Chess Instructions for Beginners

Basics Board Setup Moving the Pieces King Queen Rook Bishop Knight Pawn Check and Checkmate Draws (Stalemates) Castling the King En Passant Message Board

Chess is one of the most challenging and complicated games ever created. A person can learn the rules of chess in an hour and not master it in a lifetime. This tutorial is designed to teach the rules of chess in an easy to understand manner, with the use of many visual aids. Chess is a game played by two players on a square board comprised of 64 alternating light and dark squares in eight rows of eight squares each. Vertical columns on the chessboard are called files, and the horizontal rows are called ranks. The diagonal lines are called diagonals. The chess match is won when one player maneuvers his/her pieces to checkmate the opponent (this will be discussed later). Each of the players begins the game with eight pawns and eight "major" pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks (sometimes known as "castles"), two bishops, and two knights. The term "pieces" usually refers to only the eight "major" pieces, but technically can refer to all sixteen chessmen. The two players are labeled "White" and "Black" regardless of the actual colors of the pieces. Click to see how the board is initially set up.

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