How To Set Up Chess Pieces On Board

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Chess is an ancient game that humanity withal plays—and enjoys—to this day. Although chess has only a few rules, games tin get remarkably complex. Luckily, setting up a chessboard is straightforward, and learning the rules of play is not difficult. This wikiHow will aid you lot get started.

1. ane

   Set the lath and then that the bottom-right foursquare is a calorie-free square. Both players volition have a light square in the right corner on the edge of the board closest to them. The setup for each actor looks identical from their perspective.

   • You prepare your pieces on the two horizontal rows ("ranks") closest to y'all. The major pieces go on the first rank. The pawns keep the second rank.
   • Dissimilar in checkers, chess uses every unmarried square on the lath.
   • When setting upwardly your chessboard, a tip to keep in mind is that White is always on rank 1 and two and that Black is e'er on ranks 7 and viii.

2. 2

   Place your rooks in each corner. Start with your rooks (sometimes called castles), which are alpine pieces that motility in straight lines horizontally (along "ranks") and vertically (forth "files"). Place a rook on each of your two corners.

   • On a novelty board, such as Civil State of war sets or moving picture-themed pieces, information technology may be impossible to tell what a piece is without knowing the icons (or rule-book symbols) which may be marked on the bottom of the pieces. The symbol for a rook is ♜.

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3. iii

   Place the knights next to the rooks. The knights, which expect similar horses, go but to the right and left of the rooks. Knights move three squares in an "L" shape, first 2 spaces in one management, then ane infinite in another, or outset one infinite in one direction, then two in another. Knights can hop over pieces to make their moves, being the only pieces allowed to do and then.

   • The symbol for a knight is♞.

4. 4

   Place the bishops to the inside of the knights. The tall, round-topped bishops start side by side to the knights. Bishops move only forth diagonal lines.

   • The symbol for a bishop is♝.
   • The left bishop will start on a nighttime foursquare (and ever remain on dark). The right bishop starts on a calorie-free square (and always remains on light).

5. 5

   Identify the queen on the remaining, matching-colour square. If you are the white side, your queen goes on the remaining white square in the center of the first rank. If you are playing black, your queen goes on the remaining black square. The queen is one of the tallest pieces in the game and has a spiked crown. She can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally whatsoever number of spaces, making her the most powerful piece on the board.

   • The symbol for the queen is ♛.

6. half-dozen

   Identify the rex on the last open square of the first rank. The rex is commonly the tallest piece on the board and appears to wear a rounded crown often topped with a cross. The king tin can move in any direction but only one space at a time. Y'all use the rest of your pieces to protect your king. If you lose your rex, you lose the game.

   • The symbol for the king is ♚.

7. vii

   Identify the pawns along the second rank. Afterwards you've put your major pieces on the commencement rank, line up the lowly pawns like a protective wall on the second rank. Pawns movement forward one space at a time, but they can brand a variety of special moves, likewise.

   • The symbol for pawns is ♟.
   • Once both players identify their pieces like shown higher up, they're prepare to play.

8. viii

   Review your pieces. Your commencement two rows should wait similar this (blackness side):

   ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
   ♜♞♝♚♛♝♞♜

   Practiced TIP

   Sahaj Grover is a Chess Grandmaster, World Champion, and coach, who attained his Grandmaster title at the historic period of 16. He has been a World Junior Statuary Medalist, World U10 Champion, South African Open 2022 & 2022 Champion, and the Winner of the Arnold Classic 2022 & 2022.

   

   Sahaj Grover
   Chess Grandmaster

   Try this variation: There'south a variant of chess called Chess960. In this format, the pieces are fix randomly on the first rank, and the pawns remain the same. This was developed and then players aren't able to prepare beforehand, and so they have to be more artistic when they play.

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1. i

   Win the game by "checkmating" your opponent's rex. This occurs when the king cannot escape check no matter what. Past contrast, your opponent's king is merely "in check" if you could capture him on your next move but the opponent has a ways of escaping. A thespian must immediately movement their male monarch out of check if information technology's possible to do so. ^[1]

   • Y'all never actually capture a king. Once it'due south credible that a king cannot avert being captured on the next move, checkmate is immediately declared, and the game is over.
   • Some players like to say "check" when they make a move that puts the opponent's rex in firsthand danger.
   • You may not place your own king in check. Such a move is considered "illegal" and must be immediately rescinded. ^[2]

2. 

   two

   Capture the opponent's pieces to remove them from the game. If 1 of your pieces makes a move that ends on a foursquare already occupied past an opponent's piece, you "capture" that slice and remove it from the game. Your slice so takes the captured slice's place on that square. You cannot capture your own pieces or occupy any foursquare with more than than one piece. In other words, you cannot motility a piece through or to a square already occupied by one of your pieces—with the exception of your knights. They may motility over any other piece (but may not finish a move on a square already occupied past one of your pieces).

   • With the exception of the pawn, y'all tin can capture pieces merely with a "normal" move. For case, rooks can capture simply with vertical or horizontal moves.
   • Y'all cannot motion over a slice to capture some other one. If your piece "hits" another piece during its motion, it stops, captures the piece, and stays on that square. The knight is the only exception to this, as it takes a piece only when it ends a move by landing on that slice's foursquare.

3. iii

   Begin with White. White always makes the first move, and the players alternate later that. For players of equal ability, at that place is a slight advantage to going commencement. Each turn consists of one actor moving one piece. ^[iii]

   • A player must move a piece every plough. They cannot skip a turn simply because they don't know where to motility. If a player has no legal moves and is not in check, the game is a stalemate (come across below).
   • The just exception to the "move i slice" rule is called "castling," which allows a player to movement 2 pieces at once in a specific pattern to protect the king. Run across beneath for more than on barter. ^[4]

4. 4

   Sentinel out for stalemate. A game tin end in a tie "draw". Stalemate occurs when neither king is in check and the next player to movement has no legal motion available. If you are in an advantageous position, you would want to avoid stalemate. (The opposite is true if you are in a weak position and would beloved to force a draw.) Stalemate typically may occur when there are only a few pieces left such as pawns blocked by other pawns, and kings that can't move without putting themselves in check.

   • Remember that you lot tin can never put yourself in check. Thus, if it's your plow to motility and your only available move would put your king in cheque, the game is over, and a stalemate is declared. ^[5] In some tournaments this means you lose, although about players phone call this a depict.
   • Stalemate does non occur if either king is currently in check.

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1. 1

   Move pawns i space forwards. That is normally all they can exercise, and then they're non very useful. However, in certain circumstances, they become quite effective:

   • If your pawn gets all the way to the kickoff rank (for White) or eighth rank (for Black), you tin can '"promote"' the pawn to whatsoever piece other than the king or pawn. That means that a pawn that has advanced very far forth its file becomes quite powerful. Players typically promote to a queen but may promote to another slice to avoid stalemate or use the knight'south move (promoting to a piece other than the queen is called "underpromotion").
   • In its very first move, a pawn may (simply does not have to) move two spaces forward instead of ane.
   • A pawn tin can capture a slice that is diagonally one square in front of it. It cannot capture an otherwise adjacent piece.
     • En passant, or "capture in passing", can occur when the opponent moves their pawn ii spaces ahead to avert moving into your pawn'southward capture position (forward-diagonally adjacent). If this happens, only on your very next turn you lot can move your pawn diagonally into the space they skipped and accept that pawn anyway.^[vi]

2. 

   2

   Move rooks an unlimited number of spaces vertically or horizontally. Rooks movement in straight lines forward, backward, or sideways. They tin cantankerous equally many vacant squares every bit they want only must stop if they come up to another piece (or, of grade, the edge of the board).

   • If an enemy piece is in the way, the rook must stop before the piece or capture it. If it's your own piece, it must end before information technology comes to that foursquare.^[vii] (You cannot capture your own pieces.)

3. 

   3

   Movement knights in an "L"-shape. Knights have the most distinctive movement in the game: they "hop" three times, first two spaces in ane direction and so ane space in a perpendicular management, or first 1 infinite in any direction and then two spaces perpendicularly.^[viii]

   • Knights are the only pieces allowed to hop over other pieces of either color. They capture a piece only by finishing their movement on a foursquare occupied by an enemy piece. (They cannot stop on a square already occupied by a piece of their ain color.)

4. 

   four

   Move bishops any number of spaces diagonally. Bishops can move in four directions: diagonally right or left (either frontwards or backward). This means a bishop ever stays on the same color squares. For example, if information technology begins on a light square, there is no way for a bishop ever to get onto a night square.

   • Bishops cannot hop over pieces. If there is a piece in the way, the bishop must either stop or (if it's an opponent's piece) capture it.

5. 

   5

   Move the queen in a straight line in any management and whatever number of spaces. She can motion forward, backward, sideways, and diagonally every bit many vacant spaces as she wants. This makes her your near powerful slice.

   • A queen cannot move in the knight's L-shaped blueprint.
   • A queen cannot move over pieces. She must complete her movement either past stopping before coming to another piece or past capturing that piece.

6. 

   6

   Movement the male monarch in any direction ane space at a time. Kings tin can move 1 infinite forward, astern, sideways, or diagonally. The only exception is called castling, whereby a king and 1 of the rooks switch positions to help defend the king. In order to castle:

   • Neither the rex nor the rook tin have moved at any point in the game thus far.
   • There can be no pieces in between the rook and the rex.
   • The rex cannot be in check at the fourth dimension of barter, nor can the king in barter motion through or to a square in which he would be in check.
   • In one turn, move the male monarch 2 spaces towards the rook, so slide the rook into the foursquare the rex skipped over. They volition now be on opposite sides and right side by side to each other. ^[9]

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Chess Help

Add New Question

• Question

  Which color goes start, white or black?

  

  White ever goes first, but the player blackness has the advantage of choosing which side of the table to sit down on and on which side should the clock exist. I good way to decide who plays white and who plays blackness is to take one person takes one pawn of each colour, put them behind his back, mixes them, and the other player chooses a hand. The colour that histrion picked is the colour he gets to play with. After the first game, the role player who lost plays white.

• Question

  What is the rule on castling?

  

  Barter is a defensive tactic involving moving your king and one of your rooks at the aforementioned fourth dimension. If castling to the male monarch'southward side, the king moves 2 squares to his right, and the rook moves two squares left to stand to the left of and next to the king. If castling to the queen's side, the king moves 2 squares to the left, and the rook moves iii squares to the the right to stand to the right of and next to the king. Castling tin be done only when in that location are no pieces betwixt the king and the rook you will move. The king and rook cannot take moved previously. You cannot castle if your king is in check or if doing so would move your king through or to a foursquare where he would be in check.

• Question

  Is at that place a fashion to castle with whatsoever other pieces?

  

  No. Simply the king and rooks can castle.

• Question

  When a pawn reaches the opponent's back row, can information technology become any slice - or just a captured piece?

  

  This is known as a "promoted pawn." A pawn that reaches the 8th (or back) row can immediately become any other piece (except a king). This includes uncaptured pieces. This means that later on promotion a actor could take two queens or three rooks, bishops or knights. Typically a player would promote his/her pawn to a queen only can choose another slice instead (if doing so would exist advantageous in a detail state of affairs).

• Question

  When you get a queen back where does she become?

  

  She is placed on the square where your promoted pawn was when information technology was promoted.

• Question

  Can I castle out of bank check?

  

  No, yous cannot castle if your rex is in check. You tin castle just under these circumstances: (ane) Your king is not in bank check; (ii) You have not previously moved either your king or the rook you lot want to castle with; (three) In that location are no pieces standing between your king and that rook; and (four) Your king will not move through or to a square in which the king would be in check. Also, as a affair of chess etiquette, if your opponent is inexperienced, y'all should brand him/her enlightened of the possibility of castling before the game begins.

• Question

  Can whatever chess pieces move backward?

  

  Yes. Every chess piece can move backward except the pawns.

• Question

  Tin I accept more than one queen if I promote a pawn?

  

  Yes. You can have 2 queens -- the one yous started with, and the promoted pawn. In fact, y'all could wind up with more than two queens if you promote more than 1 pawn.

• Question

  What can the queen do?

  

  The queen can motion one or more spaces in a straight line in any direction. This makes her a payer's well-nigh powerful attacking piece. She must stop earlier reaching a space occupied by a piece of her colour. She may not move beyond a space in which she captures a piece of the reverse colour. (She, of course, must terminate at any border of the board.)

• Question

  If I am moving a knight, does the entire 50 shape need to be vacant?

  

  No. A knight may jump over other pieces of either colour. The knight may non finish its move by landing on a square already occupied by a piece of the knight'south color. It may, however, state on a square occupied by a piece of the opposite color (in which case the knight captures that slice).

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VideoRead Video Transcript

• Learn chess notation. Chess notation allows you to write down in a kind of "shorthand" both your ain and your opponent'southward moves, allowing you to study and re-create your game later.

• Learn chess tactics. Chess is an amazingly circuitous game. It has very few rules, just those rules have given birth to whole books full of tactics and strategy. Read as many as you lot can to get a better chess thespian.

• Know the values of chess pieces. Chess pieces are assigned values as a matter of convenience for players trying to evaluate opportunities to give upward a player in exchange for an opponent'due south player.

• Acquire how to open up in chess. The opening phase of a game lays the groundwork for the rest of the game. Slip up hither and you're likely to pay for it later. Openings are fun to written report. An experienced opponent will be aware of many opening patterns.

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Things You'll Need

• Chess Board
• Chess Pieces

Virtually This Article

Article Summary X

To fix up a chessboard, position the board so that the lesser-right foursquare is white, and place a rook in each of your 2 corners. Then, place the knights next to the rooks, and the bishops next to the knights. Place the queen on the remaining block in the back row that matches the color of your pieces, and position the king in the remaining block. Make full in the 2nd row, or rank, with pawns to protect your other pieces. For more tips, including how to move the pieces during the game, read on!

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