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How to Play Chess

Co-authored by Sahaj Grover
Last Updated: May 6, 2021 References Approved
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Chess is a very popular two-player strategy game thought to have originated in India many
centuries ago. To win the game, you must "checkmate" your opponent by moving your
pieces such that the opponent's king faces a threat of capture that can't be eliminated.
Although it has a set of easily comprehended rules, it takes strategy in order to defeat a
skilled opponent. After learning the basic rules and playing practice games, you’ll be able
to challenge other players and win!

Part
1 Setting up the Board and Pieces

Position the board so each player has a black space in their left corner.
1 Have both players sit across from one another to start your game. Turn the
board so each player has a black square in the lower-left corner and a white
square in the lower-right corner.[1]
Use the rhyme, "white on the right" to help you remember while you’re
setting up your game.

EXPERT TIP
SAHAJ GROVER
Chess Grandmaster

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Understand the basics of a chess set: Chess is played on a board that is

made up of 64 alternating black and white squares. The chess set is made
up of 32 pieces, 16 for black and 16 for white. Each set consists of 1 King,
1 Queen, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, and 8 Pawns.

Learn the rank and file system to place pieces and keep notation.
2 Ranks are the horizontal rows and the files are the columns going between
the players. Ranks are listed 1-8, starting with the side of the board with the
white pieces. Files are listed as the letters “a” through “h” starting from the white
player’s left side. Reference a specific square on the board by listing the rank
followed by the file.[2]
For example, the left corner for the white player is a1 while the left corner for
the black player is h8.
Practice notation by listing each move you and your opponent make by
writing down the piece and the square to which it moves.
You do not need to use the rank and file notation system if you don’t want to,
but it does make setting up the board easier.

Place the rooks in the corners of the board. Rooks usually look like castle
3 towers and can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically, but
they cannot jump over other pieces. Place the white rooks on squares a1 and
h1, and put the black rooks on squares a8 and h8.[3]
Rooks are labeled “R” if you’re using chess notation.

Set the knights next to your rooks. The knights look like horses and move
4 in L-shapes by going 2 spaces horizontally and 1 space vertically, or 2
spaces vertically followed by 1 space horizontally. Put the white knights on
squares b1 and g1, and set the black knights on b8 and g8.[4]
Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces as long as the
space it ends on is vacant.
Knights are labeled either as “N” or “Kt” in notation.

Put the bishops next to your knights. Bishops are the third-tallest pieces
5 in your chess set and move in a straight line diagonally. If you’re the white
player, place your bishops on c1 and f1 and put the black bishops on squares c8
and f8.[5]

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Bishops can’t move onto a square that isn’t the same color as its starting
square.
Label bishops as “B” if you’re using notation.

Place the queens on their matching colors in the back rows. Queens
6 are the second-tallest pieces and can move any number of squares in any
direction as long as the spaces are vacant. Put the white queen on d1 and the
black queen on d8 so they’re directly across from one another.[6]
The queen can’t change directions in a single turn.
Queens are labeled as “Q” in notation.

EXPERT TIP

Queens are the strongest pieces in the game, and they

can move horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
Sahaj Grover
Chess Grandmaster

Set the kings next to the queens. Your king is the tallest piece in your
7 chess set and is the piece you need to protect throughout the game. Kings
can move 1 space at a time in any direction during your turn. Put the kings next
to the queens to complete your back row of pieces.[7]
You can’t move your king into a space where it can get captured during the
next turn.
Kings are labeled as “K” when you’re using notation.

EXPERT TIP

Since a king can never be placed on a square where it

can be captured, two kings can never be placed on
adjacent squares.
Sahaj Grover
Chess Grandmaster

Place your pawns in the row in front of your other pieces. Your pawns
8 are the shortest and weakest pieces in a game of chess. Pawns can only
move 1 space forward toward your opponent’s side of the board. Put 1 white
pawn in each square of rank 2 and set the black pawns in the squares of rank
7.[8]

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Pawns are not labeled with any letter in notation.

Tip: During their first move, pawns can either move 1 or 2 spaces forward.
After their first move, they can only go 1 space.

Part
2 Playing a Chess Game

Start the game with the player who has the white pieces. The player who
1 has the white pieces always starts a game of chess. Choose any one of your
pieces that is able to move and put it in its new space. After the player with the
white piece takes their turn, play alternates to the player with the black pieces.[9]
If you’re playing multiple games in a row, alternate who starts with the white
pieces to keep the games fair.
The player with the white pieces has a slight advantage since they get to
make the opening move.
Aim to take control of the 4 center squares; d4, e4, d5, and e5; early in the
game since they over the most mobility and power for your pieces.[10]

Capture your opponent’s pieces by moving onto the same square as

2 them. Capturing pieces means landing on the same space as an opponent’s
piece and removing them from the game. Try to capture your opponent’s
stronger pieces, like their queen, rooks, and bishops to make their turns less
powerful.[11]
Pawns cannot capture pieces directly in front of them like other pieces do.
Instead, pawns can only capture pieces that are 1 space diagonally in front
of them.
You cannot capture your opponent’s king. However, to win the game you
need to set up your pieces so they would be able to capture the king.

Tip: During your turn, check whether or not your opponent can capture your
pieces on their next turn. Protect your own pieces while you try to capture
your opponent’s pieces.

Put your opponent’s king in check. Move one of your pieces so it can
3 potentially capture your opponent's king during your next turn. When you put
your opponent in check, say “check” out loud so your opponent knows. Your

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opponent must get out of check during their next turn either by moving their king,
blocking your piece, or capturing your piece.[12]
The king can capture the enemy piece only if it’s not in check after the
capture.
If you’re in check, you must do something to protect your king or else you
forfeit the game.

End the game by putting your opponent’s king in checkmate.

4 Checkmate occurs if you put your opponent’s king in check and they’re
unable to make a move to protect it. When this happens, say “checkmate” out
loud to declare the end of the game. Let your opponent double check if they can
make a move before declaring yourself the winner![13]
Games may also end in a draw if neither player can force a checkmate, such
as if the kings are the only pieces left on the board.

Part
3 Using Special Moves

Capture with pawns using the "en passant" rule. En passant, meaning
1 "in passing" in French, is when one pawn captures another pawn after its
starting move. You can only do en passant if your opponent has moved a pawn
2 squares forward from its starting position so it’s next to one of your pawns. If
this happens, you may move your pawn into the space behind your opponent’s
pawn to capture it.[14]
You can only perform an en passant move during the turn after your
opponent moves the pawn. You cannot wait to do it on any other turn after.

Promote a pawn by getting it across the board. If you move a pawn to

2 the back row on your opponent’s side of the board, it immediately gets
promoted to any piece (besides the king) of your choosing. In most cases it's
best to choose to promote to a queen because the queen is the most powerful
piece. It doesn’t matter if your queen has already been captured when you
promote your pawn. Thus, you could have multiple queens on the board at a
time.[15]
To indicate pawn promotion in chess notation, write the square where the
pawn is promoted. Then write an equals sign followed by a Q to symbolize
it’s now a queen. For example, you may write c8=Q.

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Reasons to "underpromote" are because promoting to a queen will cause

stalemate or to utilize the knight's move.

Protect your king by castling. Once during the game, you may choose to
3 make a special move known as castling. To castle, move your king two
squares horizontally toward either rook. Then on the same move, move the rook
to the square immediately on the other side of the king.[16]
You cannot castle if your king was in check during the previous move, or if it
would be in check after the move. You also cannot castle through any
squares that are under attack by enemy pieces.

Tip: You can only castle if you haven’t moved your king and rook yet during
the game and if the spaces between them are empty.

Part
4 Developing Winning Strategies

Learn the relative value of each piece. Each piece in a game of chess is
1 valued differently depending on how powerful it is. The queen is the most
powerful piece and are worth 9 points. Rooks are worth 5 points, bishops and
knights are worth 3, and pawns are worth 1 point. Try to protect your more
powerful pieces so you can use them later in the game.[17]
The king's value is undefined as it cannot be captured.
Compare the total value of all the pieces still on the board for each player to
determine who has a material advantage.
Point assessment is also useful when considering possible captures. For
example, using pieces with a lower value to capture pieces with a higher
value gives you more of an advantage.
There's exception to this rule. Different pieces may have a different value in
certain positions.

Protect your pieces. Every time your opponent makes a move, take some
2 time to scan the board. Move pieces out of the way if your opponent is going
to capture them next turn. Try catching the piece that’s threatening your piece or
move one of your pieces to threaten a strong piece your opponent has.

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It's okay to give up a piece in order to draw your opponent into a trap where
you'll capture an even more valuable piece.
Try to think several moves ahead to anticipate and counteract your
opponent’s moves and stop any plans they’re making.

Aim to control the center of the board. Pieces near the center are at their
3 most powerful since they have the most mobility and control. This forces
your opponent to the sides of the board where they have fewer moves to choose
from. Controlling the center helps you play more offensive and your opponent
defensive.[18]

Tip: Keep 1 or 2 pawns in the center of the board so you can still use your
stronger pieces to attack.

Community Q&A

Question

What if the opponent doesn't move the way I wish?

Community Answer

You need a strong defense and to be prepared for almost anything. One of the
main strategies of chess is forcing your opponent into a situation where, no
matter what he or she does, you are given an advantage, such as capturing a
piece or securing a better position.

Question

What are promoted pawns?

Donagan
Top Answerer

These are pawns that have reached their eighth row (the opponent's first row)
and have been converted to some other piece such as a queen.

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Question

Can the rook and king move together?

Community Answer

Under certain conditions, yes. It is known as castling and is very useful. It was
one of the few changes made in the last millennium.

Question

Can a horse come back to its previous place?

Community Answer

Yes, it can.

Question

What are the moves of the bishop?

Community Answer

A bishop moves diagonally in any direction and as many open squares as it

wants. It must stop before coming to a square occupied by a piece of its own
color. It can stop on a square occupied by an opponent's piece (thereby
capturing that piece).

Question

How does a pawn move?

Donagan
Top Answerer

Usually a pawn moves one square forward. On its first move, it can move either
one square or two squares forward. A pawn may move one square diagonally

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forward if in doing so it captures an opponent's piece.

Question

Can the pawn move forward two spaces only once?

Community Answer

Yes. Your pawns may each move either one or two spaces forward on their first
move. In all subsequent moves, each may move only one space.

Question

I am a beginner in playing chess. What moves should I learn to be an expert?

Insanity
Community Answer

Expert moves takes time to learn. You need to learn the basic moves, like
protecting every single piece of your chess pieces. After that, you can try to
learn to focus on a side to check-mate the king. You might want to know some
openings and endgames technique too.

Question

Can any chess pieces move backwards?

Community Answer

All pieces except pawns can move backwards in directions permitted for the
piece in question (e.g. rooks can move straight backwards, bishops can go
backwards diagonally, etc.). Promoted pawns can move backwards in the same
manner as the piece they've become.

Question

Can you ever capture the king and take it off the board?

Community Answer

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No. The king remains on the board until the very end of the game. If your king
can be captured on your opponent's next move, you are in check and must get
out of check immediately. You can do so by moving your king to a safe spot, by
putting one of your own pieces between your king and the attacking piece, or by
capturing the attacking piece. If you are in check and cannot immediately get
out of check in one move, you are in checkmate, and the game is over (without
your opponent's actually having to remove your king).

Tips

Play with other people that have a similar skill level as you to keep games
competitive and fun.

Keep playing and practicing to get better at chess.

Always check the board after your opponent’s move to see if your pieces are in
danger.

Use all of your pieces while you play chess to take out your opponent.

References

1. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=5
2. http://blog.chesshouse.com/how-to-read-and-write-algebraic-chess-notation/
3. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=38
4. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=42
5. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=47
6. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=51

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7. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=61
8. https://youtu.be/NPyuNpYfrDc?t=68
9. https://www.chessstrategyonline.com/content/tutorials/how-to-start-a-game-of-
chess-first-moves-white
10. https://youtu.be/UoFqV1lxA7Q?t=29
11. https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-play-chess
12. https://youtu.be/2oQCDKipoyM?t=39
13. https://youtu.be/2oQCDKipoyM?t=104
14. https://youtu.be/GMgIKo2GM6M?t=74
15. https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-play-chess
16. https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-play-chess
17. https://youtu.be/UMSAhUzyqyI?t=62
18. https://youtu.be/UoFqV1lxA7Q?t=29

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