How do you set up a chessboard?

Turn the board so the bottom-right square is light. Put rooks in the corners, then knights, then bishops. The queen goes on the remaining square of her own color (white queen on d1, a light square) and the king beside her on e1. Fill the second row with pawns and mirror everything for Black.

Can a pawn move backward in chess?

No. A pawn only ever moves forward, one square at a time, or two on its first move if both squares are empty. It captures one square diagonally forward. Once it reaches the far end of the board it is promoted, and the new piece can move backward like any other.

En passant is a pawn capture. When an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands right beside your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one square, moving your pawn diagonally behind it. You must do it on your very next move or lose the right.

What are the rules for castling?

Move the king two squares toward a rook, then put that rook on the square the king crossed. Neither piece may have moved yet, and every square between them must be empty. You can't castle while in check, and the king may not pass through or land on an attacked square.

What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?

In checkmate the king is in check and has no legal way out, so that player loses. In stalemate the king is not in check, but the player to move has no legal move at all. Stalemate ends the game as a draw.

Can you promote a pawn to a second queen?

Yes. When a pawn reaches the last rank you must swap it for a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color, and you can choose a queen even if you still have one. The choice doesn't depend on which pieces were captured. You can't keep it as a pawn.

What is the fastest checkmate in chess?

Fool's mate takes two moves: 1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4#. White's pawn moves open the diagonal from h4 to the king on e1, and nothing can block or capture the queen. It only happens if White plays very badly, but it shows how weak early king-side pawn moves can be.

How does the 50-move rule work?

A player can claim a draw when each side has made 50 moves in a row with no capture and no pawn move. Under FIDE rules the game is drawn automatically at 75 moves each. The count starts over after every capture or pawn move.

How to Play Chess: Rules, Moves and Setup

1Object of the game

Checkmate your opponent's king. That means attacking it so that no move by your opponent can get it out of attack. Kings are never captured. A game can also end when a player resigns, runs out of time on a clock, or the position becomes a draw.

2Setup

Turn the board so each player has a light square in the near right-hand corner. The usual reminder is "light on the right." The eight columns are files a to h, starting from White's left, and the eight rows are ranks 1 to 8, starting from White's side.
Put rooks in the corners (a1 and h1 for White), knights next to them (b1 and g1), and bishops next to the knights (c1 and f1).
Place the queen on her own color. The white queen goes on d1, which is a light square, and the black queen goes on d8, which is dark. The kings take the last square on the back row: e1 for White and e8 for Black.
Put all eight pawns on the row in front of the pieces: rank 2 for White and rank 7 for Black. When you're done, each queen faces the other queen and each king faces the other king across the board.
White moves first. In casual games, players often hide a white pawn in one fist and a black pawn in the other and let the opponent pick a hand.

3The play

On your turn you move exactly one piece. Passing is not allowed. Castling is the one move that shifts two pieces at once.
The king moves one square in any direction. The queen moves any number of squares in a straight line along a rank, file or diagonal. The rook moves any number of squares along a rank or file. The bishop moves any number of squares diagonally and stays on its starting color all game.
The knight moves in an L: two squares along a rank or file, then one square to the side. It is the only piece that jumps over others, so a crowded board doesn't stop it.
Pawns move straight forward one square, or two squares on their very first move if both squares are empty. They capture one square diagonally forward, never straight ahead, and they never move backward.
Capture by moving onto a square occupied by an enemy piece and removing it. Only the knight can jump; every other piece stops when something is in its way.
You may never make a move that leaves your own king under attack. If your king is in check, your move must get it out of check by moving the king, capturing the attacker, or blocking the line of attack.

4End of a hand

The game is one continuous battle with no rounds. It ends on checkmate, resignation, a loss on time, or a draw. Draws include stalemate, agreement, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule, and positions where nobody has enough material to mate. After a game, players usually swap colors for the next one.

5Scoring

Chess has no points during play. The table shows how a single game can end. In rated play, FIDE scores each game as 1 point for a win, ½ for a draw and 0 for a loss.

For	Points
Checkmate (king attacked, no legal escape)	Win: 1 point
Opponent resigns or runs out of time	Win: 1 point
Stalemate (player to move has no legal move and is not in check)	Draw: ½ each
Draw by agreement	Draw: ½ each
Same position occurs three times (claimed)	Draw: ½ each
50 moves by each side with no capture and no pawn move (claimed)	Draw: ½ each
Neither side can possibly checkmate (e.g. king vs. king, or king and knight vs. king)	Draw: ½ each
Loss	0 points

Under FIDE rules, a player must claim a threefold repetition or 50-move draw. The game is drawn automatically when the same position appears five times or when 75 moves by each side pass with no capture or pawn move. Captured pieces are not scored, though beginners often count a pawn as 1, a knight or bishop as 3, a rook as 5 and a queen as 9 to judge trades.

More detail: how to set up a chessboard.

6Winning

You win the moment you give checkmate, even if you have fewer pieces. You also win if your opponent resigns or their clock runs out while you still have a way to mate. Matches are usually a series of games scored 1, ½ and 0. The player with more points at the end wins.

7A worked hand

White opens 1. e4, pushing the king's pawn from e2 to e4 (two squares, allowed on its first move). Black answers 1... Nf6, the knight jumping from g8 to f6 and attacking the pawn. White pushes 2. e5, hitting the knight, and Black moves a pawn two squares, 2... d5, from d7 to d5. That pawn passed d6 and now stands right beside the white pawn on e5. White captures en passant with 3. exd6: the pawn moves diagonally from e5 to d6, and the black pawn on d5 is removed. This capture was legal only on this exact move. Black recaptures 3... exd6 with the pawn from e7, so material is even again. White develops 4. Nf3 (g1 to f3), Black plays 4... Be7 (f8 to e7), White plays 5. Bc4 (f1 to c4). Black now castles kingside, 5... O-O: the king goes from e8 to g8 and the rook from h8 to f8. That works because f8 and g8 are empty, neither piece has moved, and the king isn't passing through check. White castles the same way with 6. O-O, king e1 to g1 and rook h1 to f1.

8House rules

The rules above are the version most US players use. These are the variations you are most likely to run into; settle them before the first deal.

Touch-move: If you touch one of your pieces on purpose, you must move it, and if you touch an enemy piece you must capture it if you legally can. This is the official tournament rule under FIDE's Laws, but many families play take-backs at home. Say "I adjust" before straightening a piece.
Take-backs: In friendly or teaching games, players often let a beginner take back an obvious blunder. Agree on it before you start so nobody argues mid-game.
Promotion to a second queen: The rules let you promote to a queen even if your first queen is still on the board. Home sets rarely include a spare, so people use an upside-down rook or a coin. Some casual players wrongly limit promotion to captured pieces only.
Speed chess: With a chess clock, each player gets a fixed time for all their moves, such as 5 or 10 minutes. Letting your clock run out loses the game unless your opponent has no possible way to checkmate you.
Stalemate as a win: Some kids' games count stalemate as a win for the side that caused it. Under the official FIDE Laws, stalemate is always a draw.

9Mistakes people make

The board goes with a light square in each player's near right corner, and the queen starts on her own color: white queen on d1, black queen on d8.
Stalemate is a draw, not a win. If the player to move is not in check but has no legal move, the game ends immediately in a draw.
You can't castle out of check, through a square attacked by the enemy, or into check. You also can't castle with a king or rook that has already moved.
En passant is only allowed on the very next move after the enemy pawn moves two squares. If you wait a move, the chance is gone.

10Playing better

Get your knights and bishops off the back row early and fight for the four center squares (d4, e4, d5, e5). Pieces in the center reach more squares.
Castle within the first ten moves or so. It tucks your king behind pawns and brings a rook toward the middle.
Don't move your queen out early. It gets chased around by cheaper pieces while your opponent develops with tempo.
Before every move, check what your opponent's last move attacks. Most beginner games are decided by a piece left hanging, not by deep plans.
Trade when you're ahead in material and avoid trades when you're behind. Fewer pieces make an extra pawn or piece easier to convert.
Learn the basic mates with king and queen against king, and king and rook against king. Many won games get drawn because the winning side can't finish.

Chess: questions people ask

How do you set up a chessboard?: Turn the board so the bottom-right square is light. Put rooks in the corners, then knights, then bishops. The queen goes on the remaining square of her own color (white queen on d1, a light square) and the king beside her on e1. Fill the second row with pawns and mirror everything for Black.
Can a pawn move backward in chess?: No. A pawn only ever moves forward, one square at a time, or two on its first move if both squares are empty. It captures one square diagonally forward. Once it reaches the far end of the board it is promoted, and the new piece can move backward like any other.
What is en passant?: En passant is a pawn capture. When an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands right beside your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one square, moving your pawn diagonally behind it. You must do it on your very next move or lose the right.
What are the rules for castling?: Move the king two squares toward a rook, then put that rook on the square the king crossed. Neither piece may have moved yet, and every square between them must be empty. You can't castle while in check, and the king may not pass through or land on an attacked square.
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?: In checkmate the king is in check and has no legal way out, so that player loses. In stalemate the king is not in check, but the player to move has no legal move at all. Stalemate ends the game as a draw.
Can you promote a pawn to a second queen?: Yes. When a pawn reaches the last rank you must swap it for a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color, and you can choose a queen even if you still have one. The choice doesn't depend on which pieces were captured. You can't keep it as a pawn.
What is the fastest checkmate in chess?: Fool's mate takes two moves: 1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4#. White's pawn moves open the diagonal from h4 to the king on e1, and nothing can block or capture the queen. It only happens if White plays very badly, but it shows how weak early king-side pawn moves can be.
How does the 50-move rule work?: A player can claim a draw when each side has made 50 moves in a row with no capture and no pawn move. Under FIDE rules the game is drawn automatically at 75 moves each. The count starts over after every capture or pawn move.

Sources

Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2023, FIDE Handbook. Read September 29, 2026.
The Evolution of Modern Chess Rules: Castling, US Chess Federation. Read September 29, 2026.
Rules of chess, Wikipedia. Read September 29, 2026.

Also on the table: Checkers, Backgammon, Mancala, Cribbage.