Chess Basics Everyone Should Know Before They Play

By Lalit Akhade, Founder & Head Coach, ChessMates Academy · Published 2026-03-04 · 7 min read

Chess Basics Everyone Should Know Before They Play

Starting chess without knowing the basics is like trying to drive without knowing which pedal is the brake. You might move forward for a moment, but it ends badly. The good news: chess basics are not complicated. In one session with the right guide, you can go from knowing nothing to playing a real game — and enjoying it.

Here are the fundamentals every new player needs.

The Board

A chess board has 64 squares arranged in an 8x8 grid. The squares alternate between light and dark. When you sit down to play, the bottom-right square should always be a light square. This is the most common setup mistake — flip the board if the bottom-right is dark.

Each column is called a file (labelled a–h, left to right from White's perspective). Each row is called a rank (numbered 1–8 from White's side). This grid system is used in chess notation when recording moves.

The Pieces and How They Move

There are six different pieces in chess. Each moves differently.

King The king moves one square in any direction. It is the most important piece — if your king is captured, you lose. Protect it at all costs.

Queen The most powerful piece. The queen can move any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Think of her as a combination of a rook and a bishop.

Rook Moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically. Rooks are powerful in open files and work best as a pair.

Bishop Moves any number of squares diagonally. You start with two bishops — one on a light square, one on a dark square. Each stays on its colour for the whole game.

Knight The trickiest piece for beginners. The knight moves in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction, then one square to the side. It is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.

Pawn Moves one square forward (or two squares on its first move). Captures diagonally. A pawn that reaches the opposite end of the board promotes — it becomes any piece you choose (almost always a queen).

The Goal: Checkmate

The aim of chess is to put your opponent's king in checkmate — a position where:

  1. The king is under attack (in check)
  2. There is no legal move to escape

When that happens, the game is over. You do not actually capture the king — you just trap it with no escape.

Three Essential Rules Beginners Often Miss

Check When your king is under attack, you are in check. You must deal with it immediately — either move the king, block the check, or capture the attacking piece. You cannot ignore check.

Castling A special move where the king moves two squares towards a rook, and the rook jumps to the other side of the king. Castling is only allowed if neither piece has moved yet, the squares between them are empty, and the king is not in check.

En Passant A rare pawn capture. If a pawn advances two squares from its starting position and lands beside your pawn, you can capture it as if it had only moved one square. This must be done immediately on the next move.

Basic Opening Principles

You do not need to memorise openings as a beginner. You just need three habits:

  1. Control the centre — Move pawns and pieces towards the middle of the board
  2. Develop your pieces — Get knights and bishops into active positions early
  3. Castle early — Move the king to safety behind a wall of pawns

These three habits alone will beat the majority of beginners.

Common Beginner Mistakes

  • Moving the same piece twice in the opening while your other pieces are still at home
  • Bringing the queen out too early (it gets chased around and loses time)
  • Forgetting to look at what your opponent is threatening before you move
  • Leaving pieces unprotected (a piece with no backup is a piece waiting to be taken)

What Comes Next

Once you know the rules, the real learning begins. Tactics (short combinations that win material), strategy (long-term planning), and endgames (winning with fewer pieces) are the three pillars of chess improvement.

At ChessMates, we guide students through all three in a structured curriculum tailored to their age and level. Our free trial class is the perfect starting point — no experience needed, no pressure, just great coaching.

Book your free class today and take your first real step into chess.