Chess Board Setup

Learn how to set up the chess pieces correctly.
On the right lower corner there must be a WHITE SQUARE.

White Queen sits on a WHITE SQUARE
Black Queen sits on a BLACK SQUARE

The first bishop is placed beside the King. The second bishop is placed beside the Queen.

The Number 1 starts on White’s side.

The Number 8 starts on Black’s side.

How to set up a Chess Board – See Chess Board Setup below

chess board setup

Chess Board is turned around
chess board setup

The board is turned around above, but same rules apply. As you can see above there is a white square at the right hand side lower corner (where the rook is placed upon).

The white queen is placed on a white square and the black queen is on a black square. The number 1 starts on the side with the white chess pieces and the number 8 starts on the side with the black pieces.
The board has 64 squares, 32 squares are dark and 32 are white squares.

Rows and Files

There are rows ( or ranks) and files. A row consists of 8 horizontal squares. A file consists of 8 vertical squares.

chess board setup

Each square has coordinates. (for example: a2, h1 -See above-)

Position

chess board setup

The position above is described as follows:
Black moves
White: Kc6, Rc8
Black: Ka7
Solution: 1…Ka6 2.Ra8++ checkmate

Diagonals

chess board

There are long and short diagonals. Make sure to place bishops on open diagonals where they can show their optimal power.

Back to – Chess Strategies for Beginners


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