Chess is a game for two players. The goal is to checkmate the other player's king. The board has 64 squares, light and dark. Each player starts with 16 pieces. The player with the white pieces always moves first. Then the players take turns, one move at a time, until the game ends.

Each kind of 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 a straight line in any direction. A knight jumps in an L shape, and it is the only piece that can jump over others. A pawn moves forward and captures on a slant.

A pawn that reaches the far side of the board is swapped for a new queen, rook, bishop or knight. Most players choose a queen. Many people think a pawn can only become a piece that was captured, but that is not true. A pawn can also capture another pawn in a special move called en passant, right after the other pawn moves two squares.

A king that is attacked is in check. A player may never move the king into check. If the king is in check and cannot get out of it, that is checkmate, and the game is over. A player who runs out of time on the clock loses. If a player has no legal move but is not in check, that is stalemate, and the game is a draw.

Chess began in northern India, as a game called chaturanga. That was around the 400s CE and certainly before the 600s. Emanuel Lasker was world champion for 27 years. That is the longest reign of any chess champion. In 1972 the American Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky, 12.5 to 8.5, in a match that many people followed.

In May 1997 the computer Deep Blue beat world champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match in New York. On December 12, 2024, 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju of India beat Ding Liren of China in Singapore. He became the youngest world chess champion. The match score was 7.5 to 6.5.

Words to know

• checkmate: trapped king
• stalemate: a draw
• bishop: slant piece
• knight: jumping piece
• champion: top winner

The short version

Chess is a game for two players on a board of 64 squares. Each player starts with 16 pieces, and the goal is to checkmate the other player's king. It began in northern India, in a game called chaturanga, and it is now played around the world.

Quick facts

• Each player starts with 16 pieces on a board of 64 squares.
• A king in check that cannot get out is checkmated, and the game is won.
• A stalemate, where a player has no legal move but is not in check, is a draw.
• Emanuel Lasker was world champion for 27 years, the longest reign of any chess champion.
• On December 12, 2024, 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world chess champion.