Every Chess Rule Explained
Whether you're completely new to chess or need a refresher on the finer rules, this guide covers everything: how each piece moves, special rules (castling, en passant, promotion), draw conditions, and tournament etiquette.
How pieces move
- King: One square in any direction.
- Queen: Any number of squares in any direction.
- Rook: Any number of squares along ranks or files.
- Bishop: Any number of squares diagonally.
- Knight: L-shaped (2+1), can jump over pieces.
- Pawn: One square forward (two on first move), captures diagonally. Try these moves against the computer.
Special rules
- Castling: King moves two squares towards a rook; the rook jumps over. Conditions: neither piece has moved, no pieces between, king not in/through/into check.
- En passant: If a pawn advances two squares past an enemy pawn, the enemy pawn can capture it "in passing".
- Promotion: A pawn reaching the last rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.
Draw conditions
- Stalemate: No legal moves but not in check = draw.
- Threefold repetition: Same position three times = draw claim.
- 50-move rule: 50 moves without a capture or pawn move = draw claim.
- Insufficient material: K vs K, K+B vs K, K+N vs K = automatic draw.
- Agreement: Both players agree to a draw.
Checkmate
Check: The king is attacked. You MUST get out of check. Checkmate: The king is attacked AND there's no escape, game over. The goal of chess is to deliver checkmate. Study every checkmate pattern.