FIDE Chess Rules
Learn a rule, try the position, and understand the decision. Ten connected guides to the current FIDE Laws of Chess.
10 lessons
Beginner
Chess rules for beginners: moves and touch-move
Learn how all six chess pieces move, what an attacked square means, and when touching a piece commits you to a move under FIDE Articles 1–4.
Articles 1–4Castling, en passant and promotion explained
See both castlings, test the one-move en passant window and choose all four promotions. Learn which restrictions are permanent and which are temporary.
3.7.3; 3.8.2; 4.4–4.7; 6.11.2Checkmate, stalemate and how a chess game ends
Distinguish checkmate from stalemate, resignation from timeout, and a claimable draw from an automatic one under the current FIDE Laws.
Article 5; 6.9; 9.1–9.6; 10.1Tournament
Chess clocks: pressing, increment and flag fall
Use a step-by-step clock to separate a move from its completion, compare increment with delay, and understand FIDE’s timeout exception.
Article 6; 12.6Illegal moves: corrections and FIDE penalties
Work through illegal castling, incomplete promotion, clock mistakes and incorrect setup. Check the applicable penalty and the rapid/blitz claim window.
Article 7; A.3–A.6; B.2–B.4How to read and write chess notation (SAN)
Make a move to see its SAN, then learn captures, disambiguation, checks, castling, promotion and the recording duties in FIDE Article 8.
Article 8; Appendix CTournament chess: players, arbiters and accessibility
Practical FIDE guidance on phones, draw offers, disputes, arbiters and playing with a visually impaired opponent, with sources and examples.
Articles 11–12; 9.1; Appendix DAdvanced
FIDE draw rules: repetition and 50/75 moves
Learn what makes two positions identical, when to write an intended move, how to claim correctly, and when the game ends without a claim.
9.1–9.6; 11.11–11.12Standard, rapid and blitz chess compared
Compare FIDE’s rapid and blitz boundaries, recording duties and illegal-move procedures. Learn why the announced supervision regime matters.
Appendices A–B; 8.4Chess960 rules: starting positions and castling
Learn how Chess960 positions are arranged, why there are 960 choices, and where the king and rook finish after castling. Try sourced FIDE examples.
Guidelines II.1–II.3Chess terminology
- King
- King
- Queen
- Queen
- Rook
- Rook
- Bishop
- Bishop
- Knight
- Knight
- Pawn
- Pawn
- Check
- Check
- Checkmate
- Checkmate
- Stalemate
- Stalemate
- Dead position
- Dead position
- Castling
- Castling
- En passant
- En passant
- Promotion
- Promotion
- Draw claim
- Draw claim
- Repetition
- Repetition
- Increment
- Increment
- Delay
- Delay
- Illegal move
- Illegal move
- Touch-move
- Touch-move
- Arbiter
- Arbiter
Questions and answers
Can I castle through check if the King ends safely?
No. The King’s starting, crossing and destination squares must all satisfy the attack restriction. An attacked Rook is a different question.
Castling, en passant and promotion explainedCan I claim after playing the move that makes the third occurrence?
The claimant must have the move. When your proposed move will create the third occurrence, use 9.2.1 before playing it: record the intended move and tell the arbiter. Once you play, the opponent normally has the move.
FIDE draw rules: repetition and 50/75 moves