Chess For Beginners 1, Lesson 1: How Chess Pieces Move

There are two things every chess player needs to learn before they can start playing games: how to name the squares on a chess board and how to move the pieces. In this opening installment of our series on chess basics, we’ll cover both topics, as well as an important rule for in-person play and some fun variants students can try out at home for extra practice.

How To Name Squares

A chess board is split into two categories: the ranks (horizontal rows), and files (vertical columns). Ranks are numbered one through eight, and files are lettered a through h. In the diagram below, you can see the numbers of each rank along the left side of the board, and the letters of each file along the bottom of the board:

To find the name of a particular square, take the letter of the file it’s on and pair it with the number of the rank it’s on. If you’ve ever played “Battleship,” it’s just like that. In the diagram below, the square indicated by a circle would be called e4:

When naming squares, the letter of the file always comes first, followed by the number of the rank.

How Chess Pieces Move

Each piece moves and captures enemy pieces in a unique way. Here's everything you need to know about piece movement.

Pawn

Pawns move forward one square at a time, never backwards, with two exceptions: first moves and capturing. On its first turn, a pawn can move two squares instead of one, but it doesn't have to. In the example below, both White and Black have made their first moves. White’s pawn has moved two squares, while Black’s has only moved one:

A pawn captures other pieces by moving diagonally. In the diagram below, the white pawn can capture the black bishop indicated by the arrow, but not the knight in front of it: 

When a pawn reaches the other end of the chess board–the eighth rank for White and first rank for Black–it gets a promotion and transforms into a bigger piece of the player’s choice: a knight, bishop, rook, or queen. It cannot remain a pawn. If it did, it would have nowhere left to go.

Knight

Knights move in an “L” shape, two squares in one direction and one square to the side. The knight we see in the center of the board can move to any of the squares indicated:

Just like the horses they resemble, knights like to jump over things. They are the only chess pieces that can jump over other pieces. Knights prefer to be in the center of the board than on the edge of the board, where their movement is limited. As a famous chess saying goes, “Knights on the rim are dim.”

Knights capture other pieces by jumping on top of them. 

Bishop

Bishops move diagonally, both forwards and backwards. Each player starts with two bishops: one that travels along the light-colored squares and one that travels along the dark-colored squares. The squares White’s bishops can move to are indicated on the diagram below:

A bishop can never stray from the color it started on. Ever played the game “The Floor is Lava,” where you have to jump from object to object to avoid touching the ground? Think of it this way: to a light-square bishop, the dark squares are lava, and to a dark-square bishop, the light squares are lava.

Bishops capture pieces by traveling to that piece’s square and taking it over. 

Rook

Rooks move in straight lines, side to side or up and down:

In chess terms, the rook moves along the ranks and files. They can move backwards and forwards as many squares as they choose, but they cannot go past another piece if that piece is in the rook’s path.

Like bishops, rooks capture pieces by traveling to that piece’s square and taking it over.  

Queen

The queen is the strongest piece on the chess board. She moves up and down, side to side, and diagonally, both backwards and forwards:

Many kids like to think of her as a rook and bishop combined. Queens capture pieces the same way as rooks and bishops: by taking over their squares. 

King

The king moves one square at a time in any direction–up and down, side to side, or diagonally:

Like the queen, the king can capture in any direction.

Since the whole game revolves around the king, he is the most important piece on the chess board. For most of the game, the king prefers to hide on the back rank instead of fighting opposing pieces in the middle of the board like the rest of his army. This keeps him out of danger. 

What Is The Touch Move Rule In Chess?

Chess played over-the-board (OTB) uses something called the touch move rule. If you touch one of your pieces during your turn, you must move that piece; similarly, if you touch an opponent’s piece that’s available for capture, you must capture it. Once you let go of your piece, your turn ends and you cannot change your move. 

There are a few situations in which this rule does not apply:

• A player touches a piece that cannot make any legal moves (i.e. a rook boxed in by other pieces)
  
• A player touches an opponent’s piece that can’t be captured
  
• A piece is accidentally knocked over or pushed off of its square and a player touches the piece to fix the issue; in these cases, players will usually say “Adjust” to indicate to their opponent that they’re not touching the piece as part of their turn
  

This rule is often challenging for younger players who are new to the game. To avoid having to make unwanted moves, players should think carefully about which piece they want to move before reaching out to touch anything. 

Chess Variants for Beginners

To practice moving the pieces and making captures, try these two fun versions of chess on your home chess board.

Pawn Wars

This game only uses the pawns. To win, you either need to capture each of your opponent’s pawns or be the first to get a pawn all the way to the other side of the board. The starting position looks like this:

Gobble Chess

The objective of this game is to gobble up your opponent’s pieces as fast as you can. Whoever captures all of their opponent’s pieces first wins the game. Here’s the starting setup:

Final Thoughts

Once players have mastered piece movement and the touch move rule, they’re nearly ready to start playing standard chess games–they just need to learn a few more rules first, like check and checkmate. In the meantime, the variants mentioned above are a great way for beginners to familiarize themselves with the board and pieces and get more comfortable with the basics.

Students who are interested in learning more about the core concepts of chess can sign up for our online Academy program, which offers nine class levels, a broad range of class times, and flexible scheduling. Try a $5 trial chess class today.