Learn chess
The complete rules of chess
Chess is a two-player strategy game with one goal: checkmate the opposing king. This guide explains how to set up the board, make every legal move, and finish a game correctly.
Board setup and the first move
The chessboard has 64 squares arranged in eight ranks and eight files. Place it with a light square at each player’s lower-right corner. White occupies ranks 1 and 2; Black occupies ranks 8 and 7.
On each back rank, place rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight and rook from left to right. Each queen starts on her own color, and eight pawns fill the rank in front.
White moves first. Players alternate one move at a time and may not skip a turn. Castling is the only move that moves two pieces.
How every chess piece moves
The king moves one square in any direction but never onto an attacked square. The queen moves any unobstructed distance along ranks, files or diagonals. The rook moves along ranks and files; the bishop moves diagonally.
The knight moves two squares in one direction and one perpendicular, and is the only piece that can jump. Pawns move one square forward, may move two from their starting square if clear, and capture one square diagonally forward.
Except for knights, pieces cannot pass through occupied squares. A piece cannot land on a friendly piece; landing on an enemy piece captures it.
Special chess moves
In castling, the king moves two squares toward a rook and that rook moves beside the king. Neither piece may have moved, the squares between them must be empty, the king cannot be in check, and it cannot cross or land on an attacked square.
En passant is available immediately after an enemy pawn advances two squares and lands beside your pawn. Your pawn captures diagonally onto the square it passed, removing it. The right disappears after one move.
A pawn reaching the farthest rank must become a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color. The choice is not limited by captured pieces; choosing anything but a queen is underpromotion.
Check, legal replies, and checkmate
A king is in check when an enemy piece attacks its square. The player must move the king, capture the attacker, or block a sliding attack. No move may leave one’s own king in check.
Checkmate occurs when the king is in check and no legal move removes the threat. The game ends immediately and the player delivering checkmate wins; saying “check” aloud is not required.
Stalemate and other draws
Stalemate occurs when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. It is a draw regardless of material.
Players may agree to a draw. Draws also cover threefold repetition, 50 moves by each player without a pawn move or capture, and dead positions where checkmate is impossible. Tournament rules automatically draw after five repetitions or 75 such moves unless the last move is checkmate.
King versus king, king and bishop versus king, and king and knight versus king are familiar dead positions. The test is whether any legal sequence can produce mate, not merely the number of pieces.
Ready to start?
Remember the essentials: White moves first, protect your king, and make only legal moves. Return to the special-move rules or the frequently asked questions whenever an uncommon position appears.