What is chess

Chess is a board game and a mental sport between two people. It is played on a square board of 8 rows and 8 columns, giving 64 squares of alternating color, light and dark. Learn more about chess sets

Each player begins the game with 16 pieces that each move and capture other pieces on the board in a unique way: eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king.

One player controls the white pieces; the other player controls the black pieces. The object of the game is to achieve the famed "checkmate". This occurs when a king is attacked (cannot move) and captured. A quick note: checkmate renders the actual capture of the king unnecessary since it is a foregone conclusion and the game ends at that time.