CHESS BASICS AND STRATEGY GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS
Goal of the game:
The main goal in chess is to checkmate your opponent’s king. Checkmate means the king is under attack and has no way to escape capture. You win the game when you deliver checkmate.
The Chessboard:
Chess is played on an 8 by 8 square board. That means there are 64 squares total. Each square is either light or dark in color. When setting up the board, make sure the bottom right corner square is light. The vertical columns are called files and go from a to h. The horizontal rows are called ranks and go from 1 to 8.
Chess pieces and how they move:
King moves one square in any direction. It is the most important piece. You lose if your king is checkmated.
Queen moves any number of squares in any direction, straight or diagonal. It is the most powerful piece.
Rook moves any number of squares forward, backward, or sideways. It cannot move diagonally.
Bishop moves diagonally any number of squares. It stays on the same color