Chess Rules and Openings for Beginners: Castling, En Passant, and the First 5 Moves

2026-11-09 · 8 min read

Chess has sixty-four squares and six kinds of pieces, but beginners rarely lose because they forgot how a knight moves. They lose on the rules that only apply once: castling, en passant, and promotion. Learn those first. Then learn what to do with the first five moves.

The board and the starting position

Chess is played on an 8×8 board with 64 squares. White moves first. Files run from a to h, left to right from White's side. Ranks run from 1 to 8, starting at White's side. That gives every square a name, such as e4 or g1.

Each side has 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The back rank is rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. The queen starts on her own color: white queen on d1, black queen on d8. The pawns fill the rank in front of the pieces. The goal is to checkmate the enemy king.

How the pieces move

King: one square in any direction. The king may never move into check, and you may never make a move that leaves your own king in check.

Queen: any number of squares along a rank, file, or diagonal. She cannot jump over a piece. The queen is the strongest piece, which is exactly why bringing her out too early is a mistake.

Rook: any number of squares along a rank or file, without jumping. Rooks are strongest on open files with no pawns in the way.

Bishop: any number of squares along a diagonal, without jumping. Each bishop stays on its original color forever. A pair of bishops covers both colors and is a lasting advantage.

Knight: an L-shape, two squares in one direction and one square perpendicular. The knight is the only piece that jumps over other pieces. It has eight possible moves from the center and only two from a corner, so central squares suit it.

Pawn: forward one square, never backward. From its starting rank it may move two squares. It captures one square diagonally forward, not straight ahead. A pawn that reaches the last rank promotes.

Special rule 1: castling

Castling moves the king and a rook in a single turn. The king moves two squares toward the rook, and the rook jumps to the square on the other side of the king. Kingside castling is written O-O. Queenside castling is written O-O-O. Each side may castle once per game, and only once.

All five conditions must be true:

1. The king and the chosen rook have not moved earlier in the game.
2. No piece stands between the king and the rook.
3. The king is not currently in check.
4. The king does not cross a square attacked by the opponent.
5. The king does not land on an attacked square.

Only the king's path matters. The rook may be attacked, and on the queenside the rook may pass through an attacked square. For example, with White castling long, b1 may be attacked without preventing O-O-O, because the king only crosses d1 and c1. If White's king or rook has moved and returned to its original square, the right is gone for good. If the rook is captured, that side of the board can no longer castle.

Special rule 2: en passant

En passant is a capture a pawn can make against a pawn that has just moved two squares. Suppose a white pawn is on e5. A black pawn on f7 moves to f5 in one move, passing over f6. The white pawn may capture it by moving from e5 to f6 and removing the black pawn from f5. In notation this is exf6.

There are two limits. The capture must happen on the very next move; if you play anything else, the right disappears permanently. And it only works against a pawn that moved two squares. A pawn that moved one square cannot be taken this way.

Beginners often remember the shape but forget the timing. If you see a pawn pass your pawn, decide immediately: capture now or give up the option.

Special rule 3: promotion

A pawn that reaches the far rank must promote at once. Choose a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. You cannot promote to a king, and you cannot leave the pawn as a pawn. The new piece replaces the pawn on the promotion square, and promotion can happen on the same move as a capture.

Promoting to a queen is usually best, but not always. A knight promotion can give check or fork two pieces. A rook or bishop promotion can avoid stalemate when a queen would leave the opponent with no legal move. Because promoted pieces are real pieces, a player may legally have two queens, or three rooks, on the board.

Check, checkmate, and stalemate

A king is in check when the opponent attacks the square it occupies. You must answer the check immediately: capture the attacking piece, block the line, or move the king to a safe square. Any move that leaves your own king in check is illegal.

Checkmate is check with no legal answer. The game ends and the checked side loses. Stalemate is different: the side to move is not in check but has no legal move at all. Stalemate is a draw. It usually appears when a winning side pushes the enemy king into a corner and removes every safe square without giving check.

Other draws include the fifty-move rule, threefold repetition, and positions where neither side has enough material to checkmate, such as king against king. In casual games, both sides can also agree to a draw.

Three opening principles

1. Fight for the center. The squares e4, d4, e5 and d5 matter most. A pawn in the center opens lines for your bishop and queen and gives your knights more squares to use.
2. Develop knights and bishops, then castle. Bring out your minor pieces before you start maneuvering. Castle early to put the king behind a pawn wall and bring a rook toward the center.
3. Do not move the same piece twice without a reason, and do not bring the queen out early. Every tempo matters. A queen that appears on move three can be chased by knights and pawns, and you will lose time retreating.

The first five moves, explained

A sound opening does not try to win in five moves. It tries to reach a playable middle game with every piece doing a job. Here is one reliable line:

1. e4 e5   2. Nf3 Nc6   3. Bb5 a6   4. Ba4 Nf6   5. O-O

• 1. e4 e5. White claims the center and opens lines for the bishop and queen. Black answers in the center rather than on the edge. Both sides follow the first principle.
• 2. Nf3 Nc6. White develops a knight and attacks the e5 pawn. Black develops a knight and defends e5. Two pieces are active, and nothing is blocking the center.
• 3. Bb5. This is the Ruy Lopez. The bishop pressures the knight on c6, which is defending e5, so the pressure on e5 is indirect. Black is not in danger yet, but White is asking a real question.
• 3... a6. Black asks the bishop to decide. The pawn attacks the bishop and gains space on the queenside. This is the Morphy Defence.
• 4. Ba4 Nf6. White keeps the bishop on the diagonal. Black develops the second knight and attacks the e4 pawn, creating a counter-threat.
• 5. O-O. White castles. The king is safer, and the rook is closer to the center. White has completed the opening goals: center, development, king safety.

The Italian Game, 3. Bc4, is the other common choice. It aims the bishop at f7, the weakest square near Black's king. Both openings are sound. The Ruy Lopez asks a slower question; the Italian starts pressure sooner. Pick one and learn the ideas rather than memorizing a long line.

Three mistakes beginners make

Common questions