Due to the versatility of pieces, chess has a wide variety of moves. Depending on the strategy, even an apparent defensive move can, at a later moment of the game, turn into the first move of an attacking combination.
Among these dynamic moves, castling may be the most common. Despite not being largely used, it has a series of advantages both in defense and attack. But what is castling? Can it be done at any point in the game?
What Is Called Castling In Chess?
Castling is the switch made between the King and one of the rooks, and it has many advantages. The most notorious advantage is probably the fact that two pieces change squares in the same move.
As for its defensive and offensive aspects, they probably even each other out. While it normally puts the king in a more secluded position, the rook, which is a highly efficient attacking piece is sent to a central position.
Hiding the king is a strong defensive move and it makes it increases the difficulty for opponents to reach the most important piece on your side of the board.
On the other hand, centering the rook sets the piece in full attack mode and saves the few moves it would probably take for it to reach a more promising position attack-wise.
So, apart from disrupting your opponent’s attack, you are also saving the king from diagonal attack attempts.
Can I Castle At Any Point Of The Game?
While at first, it may seem like castling can be done at any moment, it is not entirely true. There are situations in which castling is not allowed.
For instance, if either the king or the rook with which the player intends to perform the castling has already moved, the move is no longer allowed.
If one of the rooks has moved, but the other not, the unmoved one can still castle while the king still hasn’t been moved.
Also, if the square to which the king is moving or even the one he is supposed to pass by is occupied by an opponent’s piece, castling should also be forbidden.
Actually, if any piece is sitting on the square, or squares, between the king and the castling rook, the move is already blocked.
Can You Castle Out Of Check In Chess?
Lastly, if the king is in check, castling is also not permitted. That is because one of the strongest and most relevant laws of chess state that the king can never be put in danger deliberately.
The move was even questioned in a game between Grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Karpov in 1974.
In that situation, Korchnoi called upon the arbiter to confirm that he would be able to castle using a rook that was under attack. Since the rook can move through squares that put it in danger, the move was allowed.
The king, however, cannot, so should the situation have been slightly different, the outcome may have been more disastrous for Korchnoi,