How to Play Chess - A Beginners Guide

Published on 31st July 2023 by Jimmy Bennett

Chess is one of the world's most popular board games, enjoyed by millions and played all over the world. An intense strategy game that pits two players in a head-to-head match against one another, chess can be a daunting game to learn for new players due to the perceived complexities involved. However, anyone can learn to play chess, and the game is surprisingly simple to learn.

Here, we’ll take you through each of the chess pieces’ moves, as well as the rules and win conditions of the game. But first, a little history about the game:

When Was Chess Invented?

The question of when chess was invented isn’t as straightforward as we’d like. The modern game as we know it was most likely created in Renaissance Spain in the 1400s, however, the game’s roots go much deeper than that.

For the earliest known roots of chess, we have to look as far back as the early seventh century. The word chess is mentioned in Middle Persian texts from this time which explains the game arriving in Persia, having been brought over by Indian rulers. This and other archaeological evidence point towards the game having originated from an older Indian game called Chaturanga.

How Many Pieces in Chess?

Each player starts with 16 pieces in chess. These are as follows:

8 Pawns

2 Rooks/Castles

2 Knights

2 Bishops

1 Queen

1 King

How to Set Up a Chessboard?

Before you begin the game, it’s integral that you set up the chessboard correctly. To start, orientate the board so that there are light squares in the top left and bottom right corners for each player. This is the correct positioning of the board. From here, you can start placing your pieces on the board. It doesn’t matter which colour goes on either side as the board is symmetrical.

It’s important to know that there are 64 squares on a chessboard or eight rows and eight columns. This makes a grid-like shape. Every square has a number and a letter, with the row designating the number and the columns the letters. For example, the bottom left corner square will be A1. As you move to the right, you will get B1, C1, D1 and so on. If you move up you will get A2, A3, A4 and so on. This will be useful to know when placing pieces.

Firstly, place all your pawns on the second row of the board. Next, place your castles in the corners, A1 and H1. One in from then will be your Knights, in positions B1 and G1. Bishops will be in positions C1 and F1. Then right in the centre of the first row will be your king and Queen, with the Queen being on her colour and the King by her side.

Now you’re all set up, you're ready to begin, with White always moving first.

What are the Pieces in Chess and How do Chess Pieces Move?

Here, we’ll go through the roles of every chess piece as well as their moves. Except for Knights, pieces cannot move through each other, they can only move up to another piece, or take the piece and their square.

Pawns

The most numerous pieces in your army and the front line of attack and defence, Pawns have the most limited move set of all pieces, being able to only move forward. If they have yet to be moved, they can move 2 squares, otherwise, they can only move one space per turn. They can only take pieces that are one row in front and in a diagonal Square to themselves. This makes their movement incredibly limited, However, they do have a special ability if you get them to the final row of the board called promotion.

Pawns are perhaps the hardest pieces to learn how to use effectively when beginning. Their limited movement makes newer players disregard them as useful, however, they can be integral to victory. They can provide a valuable blocker to your most valuable pieces, and may even be overlooked by an opponent, letting you slip them up close to their more valuable pieces.

What is Promotion in Chess?

Promotion allows you to swap your Pawn for your choice of Queen, Rook, Knight or Bishop. You do not need to have any captured pieces to promote, and you cannot pass a promotion and remain a Pawn. It is achieved by getting your Pawn to the final rank or row on the other side of the board. Virtually every player will be promoted to a Queen, as it has the most versatile move set of all pieces. Promotion to any other piece is known as underpromotion as a result.

Rooks/Castles

Placed in the corners of your board, Rooks have a much greater movement range than Pawns. Being able to move horizontally or vertically by any number of squares, they can cover large ground very quickly. They can capture any pieces that fall within their movement. Rooks also have a special ability in conjunction with your King pieces, known as castling.

Rooks can be very effective offensive and defensive pieces, being able to cover the board in a single move. They can be a very effective piece when it comes to achieving a checkmate late in the game, provided they have survived. Perhaps the trickiest part of using a Rook is freeing them up in the first place. Because of their movement, they can get blocked in by pawns and other pieces early on, preventing their use. Once free, however, they can be formidable. Because they can move to any square on the board, they are considered one of the most powerful chess pieces, second only to the Queen.

What is Castling in Chess?

Castling is a defensive move that simultaneously protects your king while freeing your Rook or Castle. It involves moving your king two spaces to the left or right while your Rook moves to the opposite side of the king, all in one move. To do this, there are two conditions. Firstly, Neither the King nor the Rook involved can have moved at any time in the game. Secondly, there must be no pieces between the King and Rook. If both conditions are true, you can move the King two spaces towards the Rook and the Rook to the other side of the King from its original position.

This is useful for two reasons. The Rook will now be able to move more freely, letting it take advantage of its generous move set, and also your king will be protected by the Rook.

Knights

Knights have perhaps the most unusual movement of any chess piece. Knights move in an L shape, moving two squares horizontally and one square vertically. Unlike every other piece on the chessboard, Knights can jump over other pieces and directly onto the pieces they’re taking, allowing them to avoid any potential blockers.

Knights are often the second pieces to jump into offence behind Pawns, because of their ability to jump over the first row and get deeper into the board early in the game. They can be useful when used in conjunction with other pieces to set up traps, thanks to their unusual and sometimes hard-to-gauge movement. However, because of their more free movement, inexperienced players often throw them in the deep end early on and ended up squandering the very useful chess pieces.

Bishops

Bishops, like Rooks, can cover swathes of the board in a single move, thanks to infinite movement in any diagonal direction. This allows them to manoeuvre out from behind Pawns within only a handful of moves, unleashing them onto the board. From here, they can quickly be used to take enemy pieces.

Bishops draw a lot of comparisons to Rooks, which also share a movement style limited only by direction and not the number of squares. However, because they only move diagonally, they can never leave their colour meaning they can only cover half the board. Nevertheless, they can be extremely effective pieces, setting up traps and covering off your enemy's offences with big moves across the board.

Queen

The Queen has the best move set of all pieces in chess. A Queen can move diagonally, horizontally and vertically by any number of squares, taking any pieces in her way. This movement makes the piece the most versatile chess piece on the board with the greatest range of movement. For this reason, the Queen is often used to take out the opponent's most powerful chess pieces or induce a checkmate.

The Queen represents a dilemma for players in chess. Her excellent movement makes it very tempting for players to use her offensively early, capturing powerful pieces. However, doing this early on can leave her exposed, with your other powerful pieces still trapped behind Pawns. Losing a Queen can be a devastating blow in a game of chess, particularly if your opponent still has theirs. As a result, many players will make capturing the Queen their immediate objective in a game, even over achieving a checkmate.

King

In many ways the most important piece in a game of chess, the King can move in any direction the player wants but only one square. The King also cannot move into a position that places itself in check. Other player pieces can also not be moved if the result places their King in check.

Kings must be protected at all costs by the player, as checkmate will result in an immediate loss. Placing an enemy King in check can be a very effective move, even if there is no real danger of a checkmate, as it forces the enemy player to make a move that places them out of danger, potentially placing other pieces at risk. Advanced players will use their King offensively in the endgame portion, while less experienced players are more likely to be conservative, wanting to protect the King.

How do you Win a Game of Chess?

The rules to win a game of chess are simple. You must place your opponent’s King in checkmate.

What is Checkmate in Chess?

When the King is immediately threatened by another piece, it is in check, meaning it would be captured on the opponent’s next turn. Often when in check, the King can move out of check or move another player in the way to break check. Checkmate is when you force your enemy’s King into a position where they would be captured by another piece on the next turn and cannot move to a position where they are not threatened. When you checkmate your opponent’s King, you win the game. If your King is checkmated, you lose the game.

What is a Stalemate in Chess?

Chess is not just a win-or-lose game, there is a way to result in a draw. This is achieved by creating a stalemate situation. A stalemate is when a player’s King is not in checkmate, but their only move options would put them in check. Trying to force a stalemate can be a great play for players who have lost too many pieces for a victory of their own.

A stalemate can be infuriating for players who have dominated a game, only to have it result in a draw in the endgame.

With this information, you have all the tools you need to get started playing chess. However, we’ve only scratched the surface, there’s a wealth of strategies and chess theories out there for players to get stuck into!

If you enjoy chess, be sure to check out our full range of board games here at GAME.