Chess Rules: Complete Beginner to Club Guide

Welcome! This long-form guide walks you from the very first square to tournament-ready knowledge. You will learn how to set up the board, move every piece, execute special moves, finish a game correctly, keep score, handle clocks, and behave like a professional at the board. All rules reflect the 2023 FIDE Laws of Chess.

Grab a starter set and follow along: Beginner Chess Sets →

Core Rules & Practical How-To

Board Setup & Orientation

The chessboard is an 8 × 8 grid. Place it so the bottom-right corner square is light (“white on right”). White pieces start on ranks 1 & 2, Black on ranks 8 & 7. White always moves first.

How Each Chess Piece Moves

King

• Moves one square in any direction.
• May castle once per game (see Special Moves).
• May never move into, through, or remain in check.

Queen

• Moves any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
• Combines rook and bishop power; no special limitations.

Rook

• Moves any distance in straight lines (files & ranks).
• Participates in castling.

Bishop

• Moves any distance diagonally; each bishop stays on its starting colour.

Knight

• Moves in an L-shape (2 + 1 squares).
• Jumps over pieces; the only piece that can.

Pawn

• Moves one square forward; first move may be two squares.
• Captures one square diagonally forward.
• Eligible for en passant and promotion.

Special Moves

Castling

A single king-and-rook move:

1. King and chosen rook have never moved.
2. No pieces between them.
3. King not in check, does not cross or land on a checked square.

Kingside (0-0): K e1→g1, R h1→f1. Queenside (0-0-0): K e1→c1, R a1→d1.

En Passant

If an enemy pawn leaps two squares and lands beside your pawn, you may capture it “en passant” on the next move, as if it had moved only one square.

Promotion

When a pawn reaches the 8^th rank it must be replaced by a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of its own colour. Queening is the common choice.

Check, Checkmate & Safe King

Check: your king is attacked; you must remove the threat.

Checkmate: your king is checked and no legal move removes the threat — game over, attacker wins.

Safe King

Draws & Game-Ending Rules

• Stalemate — side to move has no legal move but is not in check.
• Threefold repetition — identical position occurs three times; claimable.
• 50-move rule — 50 moves with no pawn move or capture; claimable.
• Mutual agreement — players may agree to a draw.
• Insufficient material — e.g. lone king vs lone king.

Illegal Moves & Touch-Move

Touch-move (FIDE Art. 4.2): touch a piece, you must move it if legal; touch an opponent’s piece, you must capture it if legal. Penalties: first illegal move → 2 minutes added to opponent; second illegal move → game lost.

Say “J’adoube” before adjusting a piece to avoid a forced move.

Basic Chess Notation (Algebraic)

Files are a–h, ranks 1–8 from White’s view. Keep a physical scoresheet:

Time Controls & Clocks

Digital clocks support increments/delays; analog clocks do not.

Browse Chess Clocks →

Basic Tournament Etiquette

• Shake hands before & after the game.
• Silence or remove mobile phones.
• Record moves in classical/rapid time controls.
• Announce “J’adoube” before adjusting pieces.
• Arrive on time – many events use zero-tolerance.

FAQ

What board size is tournament-legal?
55 – 60 mm squares with a king height around 95 mm.

Is stalemate a draw?
Yes. Under FIDE rules stalemate is always a draw.

Can pawns move backwards?
No. Pawns move forward only; they capture diagonally forward.

What does 0-0-0 mean?
Queenside castling: the king moves two squares toward the a-file rook, which jumps over to the d-file.