Chess

This passage discusses the game of chess and how it is played.

Lexile Level: 810L

Categories: Sports & Health

Chess is a popular board game. It has existed in some form for almost two thousand years. It is played on a square board that has eight rows and eight columns. Each player starts with eight pawns, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, a queen, and a king. The object of the game is to capture the opponent's king. Each piece can only move in certain directions, and a certain number of squares. The knight is the only chess piece that can jump over other pieces. When a piece moves onto an opponent's square, the opponent's piece is "taken." The taken pieces are removed from the board. Even though the rules of chess are easy to learn, the game is very complex. Chess is well-organized as a sport. There are chess tournaments all over the world, and there is a ranking system for players.