Tap one of your pieces. A dot shows a square it can move to, a ring shows a piece it can take.
Tap a dot or a ring to go there. Tap another piece to change your mind.
A pawn that reaches the far row turns into a queen, or a rook, bishop or knight if you pick one.
Trap the other king so it cannot get out of check. That is checkmate, and you win.
How the pieces move
King One square, any way. Never onto a square where it could be taken.
Queen Any way, as far as she likes.
Rook In straight lines: up, down and sideways.
Bishop Diagonally, as far as it likes.
Knight Two squares one way, then one across. It jumps over pieces.
Pawn Forward one square, or two on its first move. It takes diagonally.
Castling
Tap your king, then the square two away from it towards a rook: the rook hops over. Only while neither has moved, nothing stands between them, and the king is not in check and would not cross it.
En passant
A pawn that runs two squares and lands beside your pawn can be taken as if it had moved one. Only on your very next move.
A draw
Nobody wins when a player has no move but is not in check (stalemate), when the same position comes up three times, after 50 moves each with no pawn moved and nothing taken, or when too few pieces are left to give checkmate.
The clock
Each of you has a clock, and yours only runs while it is your move. Your first move is free: the clocks start once you have both made one. Run out and you lose, unless your friend has nothing left to mate with: then it is a draw. Whoever sets up the game picks how long you get, and a party picks for you. Only a game on its own can go without a clock. In a tournament you have one minute to make your first move. Miss it and the match goes to your friend.
