The board and the starting position
A chessboard has 8 by 8, or 64, squares, and it is set up so that each player has a light square in the bottom right-hand corner. Each player has 16 pieces. On the back row, the rooks go in the corners, the knights next to them, then the bishops, with the queen and king on the two middle squares. Remembering that the queen goes on a square of her own colour stops you mixing her up with the king. The eight pawns line up on the row in front. The player with the light pieces is called White and moves first. You move one piece per turn and cannot skip your turn.
How the six pieces move
Each piece has its own way of moving. Apart from the knight, no piece can jump over others, and moving onto a square occupied by an opposing piece captures it and removes it from the board. You cannot move onto a square occupied by your own piece. Pawns only move forward; they may advance two squares on their first move only, and they capture one square diagonally forward. Remember too that a pawn cannot advance if a piece stands directly in front of it.
- King: one square in any direction
- Queen: any distance along ranks, files and diagonals
- Rook: any distance along ranks and files
- Bishop: any distance diagonally, staying on squares of one colour
- Knight: two squares one way then one to the side, jumping over pieces
- Pawn: one square forward (up to two on its first move), captures one square diagonally forward
Check and checkmate
When an opposing piece could capture your king on its next move, your king is in check. You must get out of check on that very move, and there are three ways: move the king to a safe square, capture the checking piece, or block the line with another piece. If none of these is possible, it is checkmate, the game ends at that moment and the player who delivered it wins. The king is never actually captured. You also may not make a move that leaves your own king in check, and that includes moving another piece so that your king is exposed to attack.
Stalemate and draws
If it is your turn, you have no legal move at all, and your king is not in check, the position is stalemate and the game is drawn. Beginners who are well ahead often hunt down the opposing king and blunder into stalemate, turning a win into a draw, so always check that your opponent still has a move. A game is also drawn by agreement, and a player can claim a draw when the same position occurs three times or when fifty moves by each side pass with no pawn move and no capture. It is also a draw when neither side has enough material left to checkmate, as when only the kings remain.
Castling
Castling is a special move in which the king and a rook move together. The king moves two squares towards the rook, and the rook then jumps over the king to land on the square right beside it. It tucks the king into a safer corner while bringing the rook towards the centre, so it is played early in most games. The conditions are strict, however, and if any one of them is not met you cannot castle.
- Neither the king nor that rook has moved before
- There are no pieces between the king and the rook
- The king is not currently in check
- The king does not pass through or land on a square under attack
En passant
En passant is a special capture that only pawns can make. If an opposing pawn advances two squares on its first move and stops right beside one of your pawns, you may capture it by moving diagonally forward as if it had advanced only one square. This capture is only allowed on the move immediately after the two-square advance; if you play anything else first, the chance is gone. The rule exists so that a pawn cannot use its two-square advance to slip past an opposing pawn's capture. It can feel like cheating the first time you see it, but it is an official rule worth knowing.
Pawn promotion
When a pawn reaches the far end of the board, it must immediately be exchanged for a queen, rook, bishop or knight. It cannot stay a pawn or become a king, and the choice is not limited to pieces that have been captured, so a player can have two or more queens. Most players choose the queen, the strongest piece, but sometimes another piece is chosen, for example when a queen would cause stalemate or when the knight's move is exactly what is needed. This promotion rule is why a single pawn can decide an endgame.
Rules beginners often get wrong
The rules chess beginners get wrong tend to be the same ones. Checking the points below once will cut down on arguments when you play with friends. In formal play there is also a touch-move rule, under which touching one of your pieces obliges you to move it, so check the regulations if you enter a tournament.
- The queen starts on her own colour
- Pawns cannot move backwards and are blocked by a piece in front
- You cannot make a move that leaves your king in check
- Stalemate is a draw, not a win
- En passant is only possible on the very next move
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