The chess board and how to set it up
How to play chess
How do you set up a chess board?
A chess board has 64 squares in eight rows and eight columns, in two alternating colours. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns.
| ♜ | ♞ | ♝ | ♛ | ♚ | ♝ | ♞ | ♜ |
| ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ |
| ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ |
| ♖ | ♘ | ♗ | ♕ | ♔ | ♗ | ♘ | ♖ |
The rules
- Turn the board so that each player has a light square in the bottom right-hand corner.
- Put the rooks in the corners, the knights next to them, then the bishops next to the knights.
- The queen goes on the square of her own colour: the white queen on a light square, the black queen on a dark square. The king takes the square beside her.
- The eight pawns go in the row in front of the pieces.
- White always moves first, and then the players take turns, one move each.
Common mistakes
- Putting the king and queen the wrong way round. Remember: the queen goes on her own colour.
- Turning the board so that a dark square is in the bottom right corner.
Remember
Light square on the right, and the queen on her own colour.