How to play chess
Chess is played on an 8×8 board. Each side starts with 16 pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. White moves first.
Rules
- The goal is checkmate: attack the enemy king so that it cannot escape.
- Special moves are fully supported: castling, en passant and pawn promotion.
- A game is drawn by stalemate, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule or insufficient material.
- Tap a piece to see its legal moves, then tap a highlighted square – or drag the piece.
Tips to win
- Develop your knights and bishops early and castle to keep your king safe.
- Before every move ask: what does my opponent threaten?
- Trade pieces when you are ahead in material; keep them when you are behind.
Ranked play
Ratings start at 1200 and only change after games against people. The computer is for practice.