How to play Chess
Move with purpose, protect your king, and trap the opposing king in checkmate.
- Players
- 2
- First move
- White
- Goal
- Checkmate the king
- Supported
- Castling, en passant, promotion
Setup and objective
The pieces begin in the standard chess position and White moves first. Win by checkmating the opposing king: attack it so that no legal move can remove the threat.
How the pieces move
- Kings move one square in any direction; queens move any distance along ranks, files, or diagonals.
- Rooks move along ranks and files, bishops along diagonals, and knights jump in an L shape.
- Pawns move forward, capture diagonally, may advance two squares from their starting rank, and promote on the last rank.
Checks and special moves
You may never make a move that leaves your king in check. Castling is available only when the king and rook have not moved, the path is clear, and the king does not move through check. En passant and promotion are supported; choose the promotion piece before completing the move.
How the game ends
Checkmate, resignation, or a successfully claimed timeout wins. Stalemate, insufficient material, the 50-move rule, or an accepted draw offer produces a draw. Timeouts must be claimed by the waiting player; threefold repetition is not detected by this table.
Beginner strategy
- Develop knights and bishops early and contest the center.
- Castle before opening lines near your king.
- Before every move, scan checks, captures, and threats for both sides.
- Avoid moving the same opening piece repeatedly without a concrete reason.
- Watch both the total clock and any per-turn timer.