Pawn & Play
Learn chess from move one

Lessons

Work through them in order — each one takes a couple of minutes.
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Today’s practiceA short, focused review
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Puzzle Practice

Train one idea at a time. Look for checks, captures and threats before moving.

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Puzzle

1 of 1

Before every move

  1. Can I give check?
  2. Can I win something?
  3. What is my opponent threatening?
White to move
Tap a piece to see where it can go
Even

Your Coach

Before every move

Three questions
  1. Can I give check? Look at every check first — forcing moves decide games.
  2. Can I win something? List every capture, then count defenders before taking.
  3. What is my opponent threatening? Their last move attacked something. Find it before you plan.

Captured

No captures yet
You won
Opponent won

Moves

Game Setup

Report card

Ready for a real board?

    Course

    Puzzles

    Games and habits

    Quick Reference

    Everything you need on one page. Come back whenever you forget a rule.
    Try it on the board:

    How each piece moves

    Tap a piece to see every square it can reach from the centre of an empty board.

    Tap a piece above.

    The three special moves

    • Castling. King moves two squares toward a rook, the rook hops to its other side. Only if neither has moved, the squares between are empty, and the king is not in check now, on the way, or at the end.
    • En passant. If an enemy pawn jumps two squares and lands beside your pawn, you may capture it diagonally as if it had moved only one — but only on your very next move.
    • Promotion. A pawn reaching the far end must become a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Pick the queen unless a knight gives immediate check or mate.

    How games end

    • Checkmate. The king is attacked and there is no legal move. That side loses.
    • Stalemate. A player has no legal move but is not in check. It is a draw — a lifeline for the losing side, so watch for it when you are winning.
    • Draw by material. Neither side has enough pieces to force mate (for example king and bishop versus king).
    • Fifty-move rule. Fifty moves each with no capture and no pawn move.
    • Repetition. The same position appears three times.

    At a real board

    • Set-up. Light square in your bottom-right corner ("white on the right"); queen on her own colour; kings and queens facing each other.
    • Touch-move. Touch a piece deliberately and you must move it; let go and the move is final. Say "adjust" (j’adoube) before straightening a piece.
    • Illegal moves are taken back, never punished. Kings are never captured. Point it out kindly.
    • Castling. Move the king first, then the rook, with one hand. Press the clock with the same hand you moved with.
    • Saying "check" is a courtesy, not a rule. Announcing checkmate is fine; gloating is not.
    • Draw offers. Make your move, offer once, and let your opponent think about it. Do not repeat the offer every move.
    • Resigning. "I resign" or gently tipping your king. Beginners should play on longer than they think — people blunder.
    • Handshake before and after every game, whatever the result.

    Reading chess notation

    Each square has a name from its file letter and rank number. Moves are written as the piece letter plus the destination.

    e4 pawn to e4  ·  Nf3 knight to f3  ·  Bxc6 bishop captures on c6
    O-O castles kingside  ·  O-O-O queenside
    + check  ·  # checkmate  ·  e8=Q promotes to a queen

    K=king, Q=queen, R=rook, B=bishop, N=knight (N, because K is taken). Pawns get no letter.

    Ten habits of a good beginner

      Mistakes everyone makes first

      • Leaving pieces hanging. Before you release a piece, ask "can anything take this?"
      • Bringing the queen out on move two. She gets attacked and you lose time developing.
      • Forgetting the back rank. Once you have castled, make a small pawn move to give your king air.
      • Grabbing every pawn. A pawn is rarely worth letting your opponent develop three pieces.
      • Only looking at your own plan. After every opponent move ask what it attacks.

      For teachers and authors

      Set up any position, test it with the engine, and copy it out as a puzzle or lesson step — the same checks the built-in content gets.

      Position editor