How to play Chess
The classic strategy game for two: move your pieces across the 64 squares and trap the opposing king.
By admin
Updated
- Players
- 2
- You need
- A board
- Game length
- 20–60 min
- Difficulty
- Hard to master
- Ages
- 7+
01 — Goal
Checkmate the king
You win by putting the opposing king in check (under attack) so that no move can get it out of check. That is checkmate. The king is never actually captured.
02 — Setup
A light square on the right
- Place the board so each player has a light square in the bottom-right corner.
- Rooks go in the corners, then knights, then bishops.
- The queen goes on the square of her own colour; the king goes beside her.
- Pawns fill the row in front.
03 — Moves
How each piece moves
| Piece | Moves |
|---|---|
| King | One square in any direction |
| Queen | Any distance in a straight line or diagonal |
| Rook | Any distance in a straight line |
| Bishop | Any distance diagonally |
| Knight | An L shape: two squares one way, one square sideways; jumps over pieces |
| Pawn | One square forward (two on its first move); captures one square diagonally forward |
04 — Special moves
Castling, en passant, promotion
Castling: the king moves two squares towards an unmoved rook, which jumps to the other side of the king. En passant: a pawn that moves two squares past an enemy pawn can be captured as if it had moved one, on the very next move only. Promotion: a pawn reaching the far row becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
05 — Ending
Checkmate or a draw
The game ends in checkmate, when a player resigns, or in a draw. A draw happens by agreement, by stalemate (the player to move is not in check but has no legal move), by the same position occurring three times, or when neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate.
06 — Tips
Play smarter
- Control the four centre squares early with pawns and knights.
- Develop knights and bishops before moving the queen out.
- Castle early to tuck your king away safely.