How the pieces move
| Piece | Moves | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ♔ King | one square in any direction | priceless |
| ♕ Queen | any distance along rank, file or diagonal | 9 |
| ♖ Rook | along ranks and files | 5 |
| ♗ Bishop | along diagonals | 3 |
| ♘ Knight | in an L-shape, jumping over pieces | 3 |
| ♙ Pawn | forward 1 (2 at the start), captures diagonally | 1 |
Values guide exchanges: knight and bishop are roughly equal, a rook beats either, a queen is worth about three minor pieces. The king is never traded: losing it ends the game.
Special rules
- Castling — the king moves two squares towards a rook and the rook jumps over to the adjacent square. Conditions: neither has moved, the squares between are empty, the king is not in check and does not cross an attacked square.
- En passant — if an enemy pawn advances two squares and lands beside yours, on the very next move you may capture it as if it had moved one square.
- Promotion — a pawn reaching the last rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight (usually a queen). The game shows a picker.
Check, checkmate, stalemate
- Check — the king is attacked and must be rescued at once: move, block or capture the attacker.
- Checkmate — check with no rescue. The game is over and the mating side wins.
- Stalemate — no check, but the side to move has no legal move: a draw. Be careful when far ahead.
Kinds of draw
- By agreement: one side offers a draw, the other accepts.
- Stalemate (above).
- Threefold repetition: the same position occurs three times.
- The 50-move rule: 50 moves without a pawn move or capture.
- Insufficient material: king vs king, king + bishop or king + knight cannot mate.
- Time runs out but the opponent has no mating material: a draw.
Clock rules (online)
Each player has their own clock, running only on their turn. In 3+2, two seconds are added after every move. Flagging loses. If the opponent is disconnected for 45 seconds you win; resign with 🏳. About time controls.
FAQ
Can the king be captured?
No. A move leaving the king in check is illegal; if there is no rescue, that is checkmate and the game ends.
Can a pawn move backwards?
No, only forwards. Think pawn moves through: they cannot be undone.
Can I castle out of check?
No. You cannot castle out of, through or into check, nor if the king or that rook has moved.
Does the game enforce the rules?
Yes: only legal moves (green dots); castling, en passant, promotion, threefold repetition and the 50-move rule are handled automatically.
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