Chess Basics for Beginners: Setup, Moves, and Draws
Chess gets easier once the board is set correctly and each piece’s move is familiar. This quick guide covers the rules you need to start a friendly game and understand how it can end.
WSDK Games Guide · Published October 28, 2026 · 5 minute read
Set the board before the first move
Place the board so the corner square on each player’s right is light. Each side has eight pawns in front of its back row. From the corners inward, the back row is rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. The queen starts on a square matching her color. White moves first, then players take turns.
How the pieces move
- King: one square in any direction. It may not move onto a square attacked by an opposing piece.
- Queen: any number of open squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
- Rook: any number of open squares along a rank or file.
- Bishop: any number of open squares diagonally.
- Knight: moves to the nearest square that is neither on the same rank, file nor diagonal; its path can jump over other pieces.
- Pawn: moves forward one square if clear. On its first move it may advance two clear squares. It captures one square diagonally forward, not straight ahead.
Except for the knight, pieces cannot jump over intervening pieces. A capture replaces the opponent’s piece on its square. You cannot make a move that leaves your own king in check.
Check, checkmate, and stalemate
Check means the king is under attack. The player must respond by moving the king, blocking the attack or capturing the attacking piece, if that is legal. You do not capture the king. The game ends in checkmate when the king is attacked and there is no legal way out.
Stalemate is different: the player to move has no legal move, but the king is not in check. That position is a draw, not a win for the player who made the last move. A game can also be drawn when neither side can possibly checkmate from the position.
Three special moves to know
- Castling: move the king two squares toward a rook, then place that rook on the square the king crossed. It is unavailable if the king or that rook has already moved, if pieces stand between them, or if the king is in check or would cross or land on an attacked square.
- Promotion: when a pawn reaches the far side of the board, replace it with a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color. It need not be a piece captured earlier.
- En passant: in a specific position, a pawn may capture an adjacent opposing pawn that has just advanced two squares as though it had moved one. This capture is legal only on the immediately following move.
A simple way to start
For a first game, agree that either player can pause to ask a rules question, keep the clock off, and focus on legal moves and king safety. Once the basic movement feels natural, add a clock or learn algebraic notation. In organized over-the-board play, check the event’s rules; FIDE’s Laws cover details such as clocks, scoresheets and touch-move procedures.
For another quick game-day reference, see WSDK’s baseball scorecard guide or NFL box-score guide.