The board and the pieces
The board is 8 by 8, 64 squares in alternating light and dark. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The pawns fill the second row from each player’s side. Behind them the rooks take the corners, then the knights, then the bishops, with the queen on the square of her own colour (the white queen starts on a light square) and the king beside her.
White moves first and the players then take turns, one move each. You cannot pass.
How each piece moves
- King: one square in any direction, but never onto a square an enemy piece attacks.
- 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, so it stays on squares of one colour for the whole game.
- Knight: two squares one way and one square to the side, an L-shape. It is the only piece that can jump over others.
- Pawn: forward one square, or two squares from its starting row if both are empty. It captures one square diagonally forward and never moves backward.
Every piece except the knight stops at the first piece in its way. You capture by moving onto a square held by an enemy piece, which removes it from the board. You can never capture your own pieces, and capturing is never forced.
Check and checkmate
A king that an enemy piece could capture next move is in check. You must answer a check straight away by moving the king to a safe square, blocking the line of attack, or capturing the attacking piece. You may never make a move that leaves your own king in check.
If you are in check and no legal move gets out of it, that is checkmate and you lose the game. Nobody captures the king: the game ends the moment it cannot be saved.
Castling
Once per game each side may castle: the king moves two squares toward a rook and that rook jumps to the square the king crossed. It counts as one move. You can castle only if neither the king nor that rook has moved, the squares between them are empty, and the king is not in check and does not cross or land on an attacked square (can you castle out of check). An attacked rook does not stop you.
En passant
If a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may capture it as though it had moved only one square, landing on the square it passed over. The chance exists for the very next move only, then it is gone (what is en passant).
Pawn promotion
A pawn that reaches the far row must be replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its own colour, your choice. It cannot stay a pawn or become a king. Most players choose a queen, and you can have several queens at once (what a pawn can become).
Drawn games
A game that nobody wins is a draw. There are four automatic ways:
- Stalemate: the player to move is not in check but has no legal move.
- Threefold repetition: the same position, with the same side to move and the same moves available, occurs three times.
- Fifty-move rule: 50 moves by each player pass with no capture and no pawn move.
- Insufficient material: neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate, such as king against king.
Chess rules for two players
These are the standard rules of chess as played here. To put them to work, read the chess strategy guide, or play chess free with a friend or the computer. No sign-up.
Chess rules questions
Can you castle out of check in chess?
No. You can’t castle while your king is in check, or if it would cross or land on an attacked square. An attacked rook, however, doesn’t stop you castling.
Read the full answer →What is en passant in chess?
En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares past it, as if it had moved one. The chance lasts for the very next turn only.
Read the full answer →How does threefold repetition work in chess?
If the same position occurs three times, with the same side to move and the same moves available, the game is drawn. Trindo detects it automatically.
Read the full answer →What is stalemate in chess?
Stalemate is when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. It is a draw, not a win, so never trap the enemy king without giving check.
Read the full answer →What can a pawn promote to in chess?
A pawn that reaches the far row must become a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its own colour, never a king or a pawn. Most players choose a queen.
Read the full answer →What is the fifty-move rule in chess?
If 50 moves by each player pass with no capture and no pawn move, the game is a draw. Trindo declares it automatically after 100 such half-moves.
Read the full answer →Which chess endings are drawn for insufficient material?
When neither side can possibly checkmate, such as king versus king or king and one bishop or knight versus king, the game is drawn at once.
Read the full answer →Play Chess free →Invite a friend or practice with the computer. No sign-up.