The objective in chess is to checkmate the opponent’s king. Checkmate occurs when the king is under attack and cannot escape capture.
A check is not the end — only when no legal move can remove the threat does the game conclude.
A chessboard consists of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. Light squares face right, dark squares to the left — the classic rule:
“White on the right.”
Click a piece to see how it moves across the board.
Chess features several special moves:
Pawns move forward, capture diagonally, and may move two squares on their first move.
The knight moves in an L-shape and can jump over other pieces.
The bishop moves diagonally across the board.
Rooks move horizontally or vertically across the board.
The queen combines the movement of both rook and bishop.
The king moves one square in any direction.