How to castle
The idea of castling is to move the king away from the middle and towards the side of the board, where it is safer from atack
Castling on the king side
This move is sometimes written as O-O
Diagram 1 shows the starting position. The king two squares towards the rook.		 Bring the rook around the king so the rook stands on the square next to the king, as shown in diagram 2
Diagram 1Diagram 1 Diagram 2Diagram 2
to give us
 Diagram 3Diagram 3
To castle on the Queen's side
This move is sometimes written as O-O-O
Diagram 4 shows the king move 2 squares towards the queen's side
 Bring the rook around the king so the rook stands on the square next to the king, as shown in diagram 5.
Diagram 4Diagram 4 Diagram 5Diagram 5
to give us
 Diagram 6Diagram 6
Rules of castling
  1. You may only castle once in the game.
  2. There must be no pieces in the squares between the king and the rook you are going to castle with.
  3. You must not castle if you are in check. If you get out of check without moving your king you may castle later in the game
  4. You must not castle if your king will end up on a square where it is in check.
  5. You must not castle if your king passes over a square where it will be in check.
  6. If you have moved your king you are not allowed to castle even if the king moves back to its starting square.
  7. If you have moved your rook you are not allowed to castle with that rook even if it is moved back to its starting square.
Watch how it works Here»
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