LEARN AND PLAY

How chess pieces move

White moves first, then the players take turns moving one piece at a time.

Rook: straight lines

A rook moves along a rank or file, through as many empty squares as you need.

A rook on a1 can move to a4 if a2 and a3 are empty and a4 does not contain one of your own pieces.

A bishop moves diagonally and always stays on squares of the same color.

A queen combines the moves of a rook and a bishop, but cannot jump over other pieces.

Count two squares in one direction and one square to the side, a knight can jump over pieces along the way.

A king moves to a neighboring square, provided that square is not attacked by an opponent.

The two kings can never stand next to each other.

A pawn moves one square toward the opponent's side, from its starting square it may move two squares if both are empty.

A pawn captures one square diagonally forward and never moves backward.

On reaching the far end of the board, it promotes to a queen, rook, bishop or knight.

A move is only legal if your king is safe afterward, you cannot move a piece if that leaves your king in check.

To capture, move onto an opponent's piece and remove it from the board, you cannot end a move on a square occupied by one of your own pieces.

Castling and en passant are special moves with additional conditions, this guide covers the basic moves.