Chess rules
What Is the Goal of Chess?
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The goal on the board is to checkmate your opponent’s king: put it in check with no legal move that removes the attack. The king is never actually captured; the game ends as soon as checkmate occurs. Games can also end by resignation, by a draw, or on time.
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Checkmate ends the game
You win by trapping the enemy king. When the king is attacked (in check) and there is no legal way to remove the attack — no escape square, no piece to capture the attacker, no way to block — it is checkmate and the game is over instantly. You do not capture the king and you do not need to win all the opponent’s pieces; one fatal attack on the king is enough.
The other ways a game ends
Many games end before a checkmate appears on the board. A player may resign (concede), which counts as a loss. A game can also be drawn by agreement, stalemate, a dead position, a valid repetition or fifty-move claim, or an automatic draw condition. In timed games, a player whose clock runs out usually loses, with an exception when the opponent has no possible legal sequence that could produce checkmate.
How you actually get there
Checkmate is the finish, while a practical plan begins with the position in front of you: develop pieces, contest the centre, secure the king, and respond to immediate threats. For a new player, reducing undefended pieces and one-move tactical losses makes later attacking ideas much easier to use.