Chess Rules

One of the most famous games that reflect intelligent and strategic skills! In this game, two players compete by moving chess pieces in an attempt to put the opponent's king under threat, commonly known as "checkmate”, where the opponent must not be able to make any legal moves.

Basic Rules

Each player has 16 chess pieces, and the game always starts with the player who has the white pieces. Players take turns moving one piece at a time. The objective is to threaten the opponent's king so that they cannot make a legal move. The game doesn't necessarily have to end in checkmate, as players sometimes concede when they realize their defeat, and there are various cases where the game ends in a draw.

Each player has 10 minutes to think and make the right move. If a player fails to checkmate the opponent's king within this time, they lose, except in special cases where the game ends in a draw. Players can also request a draw, and in this case, both of them should have a mutual agreement.

Piece Movements

The chess game consists of 16 pieces, 8 of them on the first line and 8 on the second line: king (1), queen (1), rook (2), knight (2), bishop (2), and pawn (8).

1.      King: moves to any adjacent square and can perform "castling" under certain conditions.

2.      Queen: moves in any direction – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally along the lines.

3.      Rook: moves in any direction – horizontally or vertically along the lines.

4.      Knight: moves in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction (horizontal or vertical) and then one square in a direction perpendicular to the first two.

5.      Bishop: moves diagonally along the lines.

6.      Pawn: moves forward one square only. On its first move, it can advance two squares, and it captures diagonally.

Special Moves

· En passant: When a pawn moves two squares from its starting position, the opponent's pawn in the adjacent file can capture it as if it had moved only one square.

· Pawn promotion: When a pawn reaches the last rank of the opponent's side, it can be promoted to a stronger piece such as a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.

· Castling (king-side or queen-side): A special move involving the king and the rook, under certain conditions, where they move across each other.

Castling conditions:

- The king and the rook involved in castling must not have moved before.

- There should be no pieces between the king and the rook.

- The squares that the king moves through and lands on during castling must not be under attack.

Game End Conditions

Winning and Losing:

1.      Checkmate.

2.      Expiry of player's time.

*Note: If the player's timer runs out, it means they lose, unless the opponent does not have sufficient pieces to threaten the king. In that case, the game ends in a draw.

Draw Conditions:

1.      Stalemate: When the player has no legal moves, and the king is not in check.

2. Draw by agreement: Players can mutually agree to a draw, and each player can request it up to three times on the app.

3. Fifty-move rule: The game ends in a draw if 50 consecutive moves occur without any pawn movement or capture.

4. Threefold repetition: The game ends in a draw if the same position occurs three times for the two players.

5. Draw by inability to checkmate: The game ends in a draw if a player cannot checkmate the opponent's king and has a set of pieces that cannot threaten the opponent's king.

6.      Draw by time expiration without checkmating: In a special case, if a player's time runs out, and the opponent has a set of pieces that cannot threaten the player's king, the game ends in a draw.

*Note: Certain sets of pieces are considered unable to threaten the opponent's king:

- A lone king.

- A king with one bishop.

- A king with one or two knights.