PartyGames

Chess

Classic chess for two: checkmate your opponent's king. 2 players

How to play Chess

Goal

Attack your opponent's king so it cannot escape. That is checkmate.

Step by step

  1. White starts, and you take turns moving one piece at a time.
  2. The king moves one square in any direction. The queen moves as far as she likes in any direction. The rook moves straight, the bishop diagonally, and the knight jumps in an L.
  3. A pawn moves one square forwards (two from its starting square) and captures one square diagonally. When it reaches the far side, it becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
  4. Castling: the king moves two squares towards a rook, and the rook jumps over it. Only if neither has moved, the squares between are empty, and the king is not in, passing through or landing in check.
  5. En passant: if a pawn moves two squares and lands next to your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one – but only on the very next move.
  6. You may never leave your own king in check.

How to win

Checkmate wins. Stalemate (no legal move while not in check), too few pieces to checkmate, the same position three times, or 50 moves each without a capture or pawn move is a draw.

Tips

  • Bring out your knights and bishops early, and fight for the centre.
  • Castle early to keep your king safe.
  • Before you move, check what your opponent is threatening.

Try also

Categories