King
- Moves 1 square any direction.
- Cannot move into check.
- Castling once per game with a rook (see rules below).
♟️ Learn Chess: Rules & Basics |
♟️ Learn Chess: Rules & Basics
Quick, visual guide using chess symbols — board, piece moves, and special rules.
Quick Start
- White moves first. Players alternate one move at a time.
- Goal: checkmate the opponent’s king (king is attacked and cannot escape).
- Set up board so a white square is on each player’s right-hand corner (“white on right”).
Board Coordinates
Files a–h (left→right) and ranks 1–8 (near→far for White).
Tip: Remember “a1 is dark”.
Starting Position
- White♖♘♗♕♔♗♘♖ / pawns ♙ on rank 2
- Black♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜ / pawns ♟ on rank 7
- Queenson their own color (♕ on white d1, ♛ on black d8)
Board & Setup (Interactive)
Click a square to show its coordinates; click a piece name below to learn how it moves.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
Pieces & How They Move
Queen
- Any number of squares, any direction.
- Combines rook + bishop powers.
Rook
- Straight lines (ranks/files), any number of squares.
- Important for castling.
Bishop
- Diagonals, any number of squares.
- Each bishop stays on one color.
Knight
- Moves in an “L”: 2 + 1 squares.
- Can jump over pieces.
Pawn
- Moves forward 1 (or 2 from start); captures diagonally.
- Reaches last rank → promotion (usually to ♕).
- Special capture: en passant.
Special Rules
Castling
- King & rook haven’t moved.
- No pieces between them.
- King not in check, and does not pass through or land in check.
- Short (king side) or long (queen side).
En Passant & Promotion
- En passant: capture a pawn that just moved 2 squares as if it moved 1 (immediately next move only).
- Promotion: pawn reaching last rank becomes ♕, ♖, ♗, or ♘ (your choice; ♕ is most common).
Check, Mate, Stalemate
- Check: king is attacked — you must escape.
- Checkmate: in check and cannot escape — game over.
- Stalemate: not in check, no legal move — draw.
Draw Rules
- Threefold repetition.
- 50-move rule (no pawn move/capture in last 50 moves each).
- Insufficient material (e.g., ♔ vs ♔, or ♔♗ vs ♔).
Algebraic Notation (Fast Reading)
- PiecesK Q R B N (pawn has no letter)
- Squarese4, d5, a1…
- Capture× or “x” (e.g., Nxe5)
- Check+
- Checkmate#
- CastlingO-O (short), O-O-O (long)
Example: Nf3 means “knight to f3”. Bxe6+ means “bishop captures on e6 with check”.
Try It: Find the Coordinates
Tap any square on the board above; its coordinates will appear here.
Square: —