Chess Rules

How to Play Chess

Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on an 8x8 grid of alternating light and dark squares. Each player commands an army of 16 pieces with the objective of checkmating the opponent's king — placing it under an inescapable attack. Chess requires no luck; the outcome is determined entirely by the players' decisions. The rules below cover everything you need to start playing.

Setting Up the Board

Orient the board so that each player has a light-colored square in their bottom-right corner. The pieces are arranged identically for both sides:

1. Place Rooks on the corner squares (a1, h1 for White; a8, h8 for Black).
2. Place Knights next to the rooks (b1, g1; b8, g8).
3. Place Bishops next to the knights (c1, f1; c8, f8).
4. Place the Queen on the remaining square of her own color (d1 for White, d8 for Black).
5. Place the King on the last square (e1 for White, e8 for Black).
6. Place eight Pawns on the entire second row (rank 2 for White, rank 7 for Black).

How Each Piece Moves

Each chess piece has unique movement rules. Understanding these is the foundation of every chess game.

No piece except the knight can jump over other pieces. A piece captures an opponent's piece by moving to its square — the captured piece is removed from the board permanently.

Special Moves

Castling

Castling is a special move involving the king and one rook. The king moves two squares toward a rook, and that rook jumps to the square the king crossed. It is the only move where two pieces move at once. Castling is only legal when:

• Neither the king nor the rook has moved previously.
• No pieces stand between the king and the rook.
• The king is not currently in check.
• The king does not pass through or land on a square attacked by an opponent's piece.

En Passant

When a pawn advances two squares from its starting position and lands beside an opponent's pawn, the opponent may capture it “in passing” on the very next move. The capturing pawn moves diagonally to the square the first pawn passed through, and the first pawn is removed. En passant must be exercised immediately or the right is lost.

Pawn Promotion

When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board (the 8th rank for White, the 1st rank for Black), it must be promoted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. Players almost always promote to a queen since it is the most powerful piece. Promoting to a different piece is called “underpromotion” and is occasionally the correct strategic choice.

Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate

Check

A king is in check when it is under attack by an opponent's piece. A player in check must immediately resolve it by one of three methods: moving the king to a safe square, blocking the attack with another piece, or capturing the attacking piece. You may never make a move that puts or leaves your own king in check.

Checkmate

Checkmate occurs when a king is in check and has no legal move to escape. Checkmate ends the game immediately — the player who delivers checkmate wins. Delivering checkmate is the primary objective in chess.

Stalemate

Stalemate occurs when a player is not in check but has no legal move available. Stalemate results in a draw. In competitive play, stalemate is sometimes used as a defensive resource by a losing player to salvage half a point.

Draw Conditions

A chess game can end in a draw in several ways beyond stalemate:

• Threefold Repetition: The same position occurs three times with the same player to move. Either player may claim a draw.
• Fifty-Move Rule: If 50 consecutive moves pass without a pawn move or capture, either player may claim a draw.
• Insufficient Material: When neither player has enough pieces to force checkmate (e.g., king vs. king, king and bishop vs. king).
• Mutual Agreement: Both players agree to a draw at any point during the game.
• Dead Position: When no sequence of legal moves can lead to checkmate by either player.

General Rules of Play

• White always moves first.
• Players alternate turns — you must make a move on each turn (you cannot pass).
• You may only move one piece per turn (except during castling).
• Touch-move rule (in competitive play): if you touch a piece, you must move it if a legal move exists.
• A player may resign at any time, conceding the game to the opponent.
• In timed games, a player who runs out of time loses (unless the opponent has insufficient material to checkmate, which results in a draw).