How to play chess
How each piece moves, check, checkmate, stalemate, castling, en passant, promotion and piece values, in plain words. Each rule has a short free lesson to play right away.
How the pieces move
- How does the rook move in chess? The rook moves in straight lines: any number of squares up, down, left or right, as long as nothing is in the way.
- How does the bishop move in chess? The bishop moves diagonally, any number of squares, as long as nothing is in the way.
- How does the queen move in chess? The queen moves like a rook and a bishop together: any number of squares in a straight line or along a diagonal.
- How does the knight move in chess? The knight moves in an L: two squares in a straight line, then one square to the side. It is the only piece that jumps over others.
- How does the king move in chess? The king moves one square in any direction: up, down, sideways or diagonally.
- How do pawns move in chess? A pawn moves straight forward one square. On its very first move it may go two squares instead. It takes diagonally: one square forward to the left or right.
The rules that decide games
- Pawn promotion in chess: what happens when a pawn reaches the end? When a pawn reaches the last row it is promoted: you swap it for a queen, rook, bishop or knight of your colour. Almost always you choose a queen.
- What is check in chess? Check means a piece is attacking the enemy king: if it were any other piece, you could take it next move.
- How do you get out of check in chess? There are exactly three ways: move the king to a safe square, block the line between the attacker and your king, or take the piece that is giving check.
- What is checkmate in chess? Checkmate is a check with no way out: the king cannot move to a safe square, the check cannot be blocked, and the checking piece cannot be taken. It ends the game, and the side that gave it wins.
- Stalemate vs checkmate in chess: what is the difference? Both leave the side to move with no legal move. In checkmate their king is in check, and they lose. In stalemate their king is NOT in check, and the game is a draw.
- How do you castle in chess? Castling moves the king two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps over to the square the king crossed. It is the only move where two of your pieces move at once.
- En passant in chess: how does it work? If an enemy pawn moves two squares from its starting row and lands right beside your pawn, your pawn may take it as if it had moved only one square, landing on the square it skipped.
- Chess piece values: what is each piece worth? Pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. The king has no value because you can never trade it.
- How do you stop losing pieces in chess? Before every move, look at what your opponent's last move attacks. If a piece of yours is attacked and nothing guards it, move it to a safe square, guard it, or take the attacker.
- The two-rook checkmate (ladder mate) Two rooks can checkmate a lone king with no help from your own king. One rook cuts the king off along a row, the other gives check on the next row, and they take turns stepping toward the edge like a ladder.
Puzzles by theme · Openings with their plans · Endgames you must know
Every position in these lessons is checked by the course's rules engine. Part of Chess Path, a free chess course. Free coach for your Chess.com and Lichess games.