1. Learn How Each Piece Moves
Every chess piece moves in a unique way:
Pawn: Moves forward one square but captures diagonally. On its first move, a pawn can move two squares forward. When a pawn reaches the other side of the board, it promotes to another piece (usually a queen).
Rook: Moves horizontally or vertically as far as it wants.
Knight: Moves in an "L" shape — two squares in one direction, then one square perpendicular. It’s the only piece that can jump over others.
Bishop: Moves diagonally any number of squares. Each bishop stays on the same color square for the whole game.
Queen: Combines the movements of a rook and bishop — moves horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
King: Moves one square in any direction. The king is the most important piece — if it's checkmated (cannot escape a threat), you lose.
Special Notes on Pawns
Promotion: When a pawn reaches the last rank (8th for White, 1st for Black), it must promote to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight — most players choose a queen for its power.
En Passant: A special capture where a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting position, landing next to an enemy pawn. The opponent can capture the pawn as if it had moved only one square forward — but this must happen immediately on the next move.
2. Set Up the Board Correctly
Place the board so that each player has a light-colored square on their right.
Pawns go on the second rank (row 2 for White, row 7 for Black).
Rooks go in the corners.
Knights go next to the rooks.
Bishops go next to the knights.
Queens go on their own color — White queen on a light square, Black queen on a dark square.
Kings go in the remaining squares.
3. Understand "Check" and "Checkmate"
Check: When your king is under threat. You must escape check by moving the king, blocking the attack, or capturing the threatening piece.
Checkmate: If you can't escape the check, you’re checkmated and lose the game.
Stalemate: If a player has no legal moves but isn’t in check, the game is a draw.
4. Learn Castling
Castling is a move that helps get your king to safety and activates your rook. It’s the only move where you move two pieces at once.
Conditions for Castling:
Neither the king nor the rook can have moved before.
The squares between the king and rook must be empty.
The king cannot be in check, move through check, or end up in check.
How to Castle:
Kingside castling: The king moves two squares toward the rook, and the rook jumps over the king.
Queenside castling: The king moves two squares toward the queenside rook, and that rook jumps over the king.
5. Take Turns and Play the Game
White moves first, then players alternate turns.
Each turn, you must make a move — you can't skip your turn.
6. Record Your Moves (Algebraic Notation)
Each square has a coordinate (e.g., e4, d5). Each piece is represented by a letter:
K = King
Q = Queen
R = Rook
B = Bishop
N = Knight (because "K" is for king)
Pawns have no letter — just the square they move to (e.g., "e4").
Example moves:
e4 — Pawn moves to e4
Nf3 — Knight moves to f3
Bxg7 — Bishop captures on g7
O-O — Kingside castling
O-O-O — Queenside castling
7. Know the Ways a Game Can End
Checkmate — One player’s king has no escape from check.
Stalemate — A player has no legal moves but isn’t in check — it’s a draw.
Draw by agreement — Both players agree to a draw.
Threefold repetition — The same exact position happens three times, and a draw can be claimed.
50-move rule — If 50 moves happen with no pawn moves or captures, a draw can be claimed.
Insufficient material — If neither player has enough material to checkmate (e.g., just kings are left), it's a draw.
8. Basic Strategy Tips
Control the center of the board early (squares e4, d4, e5, d5).
Develop your knights and bishops before moving the queen.
Castle early to protect your king.
Avoid moving the same piece multiple times in the opening.
Don’t bring your queen out too early — she’s vulnerable.
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