Ultimate Chess Piece Movements & Rules Cheat Sheet

Introduction to Chess

Chess is a two-player strategic board game played on a checkered 8×8 grid. Each player begins with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The objective is to checkmate your opponent’s king, putting it under an attack from which it cannot escape.

Chess Board Setup

Board Orientation

• The board should be positioned with a white square in the bottom right corner
• The white pieces start on ranks 1 and 2
• The black pieces start on ranks 7 and 8

Initial Piece Placement

8 | r | n | b | q | k | b | n | r | Black
7 | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p |
6 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
5 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
4 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
3 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
2 | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | White
1 | R | N | B | Q | K | B | N | R |
    a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h

Piece Movements

Pawn (P/p)

• Moves forward one square
• Can move two squares forward on its first move
• Captures diagonally forward one square
• Cannot move backward
• Promotes to any piece (except a king) upon reaching the opponent’s back rank

Knight (N/n)

• Moves in an “L” shape: two squares horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally
• Only piece that can jump over other pieces
• Always lands on a square of opposite color

Bishop (B/b)

• Moves diagonally any number of squares
• Always stays on the same color squares
• Cannot jump over other pieces

Rook (R/r)

• Moves horizontally or vertically any number of squares
• Cannot jump over other pieces
• Important for castling

Queen (Q/q)

• Combines the powers of the bishop and rook
• Moves diagonally, horizontally, or vertically any number of squares
• Cannot jump over other pieces
• Most powerful piece on the board

King (K/k)

• Moves one square in any direction (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally)
• Cannot move into check
• Special move: Castling

Special Rules

Castling

A simultaneous move of the king and one rook:

• King moves two squares toward the rook
• Rook jumps over the king to the adjacent square

Requirements for Castling:

• Neither the king nor rook has moved previously
• No pieces between the king and rook
• King is not in check
• King does not pass through or end up in check
• There are two types: kingside (short) castling and queenside (long) castling

En Passant

• When a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting position and lands beside an opponent’s pawn
• The opponent’s pawn can capture it as if it had moved only one square
• Must be executed immediately, or the right is lost

Pawn Promotion

• When a pawn reaches the opponent’s back rank (8th rank for white, 1st rank for black)
• Must be promoted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight (usually a queen)
• Can have multiple queens (or other pieces) of the same color

Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate

Check

• When the king is under attack by an opponent’s piece
• Player must get out of check by:
  1. Moving the king
  2. Capturing the attacking piece
  3. Blocking the attack

Checkmate

• When a king is in check and there is no legal move to escape
• The player whose king is checkmated loses the game

Stalemate

• When a player has no legal moves but their king is not in check
• Results in a draw

Game Outcomes

Draws

• Stalemate
• Insufficient material (not enough pieces to force checkmate)
• Threefold repetition (same position occurs three times)
• 50-move rule (no capture or pawn move in 50 consecutive moves)
• Agreement between players

Chess Notation

Algebraic Notation

• Files (columns) are labeled a through h
• Ranks (rows) are labeled 1 through 8
• Each square has a unique coordinate (e.g., e4, a1)
• Pieces are denoted by their initial letter (K, Q, R, B, N)
• Pawns don’t get a letter
• Captures are indicated with an “x”
• Check is indicated with “+”
• Checkmate is indicated with “#”

Examples:

• e4 (pawn move to e4)
• Nf3 (knight moves to f3)
• Bxc6 (bishop captures on c6)

Common Tactics and Strategies

Opening Principles

• Control the center
• Develop minor pieces (knights and bishops) early
• Castle early to protect the king
• Connect the rooks

Basic Tactics

• Fork: One piece attacks two or more enemy pieces
• Pin: A piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece
• Skewer: Similar to a pin, but the more valuable piece is in front
• Discovered Attack: Moving one piece reveals an attack from another
• Double Check: Two pieces check the king simultaneously

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Moving the same piece multiple times in the opening
• Bringing the queen out too early
• Not developing knights and bishops
• Ignoring center control
• Forgetting to castle

Resources for Further Learning

• Chess.com and Lichess.org for online play and tutorials
• ChessTempo.com for tactics training
• Books: “Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess,” “Logical Chess: Move by Move”
• YouTube channels: GothamChess, agadmator’s Chess Channel, ChessNetwork

Competitive Chess Information

Time Controls

• Bullet: Less than 3 minutes per player
• Blitz: 3-10 minutes per player
• Rapid: 10-60 minutes per player
• Classical: More than 60 minutes per player

FIDE Ratings

• 2500+: Grandmaster level
• 2300-2500: International Master level
• 2000-2300: National Master level
• 1800-2000: Expert level
• 1200-1800: Club player level
• Below 1200: Casual player level