New to the game? Start here. Tap each piece to see how it moves, learn the rules, then try a few easy puzzles. No sign-up needed.
Two players — White and Black — take turns moving one piece at a time. White moves first. The goal is checkmate: trapping the opponent's king so it cannot escape capture. You don't actually capture the king — you corner it.
Tap a piece below. Green dots show where it can move. Then tap a dot to move it and see its moves from there.
Once per game, if neither the king nor that rook has moved and the squares between are empty, the king slides two squares toward a rook and the rook hops to its other side. It tucks your king to safety.
If an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands beside your pawn, you may capture it "in passing" — as if it had moved only one square. Only on the very next move.
Get a pawn to the far end of the board and it transforms — almost always into a queen, the strongest piece.
When the king is under attack, it's "in check." You must respond immediately: move the king, block the attack, or capture the attacker.
The king is in check and has no legal way out. Game over.
A player has no legal move but is not in check. Surprisingly, that's a draw, not a loss — watch for it when you're winning!
Draws also happen by agreement, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule, or when neither side has enough pieces to mate.
Rough worth: pawn 1, knight & bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. Trade lower for higher when you can — but king safety beats material.
The best way to improve is to play and solve puzzles. These are set to a gentle level.