Learn chess from the board up.

The board is the first rule

Chess is played on an eight-by-eight grid of alternating light and dark squares. The vertical columns are called files and are lettered a to h from White’s left. The horizontal rows are ranks and are numbered 1 to 8 from White’s side. Every square has one address: e4, f7, h8.

Set the board so that each player has a light square in the near-right corner. White’s pieces occupy ranks 1 and 2; Black’s occupy ranks 7 and 8. The queens begin on their own colour — white queen on d1, black queen on d8 — and the kings stand beside them on e1 and e8.

The goal is checkmate

The king is never captured. Instead, the game ends when the king is attacked and has no legal way to escape. That is checkmate. If the king is attacked but can move, block the attack, or capture the attacker, the game continues.

This is why beginners should learn to see the whole board rather than chase material. A player can be ahead by a queen and still lose if the king is trapped. Checkmate ends the game at once; a player who sees mate coming may resign, but the goal remains the same.

Six pieces, six ways of moving

Each piece moves by its own geometry. Pawns step forward and capture diagonally; knights make an L-shape and jump; bishops travel on diagonals; rooks travel on ranks and files; queens combine rook and bishop power; kings move one square in any direction but may not step into check.

You do not need to memorise every opening to begin. You do need to know how each piece moves, what it is roughly worth, and which pieces are still on the board. The full movement guide is the next stop on this path.

• Pawn — one square forward, two on its first move, captures diagonally.
• Knight — two squares one way and one square across; the only jumping piece.
• Bishop — any distance on a diagonal; it never changes square colour.
• Rook — any distance on a rank or file; it powers the endgame.
• Queen — any distance on a rank, file, or diagonal.
• King — one square in any direction; the piece the whole game protects.

See every piece move →

Your first three moves

A reliable beginner plan is simple: put a pawn in the centre, develop a knight or bishop, and castle before the position becomes sharp. Moves such as 1.e4 or 1.d4 claim central space. Knights and bishops then come out toward the centre, and castling tucks the king behind a pawn wall.

Avoid bringing the queen out too early. A queen can be chased by cheaper pieces, and every retreat costs time. Also avoid moving the same piece twice without a reason. The opening is a race to mobilise, not a race to attack.

• Claim the centre with a pawn.
• Develop a knight and a bishop.
• Castle early, usually on the kingside.
• Connect the rooks by clearing the back rank.
• Look for checks, captures, and threats before every move.

A simple way to practise

Twenty focused minutes is enough for a first session: five minutes on how the pieces move, five minutes playing a slow game, five minutes reviewing one mistake, and five minutes solving two simple puzzles. The review matters more than the result.

Play longer games rather than bullet. Speed hides the thinking you are trying to build. After each game, ask one question: what was the first move where I stopped looking at my opponent’s threats? That single habit will improve your play faster than a page of opening theory.

What to learn next

Work through the beginner path in order: the complete rules, the movement of every piece, the three special moves, a first mating pattern, and finally notation. Each page links back to the one before it, so you can move at your own pace.

When you are ready to play, use the interactive Scholar’s Mate lesson on the home page. It shows how a four-move attack works — and why the same attack fails when Black sees it coming.