Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a square board of 64 light and dark squares, where each side commands an army of 16 pieces with one goal: to trap the opposing king. It uses no dice, no cards and no hidden information, so the outcome depends entirely on the decisions both players make. This guide covers everything a beginner needs to start playing a real game today: how to set up the board, how every piece moves and captures, the three special moves (castling, en passant and promotion), and how a game ends in checkmate or a draw.
Quick Facts
| Players | 2 |
|---|---|
| Age | Roughly 6+ (younger with help) |
| Typical playing time | 10 minutes to several hours, depending on format |
| Equipment | 8×8 board of 64 squares; 32 pieces (16 per player) |
| Pieces per side | 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 8 pawns |
| Objective | Checkmate the opponent’s king |
| First move | White always moves first |
| Governing body | FIDE (International Chess Federation) |
What is chess?
Chess is a game of pure skill between two players, one commanding the White pieces and the other the Black pieces. Players alternate turns, moving one piece at a time, and the objective is to deliver checkmate — a position where the enemy king is under attack and has no legal way to escape. The rules used worldwide are standardised by FIDE (the Fédération Internationale des Échecs, the International Chess Federation), which keeps chess consistent from a kitchen table to a world championship.
Chess is one of the most widely played entries in any list of classic board game rules, and it pairs naturally with other timeless games of skill. If you are new to tabletop gaming in general, our beginner’s guide to board games explains the components and turn structure common to almost every game before you specialise in one.
What you need to play chess
You only need two things to play a standard game, and both come in any inexpensive chess set:
- A chessboard — an 8×8 grid of 64 squares that alternate between a light colour (“white”) and a dark colour (“black”).
- 32 pieces — 16 per player: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The internationally recognised piece shapes are the Staunton design.
For timed or tournament games you may also use a chess clock (to limit each player’s thinking time) and a scoresheet (to record the moves), but neither is required for a casual game at home.
How to set up the chessboard
Correct setup matters because an incorrectly placed board changes where some pieces legally start. Follow four simple rules:
- Light square on the near right. Turn the board so each player has a light-coloured square in the corner to their right (“light on right”).
- Pawns on the second rank. Each player lines up all eight pawns along the row nearest them but one (their second rank).
- Back rank from the corners inward: rook, then knight, then bishop in each corner group, leaving the two central squares for the queen and king.
- Queen on her own colour. The white queen starts on a light square and the black queen on a dark square; the king stands on the remaining central square beside its queen.
The diagram below shows the full starting position using file letters (a–h) across the bottom and rank numbers (1–8) up the side. White sets up on ranks 1 and 2, Black on ranks 7 and 8.
Starting position diagram
| Rank | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 (Black) | R | N | B | Q | K | B | N | R |
| 7 (Black) | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
| 6 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 5 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 4 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2 (White) | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
| 1 (White) | R | N | B | Q | K | B | N | R |
Legend: K = king, Q = queen, R = rook, B = bishop, N = knight, P = pawn, · = empty square. Notice the queens: the white queen sits on d1 (a light square) and the black queen on d8 (a dark square), each on her own colour.
How the chess pieces move
Each type of piece moves in its own way, and only the knight can jump over other pieces. A piece captures an enemy piece by moving onto its square (the captured piece is removed from the board); the pawn is the one exception, explained below. No piece may move onto a square occupied by a friendly piece or move through a piece that is in its path. The table summarises every piece, and the sections after it add detail.
Piece Movement
| Piece | How it moves | Can it jump pieces? | Starting squares (White) | Approx. value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | One square in any direction | No | e1 | — (never captured) |
| Queen | Any number of squares straight or diagonally | No | d1 | 9 |
| Rook | Any number of squares horizontally or vertically | No | a1, h1 | 5 |
| Bishop | Any number of squares diagonally (one colour only) | No | c1, f1 | 3 |
| Knight | L-shape: two squares then one at a right angle | Yes | b1, g1 | 3 |
| Pawn | Forward one square (two on its first move); captures one square diagonally forward | No | a2–h2 | 1 |
Values are a common beginner guide to how useful each piece is; they are approximate and the king has no point value because the game ends if it is checkmated. Black’s pieces start on the mirror-image squares (ranks 7 and 8).
King
The king moves one square in any direction — horizontally, vertically or diagonally. It is the most important piece because the whole game is about protecting it, but it is not the most powerful. The king may never move onto a square where it would be attacked (“into check”), and it takes part in the special castling move described later.
Queen
The queen is the most powerful piece. She moves any number of empty squares in a straight line in any direction: horizontally, vertically or diagonally. In effect she combines the powers of the rook and the bishop, which is why losing the queen is usually a serious blow.
Rook
The rook moves any number of empty squares horizontally or vertically, but never diagonally. The two rooks are strong in open positions and also take part in castling with the king.
Bishop
The bishop moves any number of empty squares diagonally, but never straight. Because it always stays on squares of one colour, each player has one “light-squared” bishop and one “dark-squared” bishop that can never swap duties.
Knight
The knight moves in an L-shape: two squares in one straight direction and then one square at a right angle (or one then two). It is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, friendly or enemy, which makes it especially tricky in crowded positions. A knight always lands on a square of the opposite colour to the one it left.
Pawn
The pawn is the only piece that moves and captures differently. It moves straight forward one square, and it may advance two squares on its very first move from the starting rank. It captures diagonally forward one square — never straight ahead. A pawn can never move backward. Pawns are also behind the two special moves covered next: en passant and promotion.
Special chess moves every beginner should know
Three legal moves surprise almost every new player. Learning them early prevents confusion and illegal moves later.
Castling
Castling is the only move that shifts two pieces at once, and it is the quickest way to make your king safe. You move the king two squares toward one of its rooks, then that rook jumps to the square directly on the other side of the king. Kingside castling (toward the nearer rook) is quicker; queenside castling (toward the farther rook) moves the king a little farther. Castling is allowed only if every one of these conditions is true:
- Neither the king nor the chosen rook has moved earlier in the game.
- There are no pieces standing between the king and that rook.
- The king is not currently in check.
- The king does not pass over or land on a square that an enemy piece attacks.
A useful way to remember the last two points: you may not castle out of, through or into check. Note that the rook itself is allowed to be attacked, and the rook may pass over an attacked square.
En passant
En passant (French for “in passing”) is a special pawn capture. If your opponent advances a pawn two squares from its starting position so that it lands directly beside one of your pawns, you may capture it as though it had only moved one square — moving your pawn diagonally into the square it skipped over. This capture is allowed only on the move immediately after the two-square advance; if you do not take right away, you lose the chance.
Pawn promotion
When a pawn reaches the far end of the board (its eighth rank), it must be promoted — exchanged for a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its own colour. You can choose any of those four regardless of which pieces you have already lost, so a player can end up with two or more queens. Because the queen is strongest, players promote to a queen the vast majority of the time (choosing a knight instead is called underpromotion and is occasionally the better move).
Check, checkmate and stalemate
These three words describe the most important situations in chess, and beginners often mix up checkmate and stalemate.
What is check?
Check is when a king is directly attacked by an enemy piece. The player in check must respond immediately on their next move in one of three ways: move the king to a safe square, block the attack by putting a piece in the way, or capture the attacking piece. You may never make a move that leaves your own king in check, and you cannot ignore a check.
What is checkmate?
Checkmate is when a king is in check and there is no legal move to escape it — no safe square, no block and no capture. Checkmate ends the game instantly, and the player who delivered it wins. Trapping the opponent’s king in checkmate is the only way to actually win a game of chess at the board.
What is stalemate?
Stalemate is when the player whose turn it is has no legal move available but their king is not in check. Unlike checkmate, stalemate does not win the game — it is a draw. This is why a player who is far ahead must stay alert near the end: accidentally leaving the opponent with no legal move throws away the win.
How a chess game ends: wins and draws
A game of chess finishes in one of two ways — a win for one side or a draw where neither side wins.
A player wins by checkmating the opponent, when the opponent resigns (gives up voluntarily), or, in a timed game, when the opponent runs out of time on the clock.
A game is drawn in any of these situations:
- Stalemate — the player to move has no legal move and is not in check.
- Agreement — both players agree to a draw.
- Threefold repetition — the identical position occurs three times; either player may then claim the draw. (Under FIDE rules the game is drawn automatically if the same position appears five times.)
- Fifty-move rule — if 50 consecutive moves by each side pass with no pawn move and no capture, a player may claim a draw. (It becomes automatic at 75 moves.)
- Insufficient material / dead position — neither side has enough pieces to force checkmate by any series of legal moves (for example, a lone king against a lone king, or king and a single bishop or knight).
Playing your first game: a simple walkthrough
White always moves first, then players alternate turns, and a turn consists of making exactly one move. For your first games, a sensible routine is: develop your knights and bishops off the back rank toward the centre, castle early to tuck your king away, and try not to leave pieces where they can be captured for free. In formal play the touch-move rule applies — if you deliberately touch one of your pieces you must move it if it has a legal move — but friendly games are usually more relaxed.
Once the rules feel natural, the next step is learning to plan. Our board game strategy guide covers universal ideas such as tempo and piece activity that translate directly to chess, and you can broaden your repertoire with other skill games in our collection of classic card and dice games.
Common beginner mistakes
Knowing the rules is only half the battle; avoiding these frequent errors will make your early games far smoother:
- Leaving the king exposed. Delaying or skipping castling is the single most common cause of quick losses.
- Bringing the queen out too early. A lone early queen gets chased around and wastes moves while your opponent develops.
- Moving the same piece repeatedly in the opening instead of developing all your pieces.
- Forgetting pawns cannot move backward. A pawn push is permanent, so think before you advance.
- Trying to castle through check or when a piece has already moved — both are illegal.
- “Hanging” pieces — leaving a piece on a square where it can be captured for nothing.
- Only attacking. Watch what your opponent threatens on their move, not just your own plans.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do you set up a chess board?
Place the board so each player has a light square in the right-hand corner nearest them. Put all eight pawns on your second rank. On the back rank, set rooks in the corners, then knights, then bishops, and finally the queen and king in the two centre squares — with the queen on her own colour (white queen on a light square, black queen on a dark square).
What is the goal of chess and how do you win?
The goal is to checkmate the opponent’s king: attack it in a way that leaves no legal move to escape. You win by delivering checkmate, by your opponent resigning, or, in a timed game, by your opponent running out of time.
Can a pawn ever move backward?
No. Pawns only move forward — one square at a time, or two on their first move — and they capture one square diagonally forward. A pawn never moves or captures backward, which is why every pawn advance is a permanent decision.
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
In checkmate the king is in check and has no legal way out, so the game ends and the attacker wins. In stalemate the player to move has no legal move but is not in check — this ends the game in a draw, with no winner.
Who moves first in chess?
White always moves first. After that the players alternate, making one move per turn, until the game ends in checkmate, resignation, a loss on time, or a draw.
