black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rooka7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawna2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawna1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook.
Starting position Chess is played on a chessboard, a square board divided into a grid of 64 squares (eight-by-eight) of alternating color (similar to the board used in draughts).Regardless of the actual colors of the board, the lighter-colored squares are called "light" or "white", and the darker-colored squares are called "dark" or "black". Sixteen "white" and sixteen "black" pieces are placed on the board at the beginning of the game. The board is placed so that a white square is in each player's near-right corner. Horizontal rows are called ranks, and vertical columns are called files.
Basic moves Moves of the king a b c d e f g h 8 e6 white circlef6 white circleg6 white circlee5 white circlef5 white kingg5 white circlee4 white circlef4 white circleg4 white circle 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Moves of a rook a b c d e f g h 8 d8 white circled7 white circled6 white circlea5 white circleb5 white circlec5 white circled5 white rooke5 white circlef5 white circleg5 white circleh5 white circled4 white circled3 white circled2 white circled1 white circle 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Moves of a bishop a b c d e f g h 8 a8 white circleg8 white circleb7 white circlef7 white circlec6 white circlee6 white circled5 white bishopc4 white circlee4 white circleb3 white circlef3 white circlea2 white circleg2 white circleh1 white circle 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Moves of the queen a b c d e f g h 8 d8 white circleh8 white circlea7 white circled7 white circleg7 white circleb6 white circled6 white circlef6 white circlec5 white circled5 white circlee5 white circlea4 white circleb4 white circlec4 white circled4 white queene4 white circlef4 white circleg4 white circleh4 white circlec3 white circled3 white circlee3 white circleb2 white circled2 white circlef2 white circlea1 white circled1 white circleg1 white circle 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Moves of a knight a b c d e f g h 8 c6 white circlee6 white circleb5 white circlef5 white circled4 white knightb3 white circlef3 white circlec2 white circlee2 white circle 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Moves of a pawn a b c d e f g h 8 b7 black rookc7 white circled7 black rookc6 white pawne4 white circlee3 white circlee2 white pawn 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h The pawns can move to the squares in front of them (white dots). The pawn on c6 can also take either black rook. Each type of chess piece has its own method of movement. A piece moves to a vacant square except when capturing an opponent's piece.[8] Except for any move of the knight and castling, pieces cannot jump over other pieces. A piece is captured (or taken) when an attacking enemy piece replaces it on its square. The captured piece is thereby permanently removed from the game.[a] The king can be put in check but cannot be captured (see below).
The king moves exactly one square adjacent to it. A special move with the king known as castling is allowed only once per player, per game (see below). A rook moves any number of vacant squares horizontally or vertically. It also is moved when castling. A bishop moves any number of vacant squares diagonally. (Thus a bishop can move to only light or dark squares, not both.)
The queen moves any number of vacant squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. A knight moves to one of the nearest squares not on the same rank, file, or diagonal. (This can be thought of as moving two squares horizontally then one square vertically, or moving one square horizontally then two squares vertically—i.e. in an "L" pattern.) The knight is not blocked by other pieces; it jumps to the new location. Pawns have the most complex rules of movement:
A pawn moves straight forward one square, if that square is vacant. If it has not yet moved, a pawn also has the option of moving two squares straight forward, provided both squares are vacant. Pawns cannot move backwards. A pawn, unlike other pieces, captures differently from how it moves. A pawn can capture an enemy piece on either of the two squares diagonally in front of the pawn. It cannot move to those squares when vacant except when capturing en passant