Castling: How to Defend the King with a Castle
Castle or Castling
In chess, there is a special move known as castling. It is one of the most fundamental lessons you will ever learn in this game. Let us look at castling and how it is used.
You do not want to worry about your king's safety while also looking for ways to attack the enemy king. This is why you should put your king to safety as early as possible by making a "castle." Castling lets you hide the king in a guarded area while you do battle elsewhere on the board. The castle is a line of defense around one's king consisting of three pawns and a rook.
The chess board can be divided into two areas vertically: the king's side and the queen's side. Recall how you place the queen on a square of her own color; with this setup, you have the kings on one side and the queens on the other.
When making your castle, you can choose between a short castle or a long castle. The short castling is done on the king's side; the long version is done on the queen's side.
To castle, first decide which side you will castle in. Clear the path by moving the knight and bishop on that side out of the way. If it is the long side, move the queen as well. Now move the king two squares in the direction of the rook (of the side you are castling in). Move the rook next past the king. This is a special move for both pieces and can only be done during castling.
At the end of castling, if you castled short it should look like this (assuming it is light or white pieces):
P P P R K
If you had castled long, it would look like this:
P P P K R
Rules of Castling
There are situations when castling is not permissible. Remember:
- Castling is possible only when neither the rook nor the king has moved. This is one reason why you should castle at the soonest possible time.
- Castling is not possible if there are other chessmen (friend or foe) between them. The squares between the king and the rook must be clear.
- Castling is not possible when the king is in check; he cannot use this as an escape.
- Castling is not possible if the castle would result in a check for the king.
- Castling is not possible if the extra square the king has to cross is in path of an enemy piece. For example, if you want to castle and an enemy bishop can hit into the square the king will cross, it cannot be done.