Rook (chess) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chess pieces |
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King |  |
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Queen |  |
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Rook |  |
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Bishop |  |
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Knight |  |
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Pawn |  |
A rook is an important piece in the game of chess. Its name comes from an old Indo-Arabic word. Each player starts a chess game with two rooks. You'll find them on the corners of the chessboard. When people write down chess moves, the rook is often shown as the letter R.
Contents
Where Rooks Start and How They Move
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At the start of a game, the white rooks are on squares a1 and h1. The black rooks begin on squares a8 and h8. These are the very corners of the board.
How Rooks Move on the Board
A rook can move any number of squares. It moves in straight lines only. This means it can go forward, backward, or sideways. It cannot jump over other pieces. If another piece is in its way, the rook must stop before that piece.
Capturing with a Rook
Like other chess pieces, a rook captures an enemy piece by moving to the square where the enemy piece is. The captured piece is then removed from the board.
The Special Move: Castling
The rook also takes part in a special move called castling. This move involves both the rook and the king. It's the only time in chess when two of your pieces move at the same time. Castling helps to protect your king and bring your rook into the game.
Images for kids
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An old Indian Mughal Chess Elephant, made from Sandalwood, which represents the Rook.
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An illustration from the 1800s showing a siege tower. The rook chess piece might be based on these towers.
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This berserker figure was used as a rook in the famous Lewis chessmen set.
See Also
In Spanish: Torre (ajedrez) para niños
