free online chess instructions for beginners

#FREE ONLINE CHESS INSTRUCTIONS FOR BEGINNERS HOW TO#

Similarly, like the rook, the bishop cannot jump over other pieces. Here, you can think of the bishop’s movements as an “x” The bishop can move similarly to any non-occupied square but in the diagonal direction. The red boxes show squares the rooks cannot go to because of other pieces in the way. To simplify, think of a “+ sign” when you think about how the rook moves.Īdditionally, the rook cannot jump over other pieces.Īs you can see in the diagram below, the green arrow shows all the possible squares the rook could go to in a single move. The rook can move to as many non-occupied squares left, right, up, or down.

#FREE ONLINE CHESS INSTRUCTIONS FOR BEGINNERS HOW TO#

Now onto how to play and some basic strategies! Rules of Chess #3: How Does Each Piece Move? 1.Rook And you have almost mastered the most important chess rules! The Black queen is on the dark-colored d8 square.Ĭongrats! You successfully set up a chessboard. So, the White queen is on the light-colored d1 square. A good way to remember is that the Queen always goes on the square of her color. And finally place the queens on the d1/d8 squares and the kings on the e1 and e8 squares. Place 2 bishops on the c1/c8 and f1/f8 squares

Place 2 knights on the b1/b8 and g1/g8 squares Place 2 rooks on the a1/a8 and h1/h8 squares Place 8 pawns across the 2nd and 7th ranks Here are the steps to set up the chessboard: In setting up the board, let’s use our newfound knowledge to organize what pieces are where on the chessboard: Rules of Chess #3: Setting up Chess Pieces Of course, it is! Still, using these coordinates (in the “piece-file-rank” or “file-rank” format) is how we can more clearly communicate where pieces are moving. After all, isn’t it just a bunch of letters and numbers? Now you may be asking how this even relates to chess.

The diagram below shows a green arrow to represent the move “d4” : So if a pawn were to move on the “d4” square, we could say either “d4” or “Pd4” as the first move. Just know that usually players just leave a pawn move as “d4” instead of “Pd4”Īlso, we use “N” for knight because “K” is already used for king. Here is a list of what each piece’s 1-letter abbreviation is: For more examples, the square on the left of “d4” is “c4,” and the square above “d4” is “d5.” Rules of Chess #2: The Chess PiecesĮach piece mentioned also has a capital letter that corresponds to the piece moving.

and the green square is the intersection of the d-file/4th rank, which we simplify to “d4”Įvery square has its own coordinate.

the horizontal red line represents the 4th rank.

the vertical purple arrow represents the d-file.

On the outside of the checkered area are letters and numbers as outlined below, where each letter corresponds with a column–known as a “file” in chess–and each number corresponds with a row–known as a “rank” in chess. If you can do this, then you have won the game! Rules of Chess #1: The ChessboardĪ standard chessboard consists of 64 alternating dark and light squares as well as an initial setup of 32 pieces. Your goal is solely to trap the King and threaten to capture, not to capture the piece itself. One big misconception is that you can capture (or “kill”) the king in a chess game, which is simply untrue. Your goal is to use those pieces to “checkmate” your opponent to put it more simply, your goal is to simultaneously threaten (aka “check”) your opponent’s king-with your pieces-and prevent his/her king from escaping (aka “checkmate”). What is Chess and What is the Goal?Ĭhess is a two-player game where each player has a set of 16 chess pieces that can be grouped into:Ī fully set up chess board looks like this:Įach type of piece moves, attacks or defends in different ways.

To set you on the right path into your chess journey, we hope this article can get you started with all there is to know about how to play chess. Regardless of who you are or where you come from, chess can be a great game to learn and improve on. Want to learn the Rules of Chess? Now you can master the chess rules in less than 20 minutes! You’ll learn how pieces move, how to set up a chessboard, what’s your pieces worth, how to castle, what’s promotion, what’s “en passant”, how to start the game, and much more! If you are beginning your chess journey this is a perfect place to learn the rules.Īustrian writer Stefan Zweig once said, “ As proved by evidence, more lasting in its being and presence than all books and achievements the only game that belongs to all people and all ages of which none knows the divinity that bestowed it on the world, to slay boredom, to sharpen the senses, to exhilarate the spirit.”

Free online chess instructions for beginners