Chess
Play a full game of chess against a friend or the computer.
Play a full game of chess against a friend or the computer.
Learn how the chess pieces move and the opening principles that give you a strong start, then play the board above.
Checkmate the opponent's king, meaning the king is under attack and has no legal way to escape.
Push a central pawn and aim your pieces at the four central squares. Central control gives your pieces the most range.
Bring your knights and bishops out early rather than moving the same piece twice. Get them onto active squares before you start attacking.
Castle early to tuck your king behind a wall of pawns and connect your rooks.
An early queen is easy to chase around, and every attack on it lets your opponent develop for free.
Pawns move forward and capture diagonally, knights jump in an L shape, bishops move diagonally, rooks move in straight lines, the queen moves any distance straight or diagonally, and the king moves one square in any direction. The goal is to checkmate the opponent's king.
Checkmate is when a player's king is under attack and there is no legal move to remove the threat. The game ends immediately and the player who delivered checkmate wins.
Control the centre with a pawn, develop your knights and bishops to active squares, castle early to protect your king, and avoid bringing your queen out too soon where it can be chased. These simple rules cover most good openings.
Yes, usually. Castling moves your king to safety behind its pawns and brings a rook into the game, which is why most strong openings castle within the first several moves.