1. Objective
Checkmate the opposing king. Checkmate means the king is under attack and there is no legal move that removes the threat.
Chess Rules
Detailed rules and gameplay guidance for Chess.
2. Board, pieces, and setup
Chess is played on an 8x8 board with alternating light and dark squares. Each player begins with one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The back rank is arranged rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook; the queen starts on her own colour. White moves first, then players alternate turns.
3. How the pieces move
The king moves one square in any direction. The queen moves any number of squares along a rank, file, or diagonal. A rook moves any number of squares along a rank or file. A bishop moves any number of squares diagonally and remains on the same colour for the whole game. A knight moves in an L-shape—two squares in one direction and one at right angles—and can jump over pieces. A pawn moves one square forward, may move two squares from its starting rank if both squares are clear, and captures one square diagonally forward. No piece may move through another piece, except the knight; a move is legal only if it does not leave your own king in check.
4. Captures and occupied squares
A capture moves a piece onto a square occupied by an opposing piece and removes that piece from the board. Sliding pieces stop at the first occupied square in their path: they may capture an enemy there but cannot move beyond it. You may never capture your own piece, and you may not make a move that exposes your king to attack.
5. Check, checkmate, and legal responses
A king is in check when an opposing piece attacks its square. The player in check must respond immediately by moving the king to a safe square, capturing the attacking piece, or placing a piece between the attacker and the king when that is possible. Checkmate occurs when the king is in check and none of these responses is legal.
6. Castling
Castling moves the king two squares toward a rook and places that rook beside it. It is legal only if neither piece has moved, the squares between them are empty, the king is not currently in check, and the king does not cross or land on an attacked square.
7. Pawn movement
A pawn normally moves one square forward and captures one square diagonally. From its starting rank it may move two squares if both are clear. Pawns cannot move backwards and cannot capture straight ahead.
8. En passant
When a pawn advances two squares from its starting rank and lands beside an opposing pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved one square. En passant is available only immediately on the next move.
9. Promotion
When a pawn reaches the farthest rank, it must be promoted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. The promoted piece is available immediately, so a side can have more than one queen.
10. Draws, resignation, and game endings
A game ends when a player is checkmated or resigns. It is drawn by stalemate when the player to move has no legal move but is not in check, by insufficient material when checkmate cannot be forced, by an agreed draw, or under the applicable repetition and move-count rules. A draw is not a win for either side.