Short answer: chess is played by two people on a board of 64 squares. Each player has 16 pieces, White moves first, and players take turns making one move at a time. You win by checkmate: attacking the other king so that it cannot escape. That is the whole game. Everything else is how each piece moves, plus three special moves you can learn later.
An adult can learn enough in thirty minutes to teach a child. One tip from hundreds of first lessons: do not teach all the rules at once. Start with pawns and one other piece, play a few mini games, and add the rest over a couple of weeks.
Setting up the board
Put a white square in the bottom right corner for each player. Rooks go in the corners, then knights, then bishops. The queen stands on the square of her own color, and the king takes the last square. Pawns fill the row in front. We show it step by step in how to set up a chess board.
How each piece moves
The green squares show where each piece can go from where it stands. A piece captures by moving onto a square held by an enemy piece, which then leaves the board. No piece except the knight can jump over others.
The rook
The rook moves in straight lines, along its row or its column, as far as it likes.
A rook on d4 can reach every square of the d-file and the fourth rank.
The bishop
The bishop moves diagonally, as far as it likes. A bishop that starts on a light square stays on light squares for the whole game.
A bishop on d4 moves along both diagonals through that square.
The queen
The queen moves like a rook and a bishop together. She is the strongest piece on the board, and children tend to bring her out too early, where she gets chased around.
A queen on d4 can go along the row, the column and both diagonals.
The king
The king moves one square in any direction. He can never move onto a square that an enemy piece attacks.
A king on d4 has eight squares to choose from, one step away in every direction.
The knight
The knight moves in an L shape: two squares in a straight line, then one to the side. It is the only piece that jumps over others, and it always lands on the opposite color. Most children find this piece the hardest and the most fun.
A knight on d4 can land on eight squares, each one an L shape away.
Try it. The knight can capture the black pawn in one move.
Task: White's knight on e4 captures the pawn on f6.
The pawn
A pawn moves straight forward one square. On its very first move it may go two. It captures differently: one square diagonally forward. It can never move backward.
A pawn on d2 can go to d3 or d4, and it can capture on c3 or e3.
When a pawn reaches the far end of the board it must turn into a queen, rook, bishop or knight. This is called promotion, and nearly everyone picks a queen.
The pawn reaches the last row and becomes a queen.
Check and checkmate
A king is in check when an enemy piece attacks it. The player must deal with it at once, in one of three ways: move the king, capture the attacking piece, or put a piece in between.
A rook gives check along the back row, and the king steps away.
Checkmate means the king is in check and none of those three ways works. The game ends there and the side giving checkmate wins. The king is never actually captured.
Here is the fastest checkmate most children meet, four moves long. It is called Scholar's Mate.
Scholar's Mate: the queen and bishop attack f7, and the queen captures there with checkmate.
Children love playing this trap. It is worth teaching them how to stop it too, because it stops working as soon as the other player is watching f7.
How a game can be a draw
Not every game has a winner. A game is drawn if:
- Stalemate: the player to move has no legal move and is not in check. We explain it in what is stalemate in chess.
- Not enough pieces: neither side can possibly checkmate, for example king against king.
- Repetition: the same position appears three times.
- Fifty moves: fifty moves pass by each side with no capture and no pawn move.
- Agreement: the players agree to a draw.
The special moves
Learn these once the basics feel easy. Beginners can happily play without them for the first few weeks.
- Castling: the king and a rook move at the same time. See how to castle in chess.
- Promotion: the pawn move shown above.
- En passant: a rare pawn capture that confuses everybody at first. See en passant explained.
Mistakes almost everyone makes
- Setting the board up rotated, with a dark square in the corner.
- Swapping the king and queen.
- Thinking a pawn captures straight ahead.
- Moving the king into check. That move is not allowed: take it back and play another.
- Forgetting that a player in check has to deal with it right away.
- Giving stalemate when a win was there.
How to win at chess, as a beginner
Three habits beat most beginners, adults included.
- Before you move, ask what your opponent just threatened. Most games at this level are decided by a piece left hanging.
- Bring out your pieces before going on an adventure with one of them.
- Castle early to keep your king safe.
For a child, the rest comes from playing, and from someone pointing out the same mistake when it shows up for the third time.
FAQ
What are the basic rules of chess?
Two players take turns on a board of 64 squares. Each starts with 16 pieces and White moves first. A piece moves according to its own rule and captures by landing on an enemy piece. The goal is checkmate: the enemy king is attacked and cannot escape.
Who goes first in chess?
White always moves first. In a family game, let your child choose, or hide one pawn of each color in your fists and have them pick a hand.
What age can a child learn the rules of chess?
Most children can learn how the pieces move at about five or six. There is more in the best age to start chess.
Can a pawn move backward?
No. Pawns are the only pieces that can never move backward.
Can you capture the king?
No. The game ends with checkmate, one move before the king could be taken.
How long does a chess game take?
A casual game between beginners usually takes ten to thirty minutes. Tournament games can run for hours, and online blitz games last a few minutes.
Rules learned, time to play
The rules take an hour. Getting good at using them takes years, and that is the fun of it. Our guide on how to teach a child chess covers the first weeks at home.
If you would like a coach to take it from there, the first lesson is free and one to one, with a FIDE Master or a top-rated coach, live online. Book the free first lesson