♟️ Classic Chess: rules and free online play

The game everything else grows from: castling, en passant and promotion, with a clock if you want one.

Goal: Checkmate the king
Draws: Stalemate, repetition, 50 moves
Special moves: Castling, en passant, promotion

Rules

Each side starts with sixteen pieces. You win by attacking the enemy king so that no legal move can save it.

Three special moves surprise newcomers: castling tucks the king away and activates a rook, en passant lets a pawn capture one that just jumped two squares, and a pawn reaching the last rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.

Try the rules

Pick a position and press a button to see the rule in action.

How it differs from classic chess

Classic chess is the reference point for every variant on this site. Playing it keeps your calculation sharp, and the habits you build here — controlling the centre, developing quickly, keeping the king safe — carry over to nearly every other mode.

Tips for beginners

Develop knights and bishops before moving the same piece twice.
Castle early; an uncastled king is the easiest target.
Before every move, ask what your opponent's last move threatens.

Play and practise

Choose “Classic Chess” in the game window and play against the Fairy-Stockfish engine or send a link to a friend. Ratings are kept separately for every mode. The site interface is currently in Russian; this page explains the rules in English.