind out about the different pieces in chess The Origins of the RookĪs a quick reminder, a chess set includes: With the appearance of the rook, the possible moves in the game multiplied.The rukh, which eventually became “rook” in English, was sometimes referred to as the castle or the tower.The vizier became the queen and the elephant became the bishop.In some respects, the game became more complicated and Westernised. This version of the game included dice and it certainly kept them entertained.Ĭhess’ popularity would eventually bring it to Medieval Europe and it was popular in both Italy and Spain in the 11th century during which it would see the biggest changes to the rules. In Ancient Greece, the birth of chess is attributed to the hero Palamedes, a hero who is said to have created the game to keep the troops busy during the Siege of Troy. The game evolved and spread across Asia to Persia and then into Europe, with each civilisation having legends for how the game came to be. However, the checkerboard was red and black rather than black and white like today.

Initially, the game was for four players with each in a corner of a 64-square checkerboard similar to the one we use today. Some say that chess was invented by the Brahmin Sissa for the king of India at the time, who was bored in his vast palace. It was born in the 5th century in India, but it has changed a lot in 1,500 years. Chess' predecessor was created over 1,500 years ago. Like any self-respecting chess player, you should know about the game and its origins.

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Name of tower piece in chess