Chess is a board game for two players. Each player starts with sixteen pieces eight pawns, two nights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. 

      The goal of the game is for each player to try to checkmate the king of the opponent.  Checkmate is a threat check to the opposing king which no move can stop. It ends the game. One player White has pieces of a light color the other player Black has pieces of a dark color.

      There are rules about how pieces move, and about taking the opponent's pieces off the board. When a king is in check, and cannot get out of it.  A player may resign at any time, usually, because his or her position is hopeless. A losing player is able to resign by placing their king on its side on the chessboard.  If the player's clock time is over exceeding the time control. Strictly speaking, this is not part of the rules of the game, but part of the rules of tournament and match chess where chess clocks are used.

      The player with white pieces always makes the first move, Because of this, White has a small advantage, and wins more often than Black in tournament games. Chess is popular and is often played in competitions called chess tournaments. It is enjoyed in many countries.