The king is the most important piece because the game ends if it’s captured.
Pawns: Move 1 square forward per turn, except on their first turn, when they can move forward 2 squares. Pawns capture other pieces diagonally, moving one space diagonally forward. They cannot move backward. Rooks: Go as many squares as possible horizontally or vertically. If one of your pieces is in the way, the rook has to stop at the square just before. If one of your opponent’s pieces is in the way, capture it with your rook and stop there. Knights: Move 2 squares horizontally or vertically, then 1 square to the right or left of that second square. Knights are the only pieces that jump over other pieces and only capture an opponent’s piece if it’s on the final square of the move. Bishops: Go as many squares as possible diagonally. Like the rook, they have to stop at the square just before one of your own pieces, or capture an opponent’s piece and stop there. King: Move 1 square in any direction. You cannot move the king into any space where one of your opponent’s pieces could capture it. Queen: Go as many squares as possible in any direction. Like the rooks and bishops, the queen has to stop just before one of your own pieces, or capture an opponent’s piece and stop there.
Pawns: If your opponent moves a pawn 2 spaces on its first move so that it’s sitting right next to one of your pawns, you can capture it with your pawn on your next move—but only on your next move. This special ability is known as en passant (French for “in passing”). Pawns: If a pawn makes it all the way to the back row of the other side of the board, it gets promoted. That means you can turn that pawn into any type of piece other than a king. Most players promote a pawn to a queen because the queen is the most powerful piece. Kings and rooks: When there are no pieces between your rook and your king on the back row, you can move your king 2 spaces toward your rook. Then, immediately move your rook over to the other side of your king. This is called castling. [5] X Research source
There’s no “pass” in chess—when it’s your turn, you have to move something.
Block: Move one of your pieces in between the attacking piece and your king. Evade: Shuffle your king over one square so he’s out of the attacking piece’s line of attack. Capture: Use another piece to capture the piece your opponent is attacking with. Threat eliminated—whew!
Sometimes you play to a stalemate—that’s sort of the opposite of checkmate when neither of you has any legal moves left. This usually happens when most of the pieces have been captured. When you’re playing in a tournament, there are a few other ways a game can end, such as if you run out of time. But as a beginner, you don’t need to worry about those yet.
For example, a knight in a corner only has 2 options to move, but from a central square, it has as many as 8 options. Getting the center pawns a couple of spaces out in the first couple of moves of the game gives you a good head-start toward controlling the middle of the board.
Do this by thinking through a series of “if. . . then” statements. For example, you might think, “If I move my knight here, then it will threaten my opponent’s bishop, so they’ll probably move their bishop there. If they move their bishop there, then they could put my king in check. "
Watch the pieces your opponent moves off the back row (this is called “developing” your pieces). Any of them could potentially be used in an attack, so project them forward a few moves ahead to see if they’re a threat.
Think about leaving space open for your queen to enter later. When you do develop your queen, you want to be able to maximize her power and use her to her fullest potential.
Obviously, any sacrifice is worth it to protect your king. But before you put one of your other pieces in the line of fire, make sure there’s no other option that doesn’t involve losing a piece.
When you’re just learning how to play, don’t be afraid to ask—especially if you’re playing someone more experienced. They might not want to talk to you about it during the game, but afterward, they can help you with moves you didn’t understand.
