--- title: "How to Play Chess: A Beginner's Guide" url: "https://georgelichess.com/how-to-play-chess.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/how-to-play-chess" last_updated: "2026-11-09" type: "guide" summary: "Learn how to play chess from the first move: the board, how every piece moves, check and checkmate, castling, en passant and a first game move by move." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-pieces.md", "https://georgelichess.com/how-to-set-up-a-chess-board.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/en-passant.md", "https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md", "https://georgelichess.com/book.md"] --- # How to Play Chess: A Beginner's Guide > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. Learn how to play chess from the first move: the board, how every piece moves, check and checkmate, castling, en passant and a first game move by move. Chess is a game for two players on a board of 64 squares. Each side has sixteen pieces, and the goal is to checkmate the opponent's king, which means attacking it so that it cannot escape. White moves first, then the players take turns, one move each. This guide teaches every rule you need to play a full game. ## The board and the pieces The board is eight squares by eight, alternately light and dark. Place it so that each player has a light square in the right-hand corner. The columns are called files and are labeled a to h from left to right, and the rows are called ranks and are numbered 1 to 8 from White's side. Every square has a name made from its file and rank, such as e4. The page on [how to set up a chess board](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-set-up-a-chess-board.md) shows the starting position step by step. Each side has one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. A piece captures an enemy piece by moving onto its square, and the captured piece leaves the board. Only the knight can jump over other pieces. **Diagram: The position after one move each: White's pawn has moved two squares from e2 to e4 and Black has answered with the same pawn move** Moves: 1. e4 e5. Position (FEN): `rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq e6 0 2`. Arrows: e2 to e4, e7 to e5. ## How each piece moves The rook moves any number of squares in a straight line, along a file or a rank. It cannot jump over pieces. **Diagram: The rook: it goes along the file and the rank from d4 until it meets another piece** Position (FEN): `8/8/8/8/3R4/8/8/K6k w - - 0 1`. Arrows: d4 to d8, d4 to d1, d4 to a4, d4 to h4. The bishop moves any number of squares diagonally. Each bishop stays on the color of square it started on, so a player has one light-squared and one dark-squared bishop. **Diagram: The bishop: it moves along diagonals only and never changes the color of its square** Position (FEN): `K7/8/8/8/3B4/8/8/7k w - - 0 1`. Arrows: d4 to a1, d4 to h8, d4 to a7, d4 to g1. The queen combines the rook and the bishop. It moves any number of squares in a straight line or a diagonal, and it is the strongest piece. **Diagram: The queen: all the squares of a rook and a bishop from the same square** Position (FEN): `8/8/8/8/3Q4/8/8/K6k w - - 0 1`. Arrows: d4 to d8, d4 to d1, d4 to a4, d4 to h4, d4 to a7, d4 to g7, d4 to g1. The knight moves in an L shape: two squares in one direction and one square at a right angle. It is the only piece that can jump over others. **Diagram: The knight: eight possible squares, each two steps one way and one step to the side** Position (FEN): `7k/8/8/8/3N4/8/8/K7 w - - 0 1`. The king moves one square in any direction. It can never move to a square that an enemy piece attacks. The pawn moves forward one square, but on its first move it may go two. It captures one square diagonally forward, never straight ahead. A pawn that reaches the far end of the board is promoted: the player replaces it with a queen, rook, bishop or knight, and almost always chooses a queen. **Diagram: The pawn: it moves straight ahead but captures diagonally, so the pawn on e4 can take on d5** Position (FEN): `7k/8/8/3p4/4P3/8/8/K7 w - - 0 1`. Arrows: e4 to d5, e4 to e5. ## Check, checkmate and stalemate When a king is attacked it is in check, and the player must get out of check at once. There are three ways: move the king to a safe square, capture the attacking piece or block the line of the attack with another piece. A knight's check cannot be blocked. If a king is in check and there is no way out, it is checkmate and the game is over. The player who gave checkmate wins. The quickest example is the Scholar's Mate, the four-move trap that beginners should learn to stop: 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Qxf7#. It works only when Black fails to defend the pawn on f7. If a player has no legal move and the king is not in check, the game is a draw called stalemate. A game is also drawn if both players agree, if the same position occurs three times, if fifty moves pass with no pawn move or capture, or if neither side has enough pieces to checkmate. ## Special moves Three rules surprise new players. Each one is explained fully on its own page in the glossary, and here is the short version. 1. **Castling.** Once per game each king can move two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps over to the other side of the king. You may castle only if neither piece has moved, no pieces stand between them, the king is not in check and it does not pass through or land on an attacked square. See [castling](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md). 2. **En passant.** If an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands next to your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved one square, but only on the very next move. See [en passant](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/en-passant.md). 3. **Promotion.** A pawn reaching the last rank becomes any piece except a king. ## What the pieces are worth Players use point values to decide whether a trade is good: a pawn is worth one point, a knight or bishop three, a rook five and a queen nine. The king has no value because it cannot be captured. The page on [chess pieces](https://georgelichess.com/chess-pieces.md) explains the numbers and when they mislead. ## A first game, move by move Here is the start of a typical game so you can see the ideas at work: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O O-O. White opens by taking space in the center with the e-pawn, then develops the knight and the bishop. Black copies the plan. Both sides castle to keep the king safe, and the game goes on from there. **Diagram: A sound opening position: both sides have taken the center, brought out their first knights and bishops and castled** Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O O-O. Position (FEN): `r1bq1rk1/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2b1p3/2B1P3/2PP1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w - - 2 7`. Arrows: c4 to f7, c5 to f2. The three ideas in that sequence are the ones to remember. Control the center with pawns and pieces. Develop your knights and bishops early. Castle to protect your king. The page on [chess strategies for beginners](https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md) builds on them. ## Good habits from the first game Two habits cost nothing and save games. The first is the touch-move rule used in tournaments: if you touch a piece you must move it, and if you let go of a piece on a square the move is made. Practicing it at home makes you think before you touch, and it prepares you for rated games. The second is to write down your moves, in the standard notation, for the games you want to review later. A game you cannot replay is a game you cannot learn from, and a teacher can only help with the games you saved. Finally, shake hands at the end and say what you liked about the game. Chess is a game between two people who both want to improve, and the best players are those who enjoy losing to a good idea. ## Next steps Play a lot of games. Play slowly at first, and before each move ask two questions: what does my opponent threaten, and is my piece safe? Then learn the basic checkmates, the common tactics and a simple opening. A teacher helps because someone who watches you play can tell you which of the three or four habits to fix first, and a written plan after each lesson tells you what to practice. ## Frequently asked questions **Who moves first in chess?** White moves first. Players alternate moves, and a player may not skip a move. **How do you win a game of chess?** You win by checkmating the opponent's king, or when your opponent resigns or runs out of time. A game can also end in a draw. **Which piece is the most important?** The king, because the game ends when it is checkmated. The queen is the most powerful piece by value, nine points. **How long does it take to learn chess?** The rules take an hour or two to learn. Playing well enough to enjoy tournaments takes months of practice. A teacher shortens the path by pointing out your most common mistakes. ## Learn with a teacher A one-on-one lesson turns these rules into your first real games, at the pace you need. [Book a lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md). ## Related - [Chess Pieces: Names, Values and Moves](https://georgelichess.com/chess-pieces.md) - [How to Set Up a Chess Board, Step by Step](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-set-up-a-chess-board.md) - [Chess Strategies for Beginners: 7 Rules](https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md) - [Castling](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md) - [En Passant: Rule, Diagrams and Mistakes](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/en-passant.md) - [Lesson packages and prices](https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md) - [Book a lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) ## Related - [Chess Pieces: Names, Values and Moves](https://georgelichess.com/chess-pieces.md) - [How to Set Up a Chess Board, Step by Step](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-set-up-a-chess-board.md) - [Chess Strategies for Beginners: 7 Rules](https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md) - [Castling in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md) - [En Passant: Rule, Diagrams and Mistakes](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/en-passant.md) - [Chess lesson prices and packages](https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md) - [Book a chess lesson with George Li](https://georgelichess.com/book.md)