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🏛️Official — FIDE
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Board Games
1–2 players
game board, game clock
10 essential rules
Chess is played between two opponents who move pieces alternately on a square board called a "chessboard" (Art. 1.1). The player with the light-coloured pieces (White) makes the first move, after which the players move alternately (Art. 1.2).
The board is composed of an 8 x 8 grid of 64 equal squares alternately light and dark (Art. 2.1); The board is placed so that the near corner square to the right of each player is light (Art. 2.1); The eight vertical columns are files; the eight horizontal rows are ranks
The playing venue is the area defined by the organiser in which the games are played; players may not leave it without arbiter permission.
Chess is a two-player game; each controls one colour throughout the game (Art. 1.1); Moves must be made with one hand only (Art. 4.1); Players record their moves in algebraic notation on the prescribed scoresheet, or an approved electronic equivalent (Art. 8.1.1.1)
Bishop: any number of squares along a diagonal, without leaping over another piece (Art. 3.2); Rook: any number of squares along a rank or file, without leaping (Art. 3.3); Queen: any number of squares along a rank, file, or diagonal, without leaping (Art. 3.4)
Checkmate ends the game immediately, provided the move producing it was legal (Art. 5.1.1); Resignation: a player who resigns loses immediately, unless the position is one in which the opponent cannot possibly checkmate (Art. 5.1.2); Time: a player who does not complete the prescribed moves in th...
An illegal move is completed once the player has pressed the clock (Art. 7.5.1); The position immediately before the irregularity is reinstated; First completed illegal move: the arbiter gives two minutes extra time to the opponent (Art. 7.5.5)
Players shall take no action that will bring the game of chess into disrepute (Art. 11.1); The arbiter's duties expressly include ensuring fair play (Art. 12.2.1); Agreeing a result in advance, or deliberately losing, is contrary to Art. 11.1
Appendix D of the Laws sets out play with blind and visually disabled players, including adapted boards and permitted assistance; Arbiters may make reasonable accommodation for players with disabilities under the Laws
The device prohibition in Art. 11.3.2 is the primary anti-cheating provision in over-the-board play; Organisers may screen players entering the playing venue, subject to FIDE anti-cheating regulations; The scoresheet requirement (Art. 8.1-8.2) creates a verifiable record of every game
Warning; increasing or reducing the remaining time of a player; Awarding or deducting points; declaring the game lost by a player; Imposing a fine; exclusion from one or more rounds; expulsion from the competition
Avoid intentional rating manipulation ('sandbagging')
Deliberately losing games or avoiding wins to keep one's rating artificially low — in order to qualify for lower sections, easier norms, or favorable seeding — is widely condemned within the competitive chess community, even though it's difficult to prove or formally police.
Most discussed in the context of Swiss-system sectioned tournaments and norm-chasing.
No pre-arranged 'grandmaster draws'
Agreeing in advance (or by implicit understanding) to a short, quick draw without a genuine contest — sometimes to conserve energy, protect a tournament standing, or as a friendly accommodation — is viewed as violating the spirit of competitive chess, even though FIDE rules technically permit mutual draw agreement.
Most relevant in elite round-robin and Swiss tournaments where standings are affected.
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