The goal
Chess is a two-player game between White and Black. White always moves first, and the players take turns moving one piece at a time. You win by checkmate — trapping the enemy king so it cannot escape being captured. You never actually capture the king; the game ends the moment it has no way out.
The board
The board is 8×8 squares. Each player starts with eight pawns on the second rank and, behind them: rooks in the corners, then knights, then bishops, with the queen on her own colour (white queen on a light square, black queen on a dark square) and the king beside her.
How the pieces move
Pawn — 1 point
Moves one square forward (two from its starting square) and captures one square diagonally forward. Pawns never move backwards. A pawn that reaches the far end of the board promotes — it becomes a queen, rook, bishop, or knight (almost always a queen).
Knight — 3 points
Moves in an L-shape: two squares one way, then one square sideways. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.
Bishop — 3 points
Slides any number of squares diagonally. Each bishop stays on the colour of square it starts on forever.
Rook — 5 points
Slides any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
Queen — 9 points
The strongest piece: slides any number of squares in any straight line — like a rook and bishop combined.
King
Moves one square in any direction. The king can never move onto a square attacked by an enemy piece — protect it at all costs.
The point values are a guide for trades: giving up a knight (3) to win a rook (5) is usually a good deal.
Three special moves
Castling
Once per game your king may move two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps to the other side. Both pieces must not have moved yet, the squares between them must be empty, and the king may not castle out of, through, or into check. Castle early to keep your king safe.
En passant
If an enemy pawn advances two squares and lands right beside your pawn, you may capture it on the very next move as if it had moved only one square.
Promotion
A pawn that reaches the last rank turns into any piece you choose (except a king) — almost always a queen. Yes, you can have two queens!
Check, checkmate and draws
When your king is attacked, it is in check — you must escape it immediately, by moving the king, blocking the attack, or capturing the attacker. If there is no escape, it is checkmate and the game is over. If a player has no legal move but is NOT in check, the game is a stalemate — a draw. Games are also drawn when the same position repeats three times, after 50 moves with no capture or pawn move, or when neither side has enough pieces to mate.
Your first games
Three golden rules while you learn:
- Fight for the centre — pawns to e4/d4 (or e5/d5).
- Develop your knights and bishops before attacking.
- Castle early, and don't move the same piece twice in the opening.
Then practise right here: play the ELO 500 bot on Play (below 1000 you get a Hint button that shows you a strong move), sharpen your tactics in Puzzles, and learn the must-know finishes in Endgames.