Master Chess

Play Chess Online, for free! Checkmate your opponent's king with your strategic plan in the game of chess!

How To Play Chess

Start by learning how each piece moves. The King moves 1 step in any direction, and the Queen being the most powerful piece in the game moves as many steps as possible in any direction. The Rook moves vertically or horizontal for as many steps as it wants while the Bishop moves diagonally for as far as it wants as well. The Knight moves in a L manner within 3 steps, 2 in one direction and 1 at a 90 degree angle. The Pawn being the weakest piece can only move 1 step forward at any time except for its very first move with the choice of 1 or 2 steps.

Next, learn about castling in which you could move both king and the rook in the same turn. With the king taking 2 steps towards the rook (without facing any check) and the rook moving to the opposite side of the king. This can only happen when there are no pieces between the king and rook, and it must also be their first move. A pawn can be finally promoted to any piece, usually a queen, when it reaches the other side of the board. Last but least, en passant happens when any pawn moves 2 steps forward to land on any side of the opponent pawn, bypassing its chance to capture it. Under this scenario, the opponent pawn still has the ability to capture it as though it only made 1 move forward.

The most important part of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king. You can do so by making sure the king has no more spaces to move as they are all in check or blocked.

Chess Strategy

• Know the worth of your pieces, a queen is always worth more than a rook for example
• A knight and bishop may be of equal value as a single rook
• Try to control the center of the board as soon as possible, this would allow for lesser strategic positions for the opponent
• Do not just move a single piece for many turns
• Try to trade pieces in bad positions for opponent pieces in good positions