Three rules catch returning players out more than any others: castling, en passant, and promotion. After those, the rules about how games end, especially stalemate, are the ones people most often misremember. Here they are in plain words.
This is part of our complete guide to returning to chess after decades away.
Castling
Castling tucks your king away safely and brings a rook into play. Move the king two squares towards a rook, then the rook jumps over to the other side of the king. You can castle only if:
- Neither the king nor that rook has moved before
- Nothing is in between them
- The king is not in check
- The king does not pass through a square that is attacked
- The king does not land on an attacked square
In notation, castling short is written O-O and castling long is O-O-O.
En passant
En passant means "in passing", and it's the rule people forget most. If an enemy pawn jumps two squares from its starting position and lands right next to your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one square. You must do it on the very next move, or the chance is gone.
It exists so that a pawn can't dodge past your pawn by using its two-square first move.
Promotion
When a pawn reaches the far end of the board, it must become a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. Almost everyone chooses a queen. Online, the site usually pops up a menu of choices.
The pawn rules in one line
Pawns move forward one square (two from their starting square), capture diagonally forward, and never move backwards.
How games end
- Checkmate: the king is attacked and cannot escape. The game is won
- Resignation: a player gives up. Perfectly normal, and polite
- Stalemate: it's your turn, your king is not in check, but you have no legal move. This is a draw, not a win. Watch out when you're far ahead
- Agreed draw: both players agree to share the point
- Repetition: the same position appears three times, and a draw can be claimed
- Not enough pieces: if neither side can deliver checkmate (for example, king against king), the game is drawn
- Fifty-move rule: if fifty moves go by with no capture and no pawn move, a draw can be claimed
- Out of time: in clock games, you lose if your time runs out. See Rapid, Blitz, Bullet, and Daily explained
The stalemate trap
Stalemate is the easiest way to throw away a win. If you have a queen and king against a lone king, take care not to take away every square the enemy king can move to unless you're giving checkmate. Always leave it a square until the final move. We practice this in Week 4 of our plan.
Touch move and other over-the-board rules
Across a real board in a club, if you touch a piece, you must move it (unless it has no legal move). Online, you can usually change your mind until you release the piece. Once the move is played, it's final. See what to expect at a chess club for more.
A tip for practicing
Set up a real board, castle both ways a few times, and try an en passant capture with a friend or by playing both sides. Your hands remember more than your head does. If you want a printable reference, our free how to play chess cheat sheet is a handy one to keep beside the board.
And if you forget one anyway?
Everyone does, and it doesn't matter. Write down which rule you'd forgotten, and move on. When you're ready to brush up on tactics, see our tactics refresher. To stop giving pieces away, see the four-question check.
Want every rule in one place?
Back To Chess: The 30-Day Comeback Plan has full pages on how the pieces move, special moves, how games end, and reading notation, with a day in Week 1 dedicated to the special rules. It's £3.47, with no subscription and no pressure.
Or take the free Chess Openings Quiz to find your next opening.
