Chess is the classic two-player game of pure strategy on an 8×8 board. Marshal your army, trap the enemy king, and outthink your opponent with no luck involved.

Born from the Indian game chaturanga around the 6th century, chess spread through Persia and the Arab world into Europe, where the modern rules took shape in the 15th century. It is the most-played abstract strategy game on earth.

• Each side has 16 pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.
• White moves first, then players alternate one move at a time.
• Each piece moves in its own way — rooks in straight lines, bishops diagonally, knights in an L, the queen any direction.
• Capture by moving onto an enemy piece's square; special moves include castling, en passant, and pawn promotion.
• Checkmate — attacking the king so it cannot escape — ends the game instantly.

• Open by developing knights and bishops and fighting for the four central squares.
• Castle early to tuck your king safely behind a wall of pawns.
• Connect your rooks and look for open files and diagonals for your pieces.
• Create threats your opponent must answer, then convert an advantage into checkmate.

• Control the center — central pieces reach more squares.
• Don't move the same piece twice in the opening without a reason.
• Trade pieces when you're ahead in material; keep pieces on when you're behind.
• Always ask what your opponent's last move threatens before you reply.