Card and board games
Chess
What the game is
Chess is a two-player strategy game played on an 8 by 8 board. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. White moves first. The aim is checkmate: attacking the opposing king so that it cannot escape.
How the pieces move
| Piece | Movement |
|---|---|
| King | One square in any direction |
| Queen | Any distance along a row, column or diagonal |
| Rook | Any distance along a row or column |
| Bishop | Any distance along a diagonal |
| Knight | In an L shape: two squares one way, then one square at a right angle. It can jump over pieces |
| Pawn | Forward one square, or two on its first move. It captures one square diagonally forward |
The three special moves
Castling
The king moves two squares towards a rook, and the rook jumps to the other side of it. Neither piece may have moved before, and the king may not be in, pass through or land on an attacked square.
En passant
If a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved one square, but only on the very next move.
Promotion
A pawn that reaches the far side of the board becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
Reading notation
Most books and websites use algebraic notation. Files are lettered a to h from White's left, ranks numbered 1 to 8 from White's side. "Nf3" means a knight moves to f3; "exd5" means the pawn on the e-file captures on d5; "O-O" is castling on the king's side.
Editor's notes
New players improve fastest by learning a few basic checkmates (king and queen against king, then king and rook against king) before studying openings.
Entry last checked: October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Use the contact page.