The Rules of Chess: Complete List of Official Rules (FIDE and US Chess)

The official rules of chess in one complete list: setup, piece moves, castling, en passant, check, draws, touch-move, clocks and FIDE vs US Chess rules.

The rules of chess in brief: White moves first and the players alternate, one move per turn; each piece moves in a fixed way; no move may leave your own king in check; you win by checkmate, resignation or the opponent running out of time; and the game is drawn by stalemate, repetition, the 50-move rule, insufficient material or agreement. This page lists every official rule in reference form, based on the FIDE Laws of Chess (the international rules) with notes where US Chess (USCF) tournament rules differ.

It is written to be looked up, not read once: start with the one-page summary, then jump to the section you need. If you are learning chess for the first time, our step-by-step guide on how to play chess teaches the same rules slowly, with a board for every step.

The rules of chess on one page

1. The board: 64 squares, with a light square in each player's bottom-right corner.
2. The pieces: each side has a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns; the queen starts on her own color.
3. Turns: White moves first; players alternate and may not pass.
4. Moving: one piece per move (castling moves two); only the knight jumps; you capture by moving onto an enemy piece.
5. Pawns: move straight forward, one square or two on their first move, and capture diagonally forward.
6. Special moves: castling, en passant and promotion, each with its own conditions.
7. King safety: you may never make a move that leaves or puts your own king in check.
8. Check: a king in check must escape at once by moving, blocking or capturing the attacker.
9. Checkmate: check with no legal escape ends the game, and the side giving mate wins.
10. Other wins: resignation, the opponent running out of time (unless you could not possibly checkmate) or forfeit by the arbiter.
11. Draws: stalemate, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule, insufficient material (dead position) or agreement.
12. Tournament play: touch-move, a move is complete when the hand releases the piece, press the clock with the same hand, record the moves and switch off your phone.

Each rule is explained in the sections below.

The object of the game

Chess is played by two players, White and Black, on a board of 64 squares. Each player tries to checkmate the opponent's king: to attack it so that it has no legal way to escape. A player can also win if the opponent resigns or runs out of time. Many games end in a draw.

Rules for the board and setup

• The board is placed so that each player has a light square in the bottom-right corner.
• Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns.
• Rooks go in the corners, then knights, then bishops. The queen stands on her own color (white queen on d1, black queen on d8), and the king next to her.
• Pawns fill the second rank in front of the pieces.

Step-by-step pictures are in how to set up a chessboard.

Rules for taking turns

White moves first, then the players alternate, one move per turn. You cannot pass. Each move moves one piece (castling is the only move that moves two).

How each piece moves

• King: one square in any direction.
• Queen: any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally.
• Rook: any number of squares along a rank or file.
• Bishop: any number of squares diagonally.
• Knight: in an L-shape (two squares in one direction, then one to the side); it can jump over pieces.
• Pawn: one square straight forward (two on its first move); captures one square diagonally forward.

No piece except the knight may jump over other pieces. Pieces capture by moving onto a square occupied by an enemy piece. Full details with interactive boards: how do chess pieces move.

Rules for special moves: castling, en passant, promotion

• Castling: the king moves two squares toward a rook, and the rook moves to the square the king crossed. Allowed only if neither piece has moved, the squares between them are empty, and the king is not in check, does not cross an attacked square and does not land in check.
• En passant: when a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved one square, but only on the very next move.
• Promotion: a pawn reaching the last rank must be exchanged for a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color.

Rules of check, checkmate and illegal moves

• A king that is attacked is in check. The player must get out of check immediately by moving the king, blocking the attack or capturing the attacker.
• No move may leave or put your own king in check. That also applies to pieces that are pinned to the king:

• Checkmate is check with no legal escape. It ends the game, and the side giving mate wins.

Read more in check, checkmate and stalemate.

How a game is won or drawn

A win, when:

• the opponent is checkmated;
• the opponent resigns;
• the opponent runs out of time (unless the winner could not possibly checkmate, which makes it a draw);
• the opponent is forfeited by the arbiter, for example for repeated illegal moves or a phone ringing during the game.

A draw, when:

• the player to move is in stalemate (no legal moves, not in check);
• the same position occurs three times (claimed; automatic at five times under FIDE rules);
• 50 moves by each side pass without a capture or pawn move (claimed; automatic at 75 under FIDE rules);
• neither side has enough material to checkmate (dead position);
• the players agree to a draw.

All of these are explained in draw rules.

Over-the-board tournament rules

These matter when you play on a real board in a club or tournament:

• Touch-move: if you deliberately touch one of your pieces, you must move it; if you touch an opponent's piece, you must capture it, if legally possible. Say "J'adoube" (I adjust) before straightening a piece.
• A move is complete when you release the piece on its new square. For castling, move the king first.
• The clock: press it with the same hand you moved with. If your time runs out, you lose, unless your opponent cannot checkmate. See chess time controls.
• Recording moves: in standard games, both players must write down the moves in algebraic notation.
• Illegal moves: an illegal move must be taken back and replaced by a legal one. Under FIDE rules for standard games, the first completed illegal move gives your opponent two extra minutes and the second loses the game; rapid and blitz games have their own penalties. US Chess rules handle illegal moves somewhat differently, especially in blitz, so check with the tournament director.
• Draw offers: make your move, offer the draw, then press the clock.
• Electronic devices: phones must be switched off and usually kept away from the playing area. Any outside help is cheating and is punished severely.

Key differences between FIDE and US Chess rules

The basic rules of play are identical everywhere. The differences are in tournament procedures:

• Clocks: US events often use a delay (for example G/60;d5) where FIDE events use an increment.
• Automatic draws: FIDE ends the game automatically at fivefold repetition and after 75 moves without a capture or pawn move; under US Chess rules, players generally have to claim.
• Running out of time: US Chess rules give a draw more often when the opponent has only a lone minor piece; FIDE gives a draw only if no checkmate is possible at all.
• Ratings: US Chess and FIDE keep separate ratings. See chess ratings explained.