Chess for Beginners: Rules, Opening Principles and Common Mistakes

The pieces

• The king moves one square in any direction. It can never move into check.
• The queen moves any number of squares in a straight line, in any direction.
• A rook moves any number of squares along a rank or a file.
• A bishop moves any number of squares diagonally and always stays on the same colour of square.
• A knight moves in an L-shape: two squares in one direction and one square to the side. It is the only piece that can jump over others.
• A pawn moves forward one square, or two squares on its first move. It captures one square diagonally forward.

Special rules

• Castling moves the king two squares toward a rook and places the rook on the other side of the king. You can castle only if neither piece has moved, the squares between them are empty and the king is not in, passing through, or landing in check.
• En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares and landed beside it, as if the enemy pawn had moved only one.
• Promotion: a pawn that reaches the far rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight of your choice. Choosing something other than a queen is called under-promotion.

How a game ends

Check is when a king is attacked. Checkmate is when the king is attacked and has no legal way to escape, and it wins the game. A draw can happen by stalemate (the player to move has no legal move but is not in check), by repetition of the same position, by the fifty-move rule, or when neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate.

Opening principles

• Control the centre with your pawns and pieces.
• Develop your knights and bishops early so that they take part in the game.
• Castle early. It protects your king and brings a rook into play.
• Do not move the same piece twice in the opening unless there is a reason, and do not bring out your queen too early.
• Before every move, ask what your opponent's last move is threatening.

Common beginner mistakes

• Leaving pieces undefended, so they can be captured for free.
• Attacking with one or two pieces and no support.
• Missing a simple tactic such as a fork, where one piece attacks two targets at once.
• Ignoring the opponent's threats while pursuing your own plan.

What the pieces are worth

Players use a simple point scale to decide whether a trade is good: a pawn is worth about 1, a knight or a bishop about 3, a rook about 5 and a queen about 9. The king cannot be traded, so it has no value on the scale. Trading a knight for a bishop is roughly even, but giving up a rook for a knight loses material.

These are guides, not laws. A well-placed knight can be worth more than a badly placed rook, and a pawn on the verge of promotion is worth far more than one.

A simple plan for your first ten moves

1. Move a centre pawn two squares to claim space.
2. Bring out a knight, then the other knight, toward the centre.
3. Develop your bishops so they have open diagonals.
4. Castle to tuck your king away and bring a rook toward the middle.
5. Before every move, check three things: what can your opponent capture, what is your opponent threatening, and can you make a useful capture or threat of your own.

Practise

Our Chess game offers six computer levels from Novice to Grandmaster, take-backs and hints, so you can see why a move was a mistake. You can also play a friend online.

Common questions

Is stalemate a win?

No, it is a draw. It happens when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move.

Can I castle if my king is in check?

No. You also cannot castle through a square that is attacked or into check, and neither the king nor that rook may have moved before.

Why does a pawn sometimes capture a pawn beside it?

That is en passant. It is allowed only on the move right after the enemy pawn has advanced two squares from its starting position.

How do I avoid blunders?

Slow down at the end of your analysis and check whether the piece you are about to move was protecting anything, and whether the square you are moving to can be attacked.