Pawn - The soldiers in your game

Pawns cover the whole of the 2nd nearest row to you. The value of pawns are very little compared to other pieces. Pawns generally only move forward for a step and captures pieces diagonally. There is an exception on the first move of every pawn, which allows the pawn to take two steps instead of one forward. Of course, you can take a step or capture a piece too. In a game, pawns are usually captured first. Pawns tend to get blocked by pieces in front of them, usually another pawn. Although the pawn has very little power, if a player successfully moves his pawn to the 8th row, it gets a "promotion". This promotion allows the pawn to be converted to another chess piece of the player's choice(which in most cases is a king).

The L Shape piece - Knight

Knights are more special in terms of the way they move. They move in a L-shape formation, the only pieces that allow you to "hop" across other pieces. That means 2 steps in a direction and either left or right to that. A small trick to play your knight is to note that they will be placed on alternate squares. For example, your knight was on a black square before it moved. The square that it moves to, will be a white one. Interesting, isn't it. Interlocking knights can prove to be extremely dangerous to your opponent unless he finishes your knights off. Interlocking knights simply mean that they rest in a rectangular shape. This is because they cover a huge area when in the center of the board.

Bishops

Bishops move diagonally. As each bishop of yours occupy a different coloured square, so they will never ever touch another coloured square. (E.g A bishop on a white square will not be able to get on a black square.) They are very useful for setting long-distanced traps. Bishops are usually played during the middle of the game.

Rook

The power of rooks should never be underestimated, for they can do a lot of damage towards the end of the game. Normally, rooks are played at a later phrase of the game, as they can be easily obstructed. They might be "clumsy" in a way, but they are definitely powerful. Rooks progress by moving in a straight line so as long as there is nothing blocking its way. Watch out, losing your rook accidently is not clever at all. Rooks can be said to be more powerful when two of them work together as they can cover up to four rows. Have fun with them.

The King

Your goal in chess is to capture the king and to prevent your opponent from capturing yours in return. Everything has to go when your king's safety is threatened. The king in this game is pretty useless. It can move only one step in any direction, mainly used to escape from check. Its funny, isn't it? You have to protect the most useless piece on the board instead of the most powerful one. Note that if only the two kings are left in a game, it is not possible to win it. In this case, this is a draw.

Check vs Stalemate vs CheckMate

This are two terms that you will hear very often in the game of chess. "Check" means that your king is threatened by your opponent's pieces while "Checkmate" means that your king has no where else to go to be free from "Check". A checkmate means that king is surrounded and the player controlling it has lost. In the game of chess, getting a "Checkmate" is your goal. The main difference between these two words is that "Check" means that you have to move your king away from being eaten while you have already lost in "Checkmate".
Stalemate, on the other hand, means that a player is unable to make any more moves in his turn.

Thats it. Now to learn about the pieces.

The pieces

Pawn
Bishop
Knight
Rook
Queen
King
.. and that's it. They make up 16 pieces in total, aligned at the two rows closest to you. Basically, this is how you should place them on the board. The arrangement of chess pieces is standard for every game. The rooks should be placed at the 2 corners of the board, with 2 knights beside them. For those who are lost, knights are the pieces with a horse head. The next two pieces should be the bishops. Now, for the last two pieces. Now here's the golden rule: Put the queen on the remaining two squares that is of the same colour as the queen. The king will take the last spot in the last row. The next line will be filled with a row of pawns, or your army of soldiers.
Usually, the first player moves the white pieces and can be determined by any method. A flip or the coin or the "loser takes white" rule will do.