The Library · Reference

The rules of chess

Every regulation in the FIDE Laws of Chess that decides whether a game has been won, drawn, or forfeited. One authoritative sentence per rule, then a paragraph of explanation, then the edge cases — structured so a player or a machine can find the answer in one read.

13rules
5sections
FIDEauthoritative source

Special moves

3 rules
  1. Castling

    A single move in which the king moves two squares toward a rook and that rook moves to the square the king crossed — legal only when neither piece has moved, the squares between them are empty, and the king is not, does not pass through, and does not end on a square attacked by an enemy piece.

    Article 3.8
  2. En passant

    A pawn that has just advanced two squares from its starting position may be captured on the very next move by an opposing pawn on an adjacent file, as if it had only advanced one square.

    Article 3.7d
  3. Pawn promotion

    A pawn that reaches the eighth rank (for White) or the first rank (for Black) must be immediately replaced by a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same colour, with the choice made by the player and the replacement piece taking effect as part of the move.

    Article 3.7e

Check, checkmate, stalemate

2 rules
  1. Checkmate

    A position in which the player to move is in check and has no legal move to escape it, ending the game immediately with the checked player declared the loser.

    Article 5.1
  2. Stalemate

    A position in which the player to move has no legal move but is not in check, ending the game immediately as a draw.

    Article 5.2a

Draws

6 rules
  1. Dead position

    A position in which checkmate by either player is impossible with any series of legal moves, ending the game automatically in a draw.

    Article 5.2b
  2. Draw by agreement

    A draw concluded when one player formally offers a draw and the opponent accepts; the offer must be made after the offerer's move but before pressing the clock, and the acceptance must occur before the opponent makes a move.

    Article 9.1
  3. Fifty-move rule

    A claimable draw available when both players have completed fifty consecutive moves without any pawn move and without any capture.

    Article 9.3
  4. Fivefold repetition

    An automatic draw declared by the arbiter when the same position has appeared five times during the game, regardless of any claim by either player.

    Article 9.6
  5. Seventy-five-move rule

    An automatic draw declared by the arbiter when seventy-five consecutive moves have been completed by each player without any pawn move and without any capture, regardless of any claim by either player.

    Article 9.6
  6. Threefold repetition

    A claimable draw available when the same position — identical in piece placement, same player to move, identical castling and en passant rights — has appeared three times during the game.

    Article 9.2

Time and the clock

1 rule
  1. Time forfeit

    A loss declared when a player's clock reaches zero before the player has completed the required number of moves, provided the opponent has sufficient material to checkmate by any legal sequence.

    Article 6.9

Conduct and arbitration

1 rule
  1. Touch-move rule

    A player who deliberately touches one of his own pieces, while it is his move, must move that piece if it has a legal move; a player who deliberately touches an opponent's piece must capture it if a legal capture is available.

    Article 4