Jordan Mineo Intro to Chess
Your cheat sheet

Rules & Pieces

A quick reference for how every piece moves and the core rules of the game. Keep this open on your phone during the early weeks. If a student asks "wait, how does this move again?", the answer is here.

Piece values at a glance
♟Pawn= 1
♞Knight= 3
♝Bishop= 3
♜Rook= 5
♛Queen= 9
♚King= priceless

These values help players judge fair trades. The king has no point value because the whole game is about protecting him.

How each piece moves
Pawn (introduced Week 1)
  • Moves straight forward, one square at a time. Never backward or sideways.
  • On its first move only, it may go forward two squares.
  • Captures diagonally, one square forward. It can only capture this way.
  • Reaching the far row, it promotes, usually becoming a queen.
Bishop (introduced Week 2)
  • Moves diagonally, any number of empty squares.
  • Stays on one color its entire life.
  • Cannot jump over pieces.
Knight (introduced Week 2)
  • Moves in an L-shape: two squares one way, then one square at a right angle.
  • The only piece that can jump over others.
  • Always lands on the opposite color from where it started.
Rook (introduced Week 3)
  • Moves in straight lines, any number of empty squares: up, down, left, right.
  • Cannot jump over pieces.
Queen (introduced Week 1)
  • Moves in straight lines and diagonals, any number of empty squares.
  • Effectively a rook and bishop combined, which is why she is so powerful.
  • Cannot jump over pieces.
King (introduced Week 3)
  • Moves one square in any direction.
  • Can never move onto a square where he could be captured.
  • The whole game is about keeping him safe.
Core rules
Check and checkmate
  • Check: the king is under attack. The player must get out of check immediately (move the king, block, or capture the attacker).
  • Checkmate: the king is in check and there is no way out. The game ends. The king is never actually captured.
Draws (no winner)
  • Stalemate: the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. A draw.
  • Agreement: both players agree to a draw.
  • Insufficient material: neither side has enough to checkmate.
  • Threefold repetition: the same position occurs three times.
Setting up the board
  • Turn the board so each player has a light square in their bottom-right corner ("light on right").
  • Pawns fill the second row. Rooks in the corners, then knights, then bishops.
  • The queen goes on her own color; the king takes the last central square.
Two special moves (for later)

These are not taught explicitly in the core lessons, but curious or experienced students will ask. Here they are so you are never caught off guard.

Castling
  • A one-time move that tucks the king to safety and activates a rook.
  • The king slides two squares toward a rook, and that rook hops to the other side of the king.
  • Allowed only if neither piece has moved, the squares between are empty, and the king is not moving through or into check.
En passant
  • A special pawn capture. If an opponent's pawn uses its two-square first move to land right beside your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one square.
  • It must be done immediately, on the very next move, or the chance is gone.
  • Rare for beginners, but worth knowing it exists.