Castling Tutorial



1.
[{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{W:CSL_001}As you know, the King is the most important piece in your chess army. Protecting your King from attack is how you keep from losing the game. Because it's so important, there's a special move, called Castling, which you can use to put your King in a safe place. Castling is the only time in which you are allowed to move two of your pieces, a King and a Rook, in one move.]

2.
[{B:56/R3K2R}{D:7000}{A:We1h1}{D:3000}{R}{D:1000}{A:We1a1}{D:4000}{R}Here's a board set-up with only the White King and the two White Rooks. You can Castle either to the Kingside, which is called Castling Short, or to the Queenside, which is referred to as Castling Long.{W:CSL_002}]

3.
[{B:56/R3K2R}{D:4000}To Castle Kingside, first move the King two spaces toward the Rook,{S:e1g1}{D:4000} to g1, then move the Rook to the other side of the King, {S:h1f1}on f1.{W:CSL_003}]

4.
[{B:56/R3K2R}To Castle Queenside, do the same thing. Move the King two spaces toward the Rook, {D:5500}{S:e1c1}{D:3500}to c1, and move the Rook to the other side of the King, {S:a1d1}on d1.{W:CSL_004}]

5.
[{F:B}{B:r3k2r/56 BLACK}From Black's point of view, {D:2000}{S:e8g8}{D:200}{S:h8f8}{D:1800}this is Castling Kingside. {B:r3k2r/56 BLACK}{D:1000}And this {S:e8c8}{D:200}{S:a8d8}is Castling Queenside.{W:CSL_005}]

6.
[{F:W}{B:rn1qk2r/pp3p1p/2p2np1/3PpbB1/1bBP4/2PQ1N2/PP3PPP/R3K2R WHITE}{D:11000}In a game, Castling moves the King away from the center of the board where it's more vulnerable to attack. Note how much safer the two Kings are after they Castle. Here, White Castles Queenside, and Black Castles Kingside.{S:e1c1}{D:200}{S:a1d1}{D:3000}{S:e8g8}{D:200}{S:h8f8}{W:CSL_006}]

7.
[{B:r3k2r/pb2bppp/1p2pn2/8/1P2N3/4QN2/PPP2PPP/2KR3R}{D:4000}{H1:c1}{D:1000}{C}{D:1000}{H1:d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8}{D:2000}{C}It is usually a good idea to Castle early in a game, both to protect the King, and give the Rook a chance to control the center files.{W:CSL_007}]

8.
[{B:r2qk2r/p2n1p1p/1pp3p1/3P1bB1/4p2P/5N1R/PP1N1PP1/2R1K3 WHITE}There are four important rules that govern Castling:{D:14000}{H1:c1h3}{D:1500}{C}{D:2500}

Rule #1: The King and Rook may not have moved from their starting squares. In this board set-up, White cannot Castle to either side, because both Rooks have moved from their starting squares. Even if one of the Rooks moves back{S:h3h1}, White still cannot Castle.{W:CSL_008}]

9.
[{B:r1bqk1nr/p2n1p1p/1pp1p1p1/1B3b2/2PPpB1P/2N5/PP1QPPP1/R3K1NR WHITE}Rule #2:{D:8000} 
All of the spaces between the Rook and the King must be unoccupied. In this diagram, White cannot Castle Kingside{A:We1h1} {D:2800}because the Knight {N:g1}{D:2200}{R}{C}is in the way. But he can Castle Queenside, because all of the spaces between the King and the Rook are empty.{D:3000}{S:e1c1}{S:a1d1}{W:CSL_009}]

10.
[{B:r1bqk1nr/pp1n1ppp/2p1p3/3p4/1bPP3P/5N2/PP2PPPB/RNBQK2R WHITE}{D:9000}Rule #3: The King cannot be in Check. On this board set-up, it would appear that White can Castle Kingside, because neither the {N:e1h1}{D:2000}{C}{D:2000}King nor Rook has moved from its starting square, and the {N:f1g1}{D:2000}{C}{D:2000}spaces between the Rook and King are empty. However, the White King is currently in Check from the{N:b4}{A:Bb4e1}{D:2000}{R}{C} Black Bishop on b4, so he cannot Castle{W:CSL_010}.]

11.
[{B:2r1k2r/pp3ppp/1n6/8/6b1/B7/PP3PPP/R3K2R}{D:14000}Rule #4:  The squares that the King passes over cannot be under attack, and since you can never move your King into Check, the square to which it's moving can't be under attack either. On this diagram, the spaces between the King and Rook on the {N:d1c1b1}{D:3000}{C}{D:4000}Queenside are open. However, two of the squares are under attack. The{N:d1}{A:Bg4d1}{D:3000}{R}{C}{D:5000} d1 square is under attack from the Black Bishop on g4, so the White King cannot pass over it. And the {N:c1}{A:Bc8c1}{D:4000}{R}{C}c1 square is under attack from the Rook on c8, so the King cannot land on it{W:CSL_011}.]

12.
[{B:48/PPP2PPP/R3K2R}{D:3200}{H1:a1e1h1}{D:5000}{C}Again, the four rules governing Castling are:  

1) The King and Rook may not have moved from their starting squares; {H1:b1c1d1f1g1}{D:5000}{C}
2) All spaces between the King and Rook must be empty; {B:24/b7/16/PPP2PPP/R3K2R}{H1:e1}{A:Ba5e1}{D:3800}
3) The King cannot be in Check; and {B:32/3b1r2/8/PPP3PP/R3K2R}{H1:f1}{A:Bf4f1}{D:4300}{R}{N1:g1}{A:Bd4g1}{D:2500}{R}{C}
4) The squares the King will pass over may not be under attack, nor can the square on which the King will land{W:CSL_012}.]

13.
[{B:32/3q4/1P6/P1P3PP/R3K2R}{Q:Can White castle...{W:cwclsn};
Long;Sorry, that's not correct.{W:stnc};
Short;Sorry, that's not correct.{W:stnc};
Not at all;Correct.{W:cor};3}]

14.
[{B:r3k2r/pp3pp1/2p2p2/32/3R3R}{Q:Can Black castle...{W:cbclsn};
Long;Sorry, that's not the right answer.{W:snra};
Short;That's right.{W:tr};
Not at all;Sorry, that's not the right answer.{W:snra};
2}]

15.
[{B:r3r1k1/p4ppp/1p6/2b5/4P3/2N2P2/PPP3PP/R3K2R}{Q:Can White castle long?{W:cwcl};
Yes;That's correct.{W:tc};
No;That's not the correct answer.{W:tnca};
1}]

16.
[{B:3rk1nr/pp4pp/2bp4/4pp2/2P5/1P2PN2/P3BPPP/2RR2K1 BLACK}{Q:Can Black castle short?{W:cbcs};
Yes;No, that's not correct.{W:ntnc};
No;You got it right.{W:ygir};2}]

17.
[{B:3r1rk1/pp1n1ppp/1qp2n2/4p2p/4P3/P2B1N2/1PP1Q1PP/1R2K2R}{Q:Can White castle short?{W:cwcs};
Yes;Sorry, that's not correct.{W:stnc};
No;Correct.{W:cor};2}]

18.
[{B:r2k3r/ppp2ppp/2n1bn2/2b1p1B1/8/2N1PN2/PPP1BPPP/R4RK1 BLACK}{Q:Can Black castle short?{W:cbcs};
Yes;Sorry, that's not the right answer.{W:snra};
No;That's right.{W:tr};2}]

19.
[{B:r2q1rk1/p1p2ppp/bpnb1n2/4p3/4P3/1BN2N2/PPPQ1PPP/3RK2R}{Q:Can White castle short?{W:cwcs};
Yes;That's not the correct answer.{W:tnca};
No;That's correct.{W:tc};2}]

20.
[{B:r3k2r/pppq1p1p/2nb1Qp1/1N2p3/4P3/3B4/PPP2PPP/2KR3R BLACK}{Q:Can Black castle short?{W:cbcs};
Yes;You got it right.{W:ygir};
No;No, that's not correct.{W:ntnc};1}]

21.
[{B:r3k2r/pp1b1ppp/1npQpq2/3n4/3P4/2NB1NP1/PPP2PP1/R4RK1 BLACK}{Q:Can Black castle short?{W:cbcs};
Yes;Sorry, that's not correct.{W:stnc};
No;Correct.{W:cor};2}]

22.
[{B:r3k2r/pp3ppp/2n1b3/4q3/3p4/1PpB1Q1P/P1P2PP1/R3K1NR}{Q:Can White castle long?{W:cwcl};
Yes;Sorry, that's not the right answer.{W:snra};
No;That's right.{W:tr};2}]

23.
[{B:r4kr1/pppqnppp/2np1b2/8/2B1P3/1P2B1N1/P1PQ2PP/R3K2R}{Q:Can White castle long?{W:cwcl};
Yes;That's correct.{W:tc};
No;That's not the correct answer.{W:tnca};
1}]

24.
[{B:r2qk2r/ppp2pbp/2n2np1/3pp3/4P1b1/BP1P1N2/P1P1BPPP/R2Q1RK1 BLACK}{Q:Can Black castle short?{W:cbcs};
Yes;No, that's not correct.{W:ntnc};
No;You got it right.{W:ygir};2}]