How to Set Up a Chessboard

Position the board so that the bottom-right corner square is white. Both players should have a white square in the bottom-right corner of their side of the board. The setup is identical for both players when viewed from their respective perspectives.

• Arrange the pieces on the two rows closest to you. The major pieces are placed on the first row (the row closest to you), while the pawns are positioned on the second row.
• Unlike checkers, chess utilizes every square on the board.

Place a rook in each corner of your side. Start by positioning the rooks - the pieces that move horizontally (along rows) or vertically (along columns). Place the two rooks in the corners of the board.

• For modern chess sets, such as those themed around Civil War or movie characters, you may not recognize the pieces without knowing their symbols (or standard notations). These symbols are usually printed at the base of each piece. The symbol for a rook is ♜.

Place the knights next to the rooks. The knights, which resemble horses, are positioned beside the rooks. Knights move in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction and then one square perpendicular, or one square in any direction followed by two squares perpendicular. Knights move only in straight lines, never diagonally. They are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces and are unique in not moving in a straight line.

• The symbol for a knight is ♞.

Place the bishops next to the knights. Bishops are tall pieces with rounded tops and stand beside the knights. Bishops move only diagonally.

• The symbol for a bishop is ♝.
• The bishop on the left starts on a black square (and will always move on black squares). The bishop on the right starts on a white square (and will always move on white squares).

Place the queen on the remaining square that matches its color. If you are playing white, your queen should be on the remaining white square in the first row. If you are playing black, the queen should be on the remaining black square. The queen is one of the tallest pieces on the board, with a pointed crown. It can move any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, making it the most powerful piece.

• The symbol for the queen is ♛.

Place the king on the last remaining square in the first row. The king is usually the tallest piece on the board, with a rounded crown topped by a cross. The king can move in any direction but only one square at a time. You must use all your remaining pieces to protect the king. You lose the game if your king is captured.

• The symbol for the king is ♚.

Place the pawns on the second row. After arranging the major pieces on the first row, proceed to position the pawns on the second row as a protective wall. Pawns can move forward one square per turn, but they also have a few special moves.

• The symbol for a pawn is ♟.
• Once the pieces are set up as described above, both sides are ready to play.

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Win the game by putting the opponent's king in "checkmate." This occurs when you can capture the opponent's king on the next move, regardless of their response. Conversely, if you can capture the king on the next move but the opponent has a way to escape, it is merely a "check." The player must immediately move their king out of check if possible.

• In practice, you never actually capture the king. When the king is clearly unable to avoid capture on the next move, it is declared checkmate, and the game ends.
• You must say "check" when your move puts the opponent's king in danger.
• You cannot place your own king in check. Such a move will be immediately invalidated.

Capture your opponent's pieces to remove them from the game. If your piece lands on a square occupied by an opponent's piece, you "capture" that piece and remove it from play. Your piece then takes the position of the captured piece on that square. You cannot capture your own pieces or use more than one piece to occupy a square. In other words, you cannot move a piece through or stop on a square occupied by another piece of your own, except when moving a knight. Knights can jump over other pieces (but still cannot land on a square occupied by your own piece).

• Except for pawns, you can only capture an opponent's piece with a "standard" move. For example, rooks can only capture pieces by moving vertically or horizontally.
• You cannot move through one piece to capture another. If your piece "hits" an opponent's piece during its move, it must capture that piece and stop on the captured piece's square. Knights are the only exception to this rule (due to their ability to jump over pieces), and they only capture pieces when their move ends on a square occupied by an opponent's piece.

White makes the first move. White always moves first, after which players alternate turns. If both players are of equal skill, moving first provides a slight advantage. Each move by a player counts as one turn.

• A player must move a piece each turn. A player cannot skip a turn if they are unsure where to move.
• The only exception to the "move one piece" rule is "castling," which allows a player to move two pieces simultaneously in a specific sequence to protect the king. See the explanation below for more details on castling.

Be cautious of a stalemate. A game can end in a draw. A stalemate occurs when neither king is in check, and the player whose turn it is has no legal moves. If you are in a strong position, you should avoid a stalemate. (Conversely, if you are in a weak position, you may want to force your opponent into a stalemate.) Stalemates often occur when only a few pieces remain on the board, such as pawns blocked by other pawns or kings with no safe moves.

• Remember, you cannot place yourself in check. Therefore, if it is your turn and the only available move would put your king in check, the game ends in a draw. However, in some tournaments, you may lose in this situation, although most players consider it a draw.
• A stalemate does not occur if either king is in check.

Pawns move one square forward. Pawns typically only move this way, making them less versatile. However, in certain situations, pawns can be quite effective:

• If your pawn reaches the 8th rank (the opponent's first row), you can "promote" the pawn to any piece you choose, usually a queen or knight. A pawn that advances far on a file becomes quite powerful.
• On its first move, a pawn can (but is not required to) move two squares forward instead of one.
• Pawns can capture pieces diagonally one square ahead. Thus, pawns cannot capture pieces on adjacent squares.
  • En passant or "capturing in passing" occurs when an opponent's pawn moves two squares forward to avoid being captured by your pawn (by skipping the diagonally adjacent square). If the opponent's pawn moves this way, on the very next turn, you can move your pawn diagonally into the skipped square and capture the opponent's pawn.

Rooks can move vertically or horizontally any number of squares. Rooks move in straight lines, either forward, backward, or sideways. They can traverse as many empty squares as desired but must stop if they encounter another piece (and, of course, they must stop at the edge of the board).

• If the obstructing piece belongs to the opponent, the rook must stop beside it or capture it. If the obstructing piece is your own, the rook must stop adjacent to it.

Knights move in an "L" shape. Knights have the most unique movement in chess: they "jump" three squares, first moving two squares in any direction and then one square perpendicular, or one square in any direction followed by two squares perpendicular. Knights move only in straight lines, never diagonally.

• Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces, regardless of their color. Knights capture pieces by landing on a square occupied by an opponent's piece. (Knights cannot land on a square occupied by your own piece.)

Bishops can move diagonally any number of squares. Bishops can move in four directions: diagonally to the right or left, forward or backward. This means a bishop always stays on squares of the same color. For example, if a bishop starts on a white square, it can never move to a black square.

• Bishops cannot jump over other pieces. If a piece blocks their path, the bishop must stop or capture the piece (if the obstructing piece belongs to the opponent).

Queens can move in any direction along straight lines without limit. Queens can move forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally as many squares as desired. This makes the queen the most powerful piece on the board.

• Queens cannot move in an "L" shape like knights.
• Queens cannot jump over other pieces. They must complete their move by either stopping before encountering another piece or capturing it.

Kings can move one square in any direction per turn. Kings can move forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally one square. The only exception is castling, where the king and a rook swap positions to protect the king. To perform castling:

• Neither the king nor the rook involved can have moved before castling.
• There must be no pieces between the king and the rook.
• The king cannot be in check at the time of castling, nor can it pass through or land on a square under attack.
• In one move, the king moves two squares toward the rook, and the rook moves to the square the king skipped. After castling, the king and rook are positioned next to each other.