How to play chess

This page puts things in the order to learn them. The exact rules, with FIDE article numbers, are on the rules page.

1. Set up the board

Turn the board so the square in your bottom-right corner is light. Rooks go in the corners, then knights, then bishops. The queen takes the middle square of her own colour and the king the one beside her. Pawns fill the row in front.

2. Learn the moves

White moves first and you take turns, one move each. Four rules often catch beginners out: check, castling, en passant and promotion. Read those before your first game.

3. Know what the pieces are worth

Players count material with these numbers. They are a habit, not a rule — a well-placed piece can be worth more.

Giving a knight for a rook gains two points. Giving your queen for a knight loses six.

4. Open with a plan

1. Put a pawn in the centre, with e4 or d4.
2. Bring out knights and bishops, and avoid moving the same piece twice.
3. Castle to get your king out of the middle.
4. Keep the queen back until the other pieces are out.

Why each one helps, and openings to try: Openings.

5. Before every move, look for three things

1. Checks — can you give one? Can your opponent?
2. Captures — is any piece left without a defender?
3. Threats — what did your opponent's last move attack?

A piece nobody defends is the easiest thing to lose. The patterns that win material are in Tactics.

6. Finish the game

When you are ahead, trade pieces, push a pawn to promote, and mate with king and queen or king and rook — see Checkmate patterns. Watch for stalemate: if the losing king has no move and is not in check, the game is a draw.

Learn more

• Openings

  Four habits for the first ten moves, and ten openings by their first moves.

• Tactics

  Forks, pins, skewers, discovered and double checks — short moves that win material.

• Checkmate patterns

  Mating with a queen or rook, back-rank and smothered mates, and the traps that end a game in four moves.

• Endgames

  The opposition, the rule of the square, and the two rook endings every player meets.

Play with a friend here

Press Play with a friend, pick a time (no clock, 3, 5 or 10 minutes a side) and a colour, then Create game.

Someone next to you can scan the QR code on the board with their phone camera. Anyone else gets the link — copy it, or use Share on a phone.

The first person to open it while the seat is empty becomes your opponent. Anyone who opens it after that can watch but not move.

Open the same link in the same browser and you are back in your seat, with every move so far. The seat is tied to this browser, so another browser or a cleared browser joins as a spectator.