How to Set Up the Chess Board
Before you can play chess, you need to set up the board correctly. The chess board has 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid, alternating between light and dark colors. Here's how to set it up:
- Board orientation: Place the board so that each player has a white (light) square in their bottom-right corner. Remember: "white on right."
- Rooks: Place in the corners (a1, h1 for White; a8, h8 for Black).
- Knights: Place next to the rooks (b1, g1 for White; b8, g8 for Black).
- Bishops: Place next to the knights (c1, f1 for White; c8, f8 for Black).
- Queen: Place on her own color (White queen on d1 light square, Black queen on d8 dark square). Remember: "Queen on her color."
- King: Place on the remaining square next to the queen (e1 for White, e8 for Black).
- Pawns: Place all eight pawns on the second rank for each player (rank 2 for White, rank 7 for Black).
White always moves first. After that, players alternate turns. You cannot skip a turn—you must make a move if it's your turn.
How Do You Play Chess? Understanding Piece Movements
The key to learning how to play chess is understanding how each piece moves. Each piece has unique movement rules:
The King
The king is the most important piece—if it's checkmated, you lose. The king moves one square in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. While not powerful offensively, protecting your king is the entire point of the game. The king also participates in a special move called castling (explained below).
The Queen
The queen is the most powerful piece. She can move any number of squares in any direction—horizontally, vertically, or diagonally—as long as no pieces block her path. Because of her power, losing your queen early often leads to losing the game. Use her aggressively but don't expose her to capture.
The Rook
Rooks move any number of squares horizontally or vertically (but not diagonally). They're very powerful in open positions and especially in endgames. Rooks also participate in castling. Many beginners underuse their rooks—get them active by moving them to open files (columns with no pawns).
The Bishop
Bishops move any number of squares diagonally. Each player starts with two bishops: one on light squares, one on dark squares. A bishop can never change its square color. Together, the two bishops control both colors and can be very powerful. Having "the bishop pair" (both bishops) is often advantageous.
The Knight
Knights move in an "L-shape": two squares in one direction and one square perpendicular (or vice versa). The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. This makes knights tricky—they can reach squares other pieces can't. Knights are best in closed positions with many pawns blocking other pieces.
The Pawn
Pawns are the most complex despite being the least valuable. They move forward one square (or two squares from their starting position). Pawns capture diagonally, not straight ahead. If a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board, it promotes to any other piece (usually a queen). Pawns also have a special capture called en passant.
Practice these movements with our interactive piece movement lessons.
How Can I Play Chess? Special Rules You Must Know
Beyond basic piece movements, chess has several special rules that every player must understand:
Castling
Castling is a special move involving the king and a rook. It's the only move where two pieces move at once. The king moves two squares toward a rook, and that rook jumps to the other side of the king. Castling helps protect your king while activating your rook.
Castling rules: Neither the king nor the rook can have moved previously. No pieces can be between them. The king cannot be in check, pass through check, or end in check. Learn castling with our interactive castling lesson.
En Passant
En passant ("in passing" in French) is a special pawn capture. When an opponent moves their pawn two squares forward from its starting position and it lands beside your pawn, you can capture it as if it had only moved one square. This capture must be made immediately on your next move, or the right is lost forever.
Pawn Promotion
When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board, it must immediately be promoted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. You can choose any piece regardless of what pieces you've lost. In 99% of cases, choose the queen—it's the most powerful. Yes, you can have multiple queens!
Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate
Check: When a king is under attack, it's in "check." You must get out of check immediately—either move the king, block the attack, or capture the attacking piece. You cannot make any other move while in check.
Checkmate: When a king is in check and cannot escape, it's checkmate—the game is over. The player who delivers checkmate wins.
Stalemate: When a player has no legal moves but is NOT in check, it's stalemate—a draw. Neither player wins. Avoid stalemating your opponent when you're winning!
How to Play Chess: Basic Strategy for Beginners
Now that you know the rules, here are fundamental strategies to start winning:
1. Control the Center
The four central squares (d4, d5, e4, e5) are the most important on the board. Pieces in the center control more squares and can reach both sides quickly. Move your central pawns (d and e pawns) early to claim the center.
2. Develop Your Pieces
"Development" means getting your pieces off their starting squares to active positions. In the opening, try to move each piece once before moving any piece twice. Get your knights and bishops out before your queen. Developed pieces are useful pieces.
3. Castle Early
Castling does two things: protects your king behind pawns and activates your rook. Try to castle within the first 10 moves. A king stuck in the center is vulnerable to attacks.
4. Don't Hang Pieces
"Hanging" a piece means leaving it undefended where it can be captured for free. Before every move, ask: "Is this piece protected? Can my opponent take it?" Most beginner games are decided by who hangs fewer pieces.
5. Look for Tactics
Tactics are short combinations that win material or checkmate. Common patterns include forks (attacking two pieces at once), pins (a piece can't move because it would expose a more valuable piece), and skewers (attacking a valuable piece that must move, exposing another). Practice with our tactical puzzles.
Piece Values in Chess
Understanding relative piece values helps you decide when to trade pieces:
- Pawn: 1 point
- Knight: 3 points
- Bishop: 3 points (slightly stronger than knight in open positions)
- Rook: 5 points
- Queen: 9 points
- King: Infinite (game ends if checkmated)
Trading a bishop (3) for a rook (5) gains you 2 points of material—good trade. Trading your queen (9) for a bishop (3) loses 6 points—terrible trade. Always count before trading!
How to Practice Playing Chess
The best way to learn is by playing. Here's how to practice effectively:
- Play against AI bots: Our 11 AI opponents range from complete beginner (400 ELO) to superhuman (3600 ELO). Start at your level and work up.
- Solve puzzles: Tactical puzzles build pattern recognition. Even 10 minutes daily makes a huge difference.
- Analyze your games: Use our AI game analyzer to see where you went wrong and what you should have played.
- Study openings: Our opening database covers 112 openings with explanations.
- Take our ELO test: Estimate your rating to track your progress.
Start Playing Chess Today
You now know everything needed to start playing chess. The rules are simple, but the strategy is infinitely deep—that's what makes chess so fascinating. Grandmasters spend lifetimes studying and still find new things to learn.
Begin with our interactive lessons to practice each concept, then challenge our beginner AI bots. Use the chess calculator when you're stuck to see the best move. Most importantly—have fun and don't fear making mistakes. Every grandmaster was once a beginner who refused to give up.
