Chess · Rules, notation and the clock
Chess: how to play, read the moves and keep time
Our chess pages in one place: the rules with a diagram for every piece, how to read and write a game, what the numbers on a chess clock mean, and a free clock for your phone. It’s all free and there’s nothing to sign up for.
New to chess? Start here
Sixty-four squares, six kinds of piece, and a handful of special moves that catch out people who’ve played for years. The first lesson covers every rule you need for a proper game, with a diagram for each piece. The next two teach you to read a chess book and to play with a clock.
Read in this order
The rules people get wrong
Learn
The rules first, then reading games, then playing against the clock.
How to play chess →Setting up, how each piece moves, check and checkmate, stalemate, castling, en passant, promotion, and every way a game is drawn.
Chess notation →What Nf3, exd5, O-O and e8=Q mean, the ! and ? symbols, and PGN, with Scholar’s Mate and Morphy’s Opera Game worked through.
Using a chess clock →What 3+2 means, where blitz ends and rapid begins, increment versus delay with worked numbers, and the clock rules at a club.
Tools
Free, in your browser, nothing to install.
More topics
Music →Free sheet music, chords, music theory and tools to practise with.
Reference →Charts, scales and tables: Moon phases, the phonetic alphabet, pencil grades and long division.
Electronics →Lessons from the first volt to ten Arduino experiments, multimeter guides and reference pages.
All topics →Everything we write about, sorted by subject.