Never played before? This guide explains everything — the board, how each piece moves, how to win, and the three special moves. Takes 10 minutes to read. Then try it live below.
Chess is played on an 8×8 grid of 64 squares, alternating light and dark. Two players face each other — one plays White, one plays Black. White always moves first.
The starting position. White pieces sit on the bottom two rows, black pieces on the top two. Each player gets 16 pieces.
Each player starts with: 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, and 8 Pawns. The gold squares show where a piece can move from its current position.
Moves 1 square in any direction — forward, backward, sideways, diagonal. Slow but vital. If your King is cornered with no escape, you lose. Protect it at all costs.
The most powerful piece. Moves any number of squares in any direction — horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Losing your Queen early is almost always fatal.
Moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically. Can't go diagonally. Rooks are most powerful in open files with no pawns blocking them, especially in the endgame.
Moves any number of squares diagonally. Each Bishop is locked to one colour all game — one always on light squares, one always on dark. Work both together.
Moves in an "L" shape: 2 squares in one direction, then 1 square sideways. The only piece that can jump over other pieces. Tricky to see coming.
Moves forward 1 square. On its very first move it can go 2 squares. Captures diagonally forward — not straight. The red squares show capture squares. Pawns cannot move backward.
When you move onto a square occupied by an opponent's piece, you capture it — it's removed from the board permanently. You cannot move onto a square your own piece occupies.
Your King is in check when an enemy piece is attacking it. You must fix this immediately — by moving the King, blocking the attack, or capturing the attacker. You cannot skip a check.
When the King is in check and there is no legal move to escape — that is checkmate. The game ends instantly. The player who delivers checkmate wins.
When a player has no legal moves but their King is not in check — that is stalemate. The game is a draw. Watch out — a losing player can sometimes force this to escape defeat.
Check — King must move or block
Checkmate — King has no escape
Once per game, the King can castle with a Rook. The King moves 2 squares toward the Rook, and the Rook hops to the other side of the King. It protects the King and activates the Rook at the same time.
Only allowed if: neither piece has moved yet, no pieces between them, and the King is not currently in check.
When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board (rank 8 for White, rank 1 for Black), it promotes — you replace it with any piece you choose. Almost everyone chooses a Queen, making it one of the most exciting moments in the game.
A rare pawn capture. If an opponent's pawn moves 2 squares and lands beside your pawn, you may capture it as if it had only moved 1 square — landing on the square it skipped. You must do this on your very next move or the chance is gone forever.
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