Chess is a game for two players. The board has 64 squares, light and dark. Each player starts with 16 pieces. The goal is to checkmate the other player's king. The player with the white pieces moves first.

The board is set so each player has a light square at the right corner. The pawns start on the second row. The rooks go in the corners, with the knights next to them. The queen starts on her own color, so the white queen starts on a light square.

Each piece moves in its own way. The king moves one square at a time. A rook moves in straight lines, and a bishop moves along slants. The queen moves in any straight line. A knight jumps in an L shape, and it can jump over other pieces. A pawn moves forward and captures one square on a slant.

Chess has special moves. In castling, the king and a rook move together, once a game. When a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it is swapped for a new queen, rook, bishop or knight. Most players choose a queen.

Chess began in northern India, in a game called chaturanga. In May 1997 a computer named Deep Blue beat the world champion, Garry Kasparov, in a six-game match in New York.

A king that is attacked is in check. If it cannot get out of check, that is checkmate, and the game is won. In stalemate, a player has no legal move but is not in check. A stalemate is a draw.

Words to know

• castling: special move
• stalemate: a draw
• checkmate: trapped king
• bishop: slant piece
• knight: jumping piece