How to Play Chess: Rules and Basics

A chessboard consists of 64 square spaces in an 8x8 grid. Each space is uniquely identified by a letter-number combination denoting first the file (vertical column "a" through "h") of the square and then its rank (horizontal row 1 through 8). Each piece has a specific name, an abbreviation (in chess notation), and specific move capabilities. Here, we'll explore the board, then each piece one by one. If you already know the basics, skip to the next section.

1. 
   1
   Position the board correctly. The orientation of the board is important for proper play. When positioned properly, each player will have a dark square (typically black) in the lower left corner. Remember the rhyme: "white on the right".
2. 
   2
   Place the rooks on the corners of the board. The rook is also known as the castle. It is abbreviated as "R" in notation and starts on a1, h1, a8, and h8. Those are the corners as denoted in the rank and file system.

   • How do they move? Rooks may move any number of vacant squares vertically or horizontally. If an opponent's piece blocks the path, that piece may be captured by moving the rook to (but not beyond) the occupied square and removing the opponent's piece.
   • Rooks cannot jump over pieces of either color. If one of your other pieces blocks your rook's path, your rook must stop before reaching that square.
   • Castling is a special move involving rooks detailed below.
3. 
   3
   Place your knights next to your rooks. This is the "horse" piece. In notation, it's referred to as "N" (or "Kt" in older texts). The knights start on b1, g1, b8, and g8.

   • How do they move? Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces and thus are the only pieces that cannot be blocked. They move in an L-shaped pattern -- that is, two squares horizontally or vertically and then one square perpendicular to that (in other words, two spaces horizontally and one space vertically or one space horizontally and two spaces vertically).
   • A knight captures a piece only when it lands on that piece's square. In other words, the knight can "jump" over other pieces (of either color) and capture a piece where it lands.
4. 
   4
   Place the bishops next to the knights. In notation bishops are referred to as "B." They start on c1, f1, c8, and f8.

   • How do they move? Bishops may move any number of vacant squares in any diagonal direction. Like rooks, they may capture an opponent's piece within its path by stopping on that piece's square.
   • The bishop proceeds, lands, and captures diagonally and remains throughout the game on the same color squares on which it begins the game. Thus, each player has a white-square bishop and a dark-square bishop.
   • As with rooks, if another of your pieces blocks your bishop's path, the bishop must stop before reaching the occupied square. If the blocking piece belongs to your opponent, you may stop on (but not jump over) that square and capture the occupying piece.
5. 
   5
   Place the queen near the center of the first rank on her color. The positions for black and white are mirrored. If you're playing white, your queen will be on the fourth file (counting from the left). If you're playing black, she'll be on the fifth file from your left. In notation this is d1 (a white square for the white queen) and d8 (a dark square for the black queen). (Note that the two queens start on the same file, as do the two kings.)

   • How do they move? The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. She can be thought of as the rook and bishop combined. The queen can move any number of vacant squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
   • Attacking with a queen is the same as with rooks and bishops. That is, she captures an opponent's piece that lies within her path by moving to that piece's square.
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   6
   Place the kings in the last empty squares in the first and eighth ranks. The king is notated as "K" and starts on e1 and e8.

   • How do they move? The king can move one space at a time vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The king is not used as an attacking piece (except perhaps at the very end of the game) because, since he's so valuable, you want to keep him protected and out of harm's way. Nonetheless, he is capable of attacking any of the opposing pieces except the king and queen, to which he cannot get close enough to capture.
   • Kings are not offensive pieces. Your king is the piece you most want to protect, because if you lose him, you lose the game.
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   7
   Place your pawns in the rank in front of your other pieces. Pawns are not notated with a letter. They begin the game forming a shield for your other pieces.

   • How do they move? Usually pawns move forward (never backward) one square. However, the first time it moves, a pawn may move forward either one or two squares. In all subsequent moves, a pawn is limited to moving one square at a time.
   • If an opponent's piece is directly in front of it, a pawn may not move forward and may not capture that piece.
   • A pawn may attack an opponent's piece only if the piece is one square diagonally forward from the pawn (i.e. up one square and one square to the right or left).
   • There is another move a pawn may make under very specific circumstances. The move is called en passant ("in passing"). (See below).
   • Pawn promotion, detailed below, occurs when your pawn has marched all the way across the board to the eighth (your opponent's first) rank.
8. 
   8
   Learn the rank and file system. This is not required, but it makes it easier to visualize moves and talk about moves, especially in chess literature and on websites. Also, when your opponent wasn't paying attention and says, "Where did you go?", you can respond with "Rook to a4 (Ra4)." Here's how it works:

   • The files are the columns going up and down, pointing at you and your opponent. From left to right as white views it, they are files "a" through "h."
   • The ranks are the horizontal rows from the players' perspective. From bottom to top as white views it, they are ranks 1 through 8. All of white's main pieces start at the 1 position (first rank); black's main pieces start at the 8 position (eighth rank).
   • It is an excellent learning habit to notate your games, listing each move you and your opponent make, writing down the piece and the square to which it moves (using the piece and square notations already mentioned).