Chess Rules for Beginners

Chess is a game played on a square board divided into 64 squares of alternating

colors. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two
knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Here are the basic rules of chess:

1. Objective

The objective of chess is to checkmate your opponent's king. Checkmate occurs when
the king is in a position to be captured (in "check") and there is no legal move to
remove the king from capture.

2. Piece Movement

Each piece moves in a specific way:

The king can move one square in any direction.
The queen can move any number of squares in any direction.
The rook can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally.
The knight moves in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction and then one square
in a perpendicular direction.
Pawns move forward one square, but capture diagonally. On their first move, they
have the option to move two squares forward.

3. Special Moves

Castling: This move involves the king and one of the rooks. It is a way to
safeguard the king and activate the rook. The king moves two squares towards the
rook, and the rook moves to the square next to the king.
En Passant: This move can occur when a pawn moves two squares forward from its
starting position and lands beside an opponent's pawn. The opponent has the option
to capture the pawn "en passant" as if it had only moved one square forward.

4. Check and Checkmate

Check: When a player's king is under attack, it is in "check." The player must make
a move to remove the king from check.
Checkmate: When a player's king is in check, and there is no legal move to remove
it from capture, it is in "checkmate," and the game is over.

These are just the basic rules of chess. There are additional rules and strategies
to learn as you progress in the game. It's recommended to practice regularly and
play against opponents of similar skill levels to improve your chess skills.