How to play chess: rules and beginner strategy

Chess takes an afternoon to learn and a lifetime to master. This guide covers every rule, then the handful of ideas that help beginners win more games.

The board and pieces

Chess is played on an 8×8 board. Each player starts with 16 pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. White moves first, and players take turns moving one piece.

• King: one square in any direction.
• Queen: any number of squares in a straight line: across, up and down, or diagonally.
• Rook: any number of squares across or up and down.
• Bishop: any number of squares diagonally.
• Knight: an L shape (two squares one way, one square to the side) and it can jump over pieces.
• Pawn: one square forward, or two on its first move. It captures one square diagonally forward.

Check, checkmate and draws

A king under attack is in check, and must escape at once: by moving, blocking, or capturing the attacker. If there’s no escape, it’s checkmate and the game is over. If a player has no legal move but isn’t in check, it’s stalemate, a draw. Games are also drawn by repeating the same position three times, by 50 moves without a capture or pawn move, or when neither side can possibly checkmate.

Special moves

• Castling: the king moves two squares towards a rook, and the rook hops to the other side of the king. Allowed only if neither piece has moved, the squares between are empty, and the king isn’t in check or crossing an attacked square.
• En passant: if an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands beside your pawn, you can capture it as if it moved one, but only on your very next move.
• Promotion: a pawn reaching the last row becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.

Opening principles

1. Control the centre with your e- and d-pawns.
2. Develop your knights and bishops early, before the queen.
3. Castle to tuck your king away and connect your rooks.
4. Don’t move the same piece twice in the opening without a good reason.

Basic tactics

• Fork: one piece attacks two at once. Knights are great at this.
• Pin: a piece can’t move without exposing something more valuable behind it.
• Skewer: attack a valuable piece so that when it moves, you win the one behind it.

Before every move, ask two questions: what is my opponent threatening, and is the piece I’m moving safe where it lands?