General Chess Rules

• White is always first to move and players take turns alternately moving one piece at a time. Movement is required. Each type of piece has its own method of movement. A piece may be moved to another position or may capture an opponent´s piece, replacing on its square (en passant being the only exception). With the exception of the knight, a piece may not move over or through any of the other pieces. 

Stalemate

• If a player´s turn is to move, he is not in check but has no legal moves, this situation is called “Stalemate” and it ends the game in a draw.

Check

• When a king is threatened with capture (but can protect himself or escape), it´s called check. If a king is in check, then the player must make a move that eliminates the threat of capture and cannot leave the king in check.

Checkmate

• Checkmate happens when a king is placed in check and there is no legal move to escape. Checkmate ends the game and the side whose king was checkmated loses. 

Initial Setup

• The chessboard is made up of eight rows and eight columns for a total of 64 squares of alternating colors. Each square of the chessboard is identified with a unique pair of a letter and a number. The vertical files are labeled a through h, from White´s left (i.e. the queenside) to White´s right. Similarly, the horizontal ranks are numbered from 1 to 8, starting from the one nearest White´s side of the board. Each square of the board, then, is uniquely identified by its file letter and rank number. In the initial position setup, the light queen is positioned on a light square and the dark queen is situated on a dark square. The order from left to right is; Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen, King, Bishop, Knight, Rook with all pawns lining the 2nd line from the player.