Chess is an ancient Indian game of strategy, played by two individuals on an 8x8 grid. The objective is to maneuver one's pieces so as to put the opposing king in "checkmate". This book will cover the basic pieces of chess, before going on to some more advanced topics.

© Copyright 2003–2006 contributing authors, all rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Document License, version 1.2. A copy of this is included in the section entitled GNU Free Document License.

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• Playing The Game
• Notating The Game
• Tactics
• Tactics Exercises
• Strategy
• Basic Openings
• Sample chess game
• The Endgame
• Variants
• Tournaments
• Optional homework
• GNU Free Documentation License

Chess, unlike many other games, does not involve direct chance such as the roll of a dice or which card is drawn. The outcome completely depends on the decisions of the players. However, because of its vast complexity, the far-reaching consequences of some decisions are practically unforeseeable.

One player ("White") has the white pieces while the other ("Black") has the black pieces. Sometimes the colors are not black and white (for instance, light and dark, or yellow and blue), but they generally contrast each other. In friendly games the choice of colors can be made by any method, such as flipping a coin. If there is no coin at hand, another typical way of deciding would be to conceal a black piece in one hand and a white piece in the other and ask one's opponent to select a hand. The colored piece selected will be the opponent's color. In competitive games the players are assigned their colors.

Once all the pieces have been arranged, White (or the lighter color) makes the first move. White always makes the first move; this is important for notation, and any chess player will insist upon it. After White has made the move, Black will then make a move. The gameplay will continue in alternating fashion, White making a move, followed by Black.

• A move consists of moving a single piece, in accordance with its rules of movement, to a square that is unoccupied or occupied by an enemy piece. A player may never move a piece onto a square already occupied by another of his or her own pieces.
  • Exception: There is a special move called "castling" where two pieces, a rook and the king, are moved; see below.
• If a piece is moved onto a square occupied by an enemy piece, the latter piece is removed from play and the first piece replaces it. The removed piece is said to have been captured or taken.
  • Exception: In en passant capture, a pawn moves to an unoccupied square but still captures another pawn "in passing"; see below.
• Most pieces move and capture opponent pieces in the same way.
  • Exception: The pawn has separate rules for moving and capturing opponent pieces.
• Most pieces may only make a move to a non-adjacent square if all the intervening squares are vacant (pieces may not 'jump over' other pieces).
  • Exception: The knight can move to any suitable final square regardless of occupants of other squares.
  • Exception: In castling, a king and a rook jump over each other.
• No player may make a move that leaves their own king "in check" (see below).
• The player must always make a move when it is his or her turn. In other words, he or she cannot choose not to make a move. If no legal move is possible the game ends in a draw (see below), except when the king is in check - this is called checkmate, and is usually how the opposing player wins.

Also, when a pawn moves to a square at the opposite end of the board, it becomes a different piece (pawn promotion); all of these exceptions are covered below in more detail.

Traditionally, the game is played on a board of 64 alternating black and white squares turned with a white square to each player's near right-hand corner. "White on right" is a helpful saying to remember this convention. The light and dark squares on the chessboard and the light and dark chess pieces are traditionally referred to as "white" and "black" respectively, although in modern chess sets almost any colors may be used (as long as they are not the same colors.)

The horizontal rows of squares are called ranks and are numbered 1-8; the vertical columns of squares are called files and given the letters a-h. This way any single square can be easily identified by its rank and file, making it possible to record games by writing down the starting and ending position of the piece that moves every turn.

A chess diagram is always printed from the White player's perspective.

The movement of the individual pieces is described below. In all the board diagrams shown, the squares to which the piece in question can move are indicated with x's.

Pawns can move one square straight forward, or optionally and on their first move only, two squares straight forward. The pawn is the only piece that can't move backwards. This piece is worth 1 point.

The pawn can move one square diagonally forward to capture a piece, but cannot capture a piece by moving straight forward. For this reason, two opposing pawns on a file may become blocked by each other. In the first diagram below, legal capture moves for the white pawn are indicated with black circles.

To capture means to displace a piece, meaning, to replace the captured with the capturer.

In the second diagram below the White pawn is prevented from moving forwards by the Black pawn immediately in front of it (in the d-file) which it cannot capture, but it can capture the adjacent Black pawn by moving diagonally forward as seen in the last diagram.

The pawn is the only piece that moves and captures differently.

The knight has a unique move that allows it to flank the other pieces. The easiest way to describe this move is that he moves to a square of the opposite color from the one he's on that is exactly two squares away from him. This piece is worth 3 points.

Another way to visualize the move is this: of the 16 squares that are 2 away from a knight he reaches the 8 that are of the opposite color of the square he's on and the other 8 can be reached by a queen where she on his square.

It is important to remember that the knight moves in a straight line like all the other pieces, it's just along lines of movement no other piece uses. Consider this comparison: A queen moves ordinally along the ranks and files - North, East, South, and West on a compass rose; and she also moves diagonally - Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest on a compass rose. The knight moves along the wind lines of the rose - North by Northeast, East by Northeast, and so on. These lines pass between the squares adjacent to the knight and pass through the middle of the squares that are one square away from the knight. The knight moves to the first square its line of movement passes through the middle of, so like the King the knight has eight squares he can move to when he is near the center of the board. Since the knight is moving between the squares adjacent to him pieces do not hinder his move whether they are allied or enemy.

The knight captures any opponent's piece that occupies a square it can move to by removing that piece from the board and placing the knight in that square. An important consequence of the knight's use of wind lines is that it can attack (that is, threaten to capture) pieces without being threatened in return so long as they are not also knights. The reverse is also true - pieces attacking a knight are never threatened by it.

The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally. The bishop may not jump over any piece of either color.

The bishop is restricted to the color of squares on which it began the game. Each player starts out with one light-square bishop that moves on the light colored squares, and one dark-square bishop that moves on the dark colored squares. In the diagram below, the bishop stands on a light square and can only move to other light squares. This piece worth 3 points.

The bishop captures any opponent's piece that it encounters during the movement described above, and then occupies the captured piece's square. In the diagram above the bishop may take any of the black queens. Notice that bishop may not move (jump) to squares behind or capture pieces hiding behind the queens.

The rook can be moved any number of squares horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally. Like the bishop, the rook cannot jump over any pieces, except for "castling". This piece is worth 5 points.

If the rook attempts to occupy a space already occupied by an opponent's piece, it captures the piece. In the diagram above the rook may take any of the black queens.

The queen is the most powerful piece, being able to move any number of squares in any lateral or diagonal direction. It is best described as the combination of a rook's and bishop's movement capabilities.This piece is worth 9 points.

The queen captures any opponent's piece that it encounters during the movement described above, and then occupies the captured piece's square. In the diagram above the queen may take any of the black queens.

The king can move one square at a time in any direction, as long as doing so does not place himself in check (see below). This piece is worth ∞ points, because if you lose the king, you lose the game. (Note that the king would be 3.5 points as an attacker/defender.)

The king may capture any opponent's piece adjacent to it, as long as doing so does not place himself in check (see below). In the diagrams above the king may take any of the black knights.

The king is the most important piece belonging to each player, though not the most powerful. If a player moves a piece such that he threatens to capture his opponent's king in the next move, that king is said to be in check.

If a player's king is in check, he must immediately remove the check by moving the king, blocking the check with another piece, or capturing the checking piece.

In the diagram below black's rook has checked the white king. White may avoid the check by moving the king one step sideways, blocking the check by putting the rook between the attacking black rook and the white king, or capture the black rook using the white bishop. Other normally legal moves, like moving one of the pawns, are illegal in this position since they will not remove the check.

In a friendly game, a check is usually announced by saying check after the move is completed.

If the king is placed in check and can not escape, it is said to have been checkmated (or "mated" for short). The first player to checkmate the opponent's king wins the game. Note that the king is never actually captured, since it is obliged to move out of check whenever possible (and the game ends when it is impossible). In the diagram below white has no options to escape the check from black's rook, he is therefore checkmated.

Players may not make any move which allows their king to be captured in the next move, i.e. places their own king in check. Thus two kings may never occupy adjacent squares, since they would have put themselves in check by moving there. This is called the "opposition" and is indispensable when, for instance, you are using a queen or rook to checkmate a king.

The white king in the following diagram cannot move upwards or to the left since it would be in check from the bishop, or diagonally downwards which would leave it adjacent to the black king. Also, as no piece is threatening it if it fails to move, the king is not currently in check. Similarly, the black king cannot move diagonally upwards as that would put it next to the White king.

The diagram below shows a position where the white bishop's movement is restricted by the same rule; the bishop can not be moved since the move would let black capture the white king in his next move. The white king on the other hand may move to any of the adjacent squares.

If a pawn makes it to one of the eight squares along the far edge of the board from their initial position, the pawn is "promoted". Upon reaching the far rank the player exchanges the pawn with either a queen, a rook, a bishop, or a knight. The player's move ends when the new piece occupies the promoted square.

The new piece need not be a previously captured piece. Thus a player can have more than one queen, and more than two rooks, bishops or knights on the board. The player may never have more than one king, since the pawn can not be promoted to a king. In theory it is possible to get up to nine queens, or ten rooks, bishops or knights since there are eight pawns to promote. In practice however the pawn is usually promoted to a queen, since it is the most powerful piece, and it is rare for a player to have more than two queens on the board. If an extra queen is not at hand, an upside-down rook is usually used as a substitute.

Castling is a move involving the king and either of the rooks. Castling performed with the king's rook is called kingside castling, performed with the queen's rook is called queenside castling. A castling is typically done to move the king to a protective 'castle' surrounded by three pawns and a rook.

Subject to restrictions detailed below, a player may move his king two squares towards the rook, and subsequently, on the same turn, move the rook adjacent to but on the opposite side of the king, (onto the square over which the king has just passed).

The restrictions specific to castling are:

1. Neither the king nor the participating rook may have moved previously in the game
2. The king must not be in check at the start of the move, though it may have been in check previously in the game.
3. The square over which the king passes must not be under attack ('in check') from an enemy piece. (This would expose the king to a "check" in passing.) The rook(s) may be under attack, or the queens' rooks may pass through an attacked queens' knight square.
4. The king must not be in check at the end of the move. (Also applies to all normal moves.)
5. The squares between the king and rook must be vacant.
6. The king can also only castle horizontally.

The diagrams below show examples of positions where castling is not legal.

Note that the king must be the first piece moved and it must be moved two squares before it is released. If the rook is touched or moved first, then the king must stay where it is. This rule mainly applies in "strict rules of chess" where if a piece is touched, it must be moved. Touching the rook first indicates a rook only move, while releasing the king after one square indicates a king only move. Moving the king two squares is not a legal move by itself, and indicates a castling move.

En passant is French for "in passing"; you capture an enemy pawn as it is passing you.

When a pawn on its first move advances two squares onto the same rank as an opposing pawn on an adjacent file, this opposing pawn may, on that player's next move only, capture the advancing pawn as though it had only moved one square (provided the move is otherwise legal). The pawn's ability to move two squares on their first move was a relatively late addition to the game of chess. En Passant was introduced to prevent abuses of the new rule.

In the following example, the Black pawn advances two squares, and is captured by the White pawn which moves diagonally forwards and to the right (as if the Black pawn had moved only one square forward and been there). This move is only allowed on the turn in which the option is presented.

In the initial position each side has eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen and a king arranged as shown in the diagram below. Note that the only pieces on either side which can initially move are the pawns and knights.

Beginners often set up the board incorrectly; it is a complex position to remember. The following mnemonics may help you remember where the pieces go.

• White on the Right It is important that the bottom-right-hand square is light-colored.
• Knights live in castles One knight is placed next to each rook (rooks look like the towers of a castle, and are sometimes [incorrectly] even called castles.)
• Queens on their color OR The dress matches the shoes The White Queen goes on a White Square, Black Queen goes on a Black Square
• Bishops are advisers to the Royalty Bishops surround the King and Queen.
• White King on the Right From the White Player's perspective, both Kings are on the right, and from the Black Player's perspective, the Kings are on the left.

If the ranks and files are printed on the board, the following rules may be helpful:

• White's pieces should be placed on the 1st and 2nd rank, and Black's pieces should be placed on the 7th and 8th rank.
• The Queens should be positioned on the d-file (D for Dame).

Play continues to alternate between White and Black until one of the following outcomes is reached:

• One player's king is checkmated. The game is lost by that player.
• In a competitive game, one player runs out of time. The game is lost by that player (with two important exceptions, see draws below).
• One player resigns, which is equivalent to quitting the game. A player may resign on either his or his opponent's turn. Resignation is often symbolized by the resigning player tipping over his king.

• The player to move has been stalemated, meaning that he has no legal move and is not in check.
• Both players agree to draw the game. Either player may offer a draw to the opponent upon completion of his move. If the offer is accepted, the game is drawn. If the offer is rejected, the game will continue.
• A player can claim a draw with if any of the following are true:
  • If the exact same position occurs or will occur three times with the same player to move, the player on move may claim a draw by threefold repetition. Note that the same set of moves must be available for each player (including castling and en passant).
  • No pawn has moved and no piece was captured in the last 50 moves.
  • The opponent does not have sufficient material to checkmate him by any legal sequence of moves.
  • Both players have run out of time in a competitive game.
  • One player has run out of time in a competitive game, but the opponent does not have sufficient pieces to checkmate him by any legal sequence of moves.

The diagrams above shows example of some of the draw rules:

• Stalemate: Since black can not move the pawn or the king without placing himself in self-check, the game results in a stalemate.
• Threefold repetition: Black has checked white, and can continue to check white forever by moving the rook back and forth between f2 and f1. The same position will thus occur again and again.
• 50 move rule: White has material advantage and enough material to mate, but if black plays correctly black will use his bishop to avoid being mated forever.
• Insufficient mating material: White has material advantage, but not enough material to mate.

Generally, chess games at tournaments are conducted under the following rules:

• Touch-move rule - If a player touches his own piece, he must move it, and if a player touches an opponents piece, he must capture it (unless the capture is not possible). If he releases a piece on a square, the move is completed and can't be taken back. If you need to center a piece on its square, it is traditional to say j'adoube (I adjust).
• Be silent when your opponent is on the move - You can only adjust pieces, offer a draw, or claim a draw when it is their turn to move.

A friendly game may be played in any way that is mutually agreeable. Generally it is considerate to avoid distracting your opponent.

• Capture - To move one's piece into the same square as one of one's opponent's pieces. The opponent's piece is removed from the board.
• Check - The king is 'in check' when it is being attacked by an enemy piece.
• Checkmate - The player whose turn it is can make no legal move to get his king out of check.
• Stalemate - The player whose turn it is can make no legal move, but the king is not in check.

Chess/Notating The Game

Chess/Tactics

Chess/Tactics Exercises

Chess/Strategy

Chess/Basic Openings

Chess/Sample chess game

Chess/The Endgame

Chess/Variants

Chess/Tournaments

These optional homework problems will test your ability to apply chess concepts. Try them and learn!

Chess/Optional homework/1

Chess/Optional homework/2

Chess/Optional homework/3

Chess/Optional homework/4

Chess/Optional homework/Solutions

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