Would you like a beautiful printed copy of the Chess Rules booklet shown above?
Request a free copy of The Rules of Chess with any order from Chess House. When learning how to play chess, it's best to practice on this Starter Chess Set. If you go premium, here's the Quality Club Set on Flex Pad that people rate highest.
As you play chess, the pieces stand on the board and move around until they’re captured. Each piece sits on its own square and moves from one square to another according to a strict set of rules.
You get better at chess by learning and practicing the movements and strategic capabilities of each piece. Chess is revered as a strategy game that demands a high level of intellectual engagement and critical thinking. Each move requires foresight, analysis, and an understanding of the opponent's strategy.
You must plan your moves and counter the opponent's moves effectively, which improves tactical thinking. A good chess player analyzes, anticipates, and counters the opponent’s short-term and long-term plans.
Playing chess mentally several moves ahead is the only way to get the best of your opponent.
Kids can learn chess very quickly when given the right environment and motivation. That’s why we’re particularly supportive of chess in schools and children’s clubs.
For schools and chess clubs, Chess House makes it easy to purchase chess supplies. Every order is fulfilled promptly, and our amazing customer service team communicates progress every step of the way.
Plus, all our chess supplies are curated for durability and quality, ensuring they will last through years of repeated play. If you lose any pieces, we also offer fast and hassle-free replacement pieces for all the sets we sell.
A game of chess ends when the King on either side is captured, which is called a checkmate. Checkmate occurs when the player's king is in a position to be captured ("in check") and there is no legal move that the player can make to escape the check.
A chess game can also end when the contestants agree to a draw, which is called a stalemate. A stalemate happens when a player has no legal moves left to make and their king is not in check. This results in a draw, meaning the game ends without a winner.
These are the two main ways a game can end, but there are several other options:
Finally, a game of chess can also conclude when a player runs out of time. In timed games, if a player's clock expires and their opponent has enough material to theoretically deliver a checkmate, the player who runs out of time loses the game.
However, if the opponent does not have sufficient material to checkmate, then the game results in a draw.
Each piece on the board has its own unique way of moving, which defines its strengths and limitations within the game. These movements determine how players attack, defend, and ultimately strive for victory.
According to the Chess Federation’s official rules, these are the basic moves in chess:
The motion of a Rook, Bishop, or Queen stops when it strikes an occupied square.
There are also a few special maneuvers where two pieces move at the same time:
Learning these basic movements is easy enough. The real challenge lies in effectively deploying these pieces to control the board, set traps, and counter your opponent's threats.
One of the easiest ways to learn and practice chess is to play online chess against bots. As you get better, you’ll graduate to competitive chess at school or club level.
Chess notation is a system of recording and describing the moves in a game of chess using alphanumeric characters. It uses a code that describes which piece is moving and the square it moves to as denoted by that square's position on a chessboard.
Every square on a chessboard is represented by a column and row label. The columns are labeled with the letters “a” to “h” while the rows have the numbers 1 to 8, making the board an 8 x 8 grid. This is shown clearly in the image below.
For example, the king in the image above moves from the square “e1” to "e4." This move would be recorded as “Ke4,” with the prefix referring to the piece that’s moving.
If it were a knight’s move, it would be recorded as “Ne4” to distinguish it from the King. Here’s a summary of the prefixes for all the six types of chess pieces.
This method allows players and spectators to track the game's progress and review past games. We have a detailed guide with videos on how to read and write chess notation.
The rules of chess have evolved significantly since the game was first invented over 1,500 years ago.
Today, chess is governed and moderated by the International Chess Federation, which sets the rules for chess games, holds chess tournaments, and maintains the Elo player rating system. The Federation is more commonly known by its French acronym, FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs).
Here are the legal moves by which a chess piece can capture an opponent’s piece:
By setting and strictly enforcing these rules, FIDE helps to maintain consistency and fairness in the game, ensuring that players worldwide play chess under the same standard guidelines.
Each chess piece has a specific place on the board. Here’s how to position them correctly according to the rules.
Place pawns on the second row for white, and the seventh row for black. This creates a line of pawns across the board directly in front of the other pieces, as shown below.
Place the rooks in the corners of the board. Each player’s rook goes on a1 and h1 for white, and a8 and h8 for black.
Position the knights next to the rooks. White knights go on b1 and g1, while the black knights sit on b8 and g8, as shown below.
Place the bishops next to each knight toward the center of the row. For white, the bishops are placed on c1 and f1, and for black on c8 and f8.
Each queen sits on a square matching her color. Place the white queen on d1 and the black queen on d8.
The king takes the remaining square next to the queen. The white king is placed on e1 and the black king on e8.
This setup ensures that each player starts with a mirrored arrangement of pieces. One way to know that you’ve set up the board correctly is to check that the back row looks like a roof; short to tall.
As you play chess, remember the main rule: all pieces are subject to capture except the King. Its life is sacred; the player must defend it by any means necessary, and the king only perishes when no possible resource can save it from capture.
In chess, the King is the only chess piece that cannot be captured. The entire game revolves around protecting this vital piece while attempting to threaten the opponent's king.
As such, chess rules for how the king moves are a little different. The King may move one square in any direction to a square that satisfies the following conditions:
Elliot Neff of Chess4Life explains the King’s moves in the short video below.
However, the king may violate this rule only once during the game in a move known as Castling.
Interesting note: as the King is usually the largest piece in a chess set, we often size a set by the King’s dimensions. Chess House has some of the most unique chess set collections you can find anywhere, and we use the dimensions of the King to help users know how big the pieces are.
For example, the 20" Large King's Inlaid Chess Set has a 4.7” King, while the 12" Royal Maxi Chess Set has a 2.5” King.
In castling, the king moves TWO squares toward one of its rooks on its original row. The rook then moves to the square immediately next to the king on the opposite side. In other words, the rook moves to the square that the king jumped over.
This special move is not allowed if:
Elliott explains Castling in the short video below.
The image below describes the Castling move in chess.
The two Kings and the four Rooks still stand where they stood at the beginning of the game. Let us suppose that, up until now, none of them has moved.
If White has the move, they can Castle with Rook h1 by placing the Rook on f1 and simultaneously jumping with King to g1. This is called Kingside Castling since it’s a move with the King’s Rook.
Or, White can Castle with Rook a1 (Queen’s Rook) by placing the Rook on d1 and jumping with King to c1. This is called Queenside Castling.
Black can also Castle with Rook during their turn. In this case, King and Rook will occupy the squares c8, and d8 respectively.
However, Black cannot Castle with Rook h8 because the White Queen would attack the Rook after Castling, and therefore Castling is illegal in this case.
When Castling, the player will be well advised always to move the King first and then the Rook when making this move.
Checkmate in chess occurs when a king is in a position to be captured (in check) and cannot escape from capture.
This means there are no available moves for the king to move to a safe square, no other pieces can block the attack, and the attacking piece cannot be captured.
A checkmate ends the game with the victory going to the player who delivers the checkmate. Consider the situation shown in the image below:
The White King placed on c2 has only ONE possible move, to b2. It may go there because:
On the other hand, the White King could make no other move:
It cannot move to other squares because they are not immediate neighbors to its present residence.
Note also that in the position shown above, the Black King has only one possible move to g7. Elliott from Chess4Life shows another example of a Checkmate in the video below.
Now consider the situation shown in the image below.
Black’s King is "Checked" because it is threatened by the White Queen.
The King cannot capture the Queen since g7 is threatened by Pawn f6; the King can go nowhere else because the White Queen threatens its place of refuge; the White Queen cannot be captured by any Black piece.
The King therefore cannot be saved, the "Check " is a "Mate," and the game reaches Checkmate with Black losing the game.
The rook, or castle, moves in straight lines along the row or column, making it a powerful piece for controlling open lanes on the chessboard. It can move any number of squares, but only forward, backward, or sideways—never diagonally.
Elliott Neff gives a fantastic explanation of how the Rook moves in the video below.
As Elliott says, the Rook is assigned a value of 5 points. These values are numerical representations of the relative strength and importance of each piece.
The values of chess pieces help players assess the material balance on the board and make strategic decisions based on the potential loss or gain of a piece in a trade. They may not be very useful to you when starting out, but here they are just the same:
Consider the positions of the Rooks in the image below.
The Rook at c2 has the following possible moves: to b2, d2, e2, f2 and capture of g2. It cannot go to c1 or c3 because it is under obligation to guard its King against the White Rook g2.
The Rook c4 can go to a4 or b4 or d4 or capture e4, but it cannot capture f4 because Rook e4 is an obstruction. It may also go to c8, c7, c6, c5, or c3 but not to c2 or c1, owing to the obstruction posed by Rook c2.
The Rook e4 has only two open squares: d4 and c4. The Rook g2 has no less than 12 squares; that is, any square of the "g" file, and all but two squares of the second row: h2, f2, e2, d2, c2, g1, g3, g4, g5, g6, g7, and g8.
Note: The name "Castle" is rarely used in modern chess literature for this piece only.
The bishop moves diagonally on the chessboard and can travel any number of squares along its diagonal path as long as it is not obstructed by other pieces.
Each bishop starts on either a light square or a dark square and remains on squares of that color throughout the entire game, giving it access to only half the squares on the board.
Bishops are extremely effective in controlling long diagonal lines, particularly in open positions where they can exert influence across the board. Elliott from Chess4Life shows this practically in the short video below.
Consider the position shown below and possible moves available to the Bishops.
Three Bishops are on the board, c3, c4, f6. There are also three Rooks, c1, d2, and f7, as well as the two Kings on a1 and g8.
Since the Bishops move diagonally, Bishop c3 can capture f6, and vice versa. But Bishop c3 cannot capture Rook d2 because the Bishop is forced to protect its King against Bishop f6 by obstruction. The Bishop c4 can capture Rook f7.
The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard, combining the abilities of the rook and bishop. She can move any number of squares in any direction—horizontally, vertically, or diagonally—as long as her path is not blocked by other pieces.
This expansive range of movement allows the queen to exert control over a wide area, making her pivotal in both offensive strategies and defensive maneuvers.
Elliott from Chess4Life shows this beautifully in the video below.
Consider the queens in the position shown below.
Two Queens, a Rook, a Bishop, and the two Kings are shown on the board.
The Black Queen a4 has the following moves at its disposal: to b4, c4, d4, capture on e4, a1, a2, a3, a5, a6, a7, a5, b5. c6, d7, b3, capture of c2.
The White Queen, however, has a very limited range because it is "pinned" by the Rook e8. If the pin were released, it could go to h7 and there, supported by the Bishop c2, Checkmate the King.
As it is, the Queen must capture the Rook e8 or suffer capture by that piece.
The knight's movement in chess is tricky to explain, but once you see it in action, it becomes an “Aha!” moment. The knight moves in an L-shape pattern, which can be thought of as two steps in one direction and then one step perpendicular, or vice versa.
This unique motion allows the knight to jump over other pieces, making it the only piece that can bypass obstacles directly. This powerful “teleporting” move makes the knight one of the most underrated pieces in chess.
You can also visualize it using the "2+1" formula: Move the knight two squares along any row or column, then turn and move one more square. The opposite “1+2” move is also correct.
One way to know you’ve made the move correctly is by checking that the square you end up on is a different color from the one where you started.
Elliott from Chess4Life explains it much more easily in the video below. As he calls it, it’s a “hippity, hippity, hop” kind of move.
Consider the four knights in the interesting scenario shown below.
Here are four Knights on the board, and a Rook and a Bishop and the two Kings.
Two of the Knights are immobile: Knight e2 on account of the Bishop h5 and the Knight g7 because of the Rook g3. They must protect their Kings.
The Knight f5 can move to one of the following squares : e7, d6, d4, e3, g3 (whereby it captures the Rook) h4, h6.
The shortest jump on the chessboard is, namely, to take two squares (in the air) in a line or row and one square perpendicularly. That movement gives Knight f5 eight possibilities.
However, in the above position, the move to square g7 is taken away by the obstruction of a Knight g7, which is on the same party as Knight f5.
The Knight f6 has eight possible moves: it threatens the hostile King, "gives Check," or "Checks," and the King will have to fly, for instance, to f7, to save himself.
Pawns are the frontline soldiers of a chess game, but they’re only allowed to advance one step at a time and always forward.
However, on the first move, a pawn can advance two squares ahead if both are unobstructed.
Unlike other pieces, pawns capture differently from how they move. They take opposing pieces by moving one square diagonally forward. This gives pawns a unique advantage because they can cover 3600 around them either by blocking or threatening capture.
Despite their limited range, pawns have strategic significance in protecting more valuable pieces. Crucially, pawns can also be promoted to any other piece, typically a queen, if they reach the opponent's back rank.
Elliott shows the pawn’s moves in the video below.
See how the pawns move in the image below.
Here you see 16 Pawns (all that were in the box), two Rooks, one Bishop, one Knight, and two Kings.
At the beginning of the game the White Pawns are placed on the second row and the Black Pawns on the seventh row; then they move or capture ahead toward the enemy, the White Pawns from below upwards, and the Black Pawns in the opposite direction.
For instance, Pawn d4 may capture e5 but cannot threaten d6, because the Pawns only capture obliquely (diagonally and forward).
The above position shows three immobile Pawns, "blocked" Pawns: g3, g4, and f7. Pawn g3 is blocked by g4 because the Pawn does not capture straight ahead but diagonally.
The position shows nine Pawns standing on the squares where they stood at the start of the game: a2, b2 e2, f2, h2, a7, b7, c7, f7; they have not moved yet; the other seven Pawns have advanced during the progress of the game.
The Pawn d4 has two possible moves: to advance to d5 or to capture e5. The Pawn c3 has only one possible move: to advance to c4.
Expert Tip: Whenever you’re studying and playing chess, we recommend following the 20-40-40 rule. It means you should devote 20% of your time and effort to studying openings, 40% to developing your middle game, and the other 40% to your endgame.
Pawn a2 may advance to a3 or to a4 in one move. That’s because, about four centuries ago, the rule was introduced stating that Pawns in their initial position, which are not blocked, may advance one or two steps.
The goal was to make the game more lively. Even though it wasn’t standard practice at first, the chess world accepted this rule over time.
With this rule, a difficulty arose. Although it could help accelerate the pace of the game during a chess tournament and add variety, the move sometimes betrayed the rights of the opponent’s pawn.
To illustrate this point, look at the two Pawns f2 and g4. The Pawn g4 stands on guard over f3. If f2 advances to f3, g4 can capture it; thus it has been for many centuries.
After the introduction of the new rule, Pawn f2 could evade Pawn g4 by advancing at once to f4 and could then molest Black’s e5 unpunished. Naturally, the Pawn g4 on guard feels deceived when the hostile Pawn creeps through the advance posts.
There were scenes of hot dispute; why should the new rule make the advancing Pawn immune?
After much controversy, justice was victorious. The Pawn standing on guard was given the right of capture. As such, Pawn g4 could still capture f2 while it tries to slip through just as if it moved one step only.
However, the Pawn on guard must execute this action immediately to prevent the attempted advance.
For instance, in the above position, white can move from f2 to f4. In response, Black can use Pawn g4 to capture the pawn “in passing,” just as if it had rested on f3. The capturing black pawn moves from g4 to f3, and the white pawn on f4 is removed from the board.
Thus, justice is served because Black executes their original intention of capturing the Pawn on f3. That’s why the move is named "capture in passing" or, with the French expression, capture "en passant".
See how Elliott explains capture en passant in the video below.
If the Pawn is not immediately captured in passing, it stays unmolested afterward. Black will have given up their right to capture en passant if it doesn’t capture it immediately after the move.
The Pawns advance square by square to finally arrive to row 8. Should this signify their death? Should they now become useless after having done their duty and fought their way through the ranks of the enemy? That would not be in keeping with justice.
Since in a struggle it is honorable to draw upon oneself the fire of the enemy and to do him harm, the Pawn advancing to the last row is rewarded by becoming an "officer" in its army; it is changed for a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight.
It’s up to the player to crown the victorious Pawn. See the example shown on the board below.
If it is White's turn to move here, they may advance Pawn e7 to e8, change it for a Queen, and call Mate. If it is Black's turn to move, they can advance f2 to f1, demand a Knight, and Checkmate White.
Elliott explains this promotion in the video below.
Pawns are the only piece in chess that may get promoted.
Promotion occurs when the Pawn reaches the opposite side of the board (1st rank for black, 8th rank for white).
In the same turn, the Pawn is removed from the board and is replaced with an extra piece of the promoting player’s choice, as you can see in the image below.
You can choose to replace it with a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight, even if these pieces are already on the board.
This concludes the player’s turn.