Chess is played on an 8x8 board between two players, White and Black. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.
How the pieces move
King: Moves one square in any direction.
Queen: Moves any number of squares in a straight line, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Rook: Moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
Bishop: Moves any number of squares diagonally.
Knight: Moves in an L-shape: two squares in one direction and then one square perpendicular.
Pawn: Moves forward one square, or two squares on its first move, and captures diagonally.
Winning the game
The goal is to checkmate the opponent's king, meaning the king is under attack and cannot escape capture. A game can also end in a draw through stalemate, agreement, or repetition of moves.