Printable Chess rules

Chess in one page

2 players · chessboard · 32 pieces

Each player starts with 16 pieces, and White moves first. Players take turns moving one piece, capturing by landing on an enemy piece. You win by checkmating the other king, meaning it is attacked and has no legal way out.

In brief

• Light square on each player's near right
• Back row: R N B Q K B N R; queen on her own color
• Pawns fill the second row; White moves first
• King 1 square any way · Queen any distance, any line
• Rook: straight lines · Bishop: diagonals
• Knight: L shape (2 + 1), jumps over pieces
• Pawn: forward 1 (2 on first move), captures diagonally
• Castle: king 2 squares toward rook, rook hops over
• En passant: only on the very next move
• Pawn on last rank becomes Q, R, B or N
• Checkmate wins · Stalemate draws
• Draws: agreement, threefold, 50 moves, no mating material

Setup

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

On your turn

1. On your turn you move exactly one piece. Passing is not allowed. Castling is the one move that shifts two pieces at once.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

Scoring

Winning

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.