To play chess, two players take turns moving one piece on an eight-by-eight board. White moves first. Your goal is to checkmate the opposing king: attack it so that no legal move removes the threat. You never capture the king, and winning does not require taking every other piece.
This is a reference for the main rules of standard chess. If you want a guided first session instead, follow how to play chess for beginners.
Start from the correct position
Each player begins with a king, queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Place the board with a light square at your lower-right corner. The back row is rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook; the queen starts on her own color. Pawns fill the next row.
Use the board setup guide to check both sides before playing. A reversed king and queen changes the position rather than creating an alternative legal starting arrangement.
Learn how the pieces move
| Piece | Normal movement | | --- | --- | | King | One square in any direction, without entering check | | Queen | Any distance along a rank, file, or diagonal | | Rook | Any distance along a rank or file | | Bishop | Any distance along a diagonal | | Knight | Two squares in one direction and one sideways; it can jump over pieces | | Pawn | One square forward; captures one square diagonally forward |
Rooks, bishops, and queens cannot jump over pieces. A capture replaces an opposing piece on the destination square. You cannot capture your own pieces.
A pawn may move two squares from its starting square if both squares ahead are empty. White's pawns move toward rank eight; Black's move toward rank one. Pawns never move backward.
Respond to check before anything else
Check means your king is attacked. A legal response moves the king to safety, captures the checking piece, or blocks the attack when possible. A knight's check cannot be blocked. You cannot make an unrelated move while your king remains in check.
For example, this legal miniature ends in checkmate:
1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4# 0-1
Replay it on the analysis board. Black's queen attacks the king along the diagonal from h4 to e1, and White has no legal escape. This illustrates exposed king safety; it is not a recommended opening for White.
Recognize the three special pawn and king rules
Castling moves the king two squares toward a rook and moves that rook beside it. Neither piece may have moved, the intervening squares must be empty, and the king cannot castle out of, through, or into check. See the castling guide for exact squares.
Promotion occurs when a pawn reaches the last rank. Replace it with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color, regardless of pieces already on the board.
En passant is available immediately after an opposing pawn advances two squares and lands beside your pawn on its fifth rank. Your pawn can capture it as if it advanced only one square. The opportunity expires after that next move.
Know when the game ends
Checkmate wins; a player may also resign. Stalemate is a draw: the player to move has no legal move and is not in check. Draws can also arise through agreement, a dead position, repetition, or move-count rules. Threefold repetition and the fifty-move rule normally require a claim; fivefold repetition and the seventy-five-move rule have automatic provisions.
For competition details, consult the FIDE Laws of Chess. Start by playing slowly enough to identify legal moves, then learn how to review your completed game.