Newbie to chess- help!?

[Enigma]

If a pawn gets to the opponents side, I understand that the pawn can be exchanged for a piece that has already been lost. However, once this 'transaction' has been done, where should the piece go- should it return to its original position on the board? For example, if a pawn is exchanged for a rook, then should the rook return to the opposit side or remain when the swap took place? My 8 year old son claims that it should return to its original place. Any help would be much appreciated! (and any useful tips- twelve games later and I haven't won any against my son!)
Great- thank you. So it remains in the same place regardless of the fact that my queen can take it? thanks!! x

 

[captainstoryteller]

I think another point that has yet to be made clear to you is that it doesn't matter whether the piece you want to change it to has been captured or not. You may change it into ANYTHING (except a King or a pawn) your little heart desires. In those instances where you have no captured piece off the board of the type you want, you must fashion some means of identifying the replacement piece. Usually there will be a pawn or two off the board by then, so you could use one of them and tie a piece of string around it, or a piece of tape, or a rubber band to better identify is as your new 'whatever'. A common practice is to turn upside down a Rook if one is available.

Here is a list of sites I give to my students during my chess classes.

These are some of the many internet places you can go to play or learn chess. Some are free, some are not. The first one below is excellent for beginners because it teaches all phases of the game in very clear and understandable fashion. It also includes some of the better known openings and defenses, a list of the world champions, fun stuff, etc. It is my most often and best referral site. It is free.

The site with the “*” in front lists other sites around the world and is the best site for exploring all things chess. They have locations for everything from chess equipment to clubs.


http://www.chesscorner.com (Best site for beginners to intermediate)
http://www.freechess.org
http://www.chessville.com
http://www.letsplaychess.com
http://www.chess-game-strategies.com/
http://www.gameknot.com
http://www.chessgames.com
http://www.yourchess.net
*http://www.schackportalen.nu/English/eramportal.htm
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/chess.html

(Since Yahoo!Answers only allow 10 sites, you may contact me through my email if you'd like the complete list)

P.S. No wonder you haven't beaten your son yet, if you allow him to create his own imaginative rules! lol

 

[liberal_60]

Quanto and Doctor have given you good correct answers. Here are links to the US Chess Federation and Wikipedia for additional verification and follow-up information.

Basic rules.
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/7324/28/

Top Ten Tips.
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/9111/28/

Wikipedia also has many good chess articles.
This basic overview article if full of links to others with more details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess

 

[DoctorDeath]

As already stated, the promoted piece remains on the square where it took place, regardless of whether or not it is in danger of being captured by an opponent's piece. (And if you have the chance of pushing a pawn forward to the promotion rank, it's worth making sure that it's not going to be captured the moment you promote it!

As also previously stated, it can be promoted to ANY piece (except a king) of your own colour, this means that technically you could have your original queen plus 8 extras on the board at one time, though this is obviously a very very unlikely scenario.

Thirdly, once a pawn reaches the end rank it MUST be promoted, there is no option of it remaining a pawn, and it must be done straight away.

Most times, a pawn is promoted to a queen, but it's always worth thinking on this for a moment, as on occasion a knight might be more useful for instance, so take a moment before deciding.