Colored Squares - Some Examples

Starting Position

At the start position of a game of chess, the squares near your pieces start off green as they are all pretty well defended by your own pieces.

Likewise, the squares near your opponent are red as they are well defended by your opponent!

And, of course, the squares in the no-man's land in the middle are all black.

You may notice that some of your squares are brighter than other ones! This is because they are better defended by your pieces!

For example, the pawn square in front of your king is very bright. This is because this square is backed up by four pieces behind it: one king, one queen, one bishop and one knight, each of which can defend the pawn standing on this square!

So, you have little worry about your opponent capturing this pawn just yet, as it is very well protected.

Opening move - Pushing the King Pawn forward

Now you can see what would happen if you were to move your king pawn forward two squares, as your very first move of the game.

You don't actually have to move your pawn forward, you just move your mouse over the target square and both squares are automatically highlighted, because your king pawn is the only piece that can move there, and the computer knows it.

As you may notice, you begin to take control of some of the neutral black squares in the center of the board, which have now turned green - well, dark green but green nevertheless!

Moreover, not only are you taking control of two extra squares in the center, but, in moving your pawn, you are also creating an opening which gives both your queen and your bishop room to manoeuver and they can now also exert some control along the diagonals!

So, by simply moving your pawn forward two squares, you have gained some control of the center of the board.

This is why moving your king pawn forward two squares is considered a very good opening move!

And why you need Chessology to show you why!

Opening move - Pushing a Rook Pawn forward

Now we will look at a different opening move, that of moving a rook pawn two squares forward.

Not many chess players play this move - you will now see why!

Look at the diagram! You have moved your mouse over the square two rows in front of the rook pawn.

Notice any difference?

Only one of the black squares in the center has turned green!

So, this is a useless move!

It is much better to move your king pawn forward two squares and take control of six of the neutral squares, than to move your rook pawn and take control of only one extra square!

Because if you don't, your opponent will grab them up!

Next Section

In the next section, you will learn about colored moves, which help you to discover whether you are looking at a good move or at a duff move!

Colored Moves