Playboard
  • Lesson 1 of 32
  • The pieces
  • 4 min

The Chessboard and How to Set Up the Pieces

Before the first move, two things have to be right: the board has to face the right way, and every piece has to stand on its own square. This lesson checks both.

Step 1 of 5

  1. Light square on the right

    A chessboard has 64 squares in eight rows of eight, alternating light and dark. Turn it so that each player has a light square in the bottom-right corner. The star marks that corner for White. "Light on the right" is the rule most players remember it by.

  2. Files and ranks

    The columns are called files and are lettered a to h, from White's left to right. The rows are called ranks and are numbered 1 to 8, starting from White's side. Every square has a name made of the two: the bottom-left corner is a1, and e4 is a square near the middle, where the most popular first move lands.

  3. The starting position

    The rooks stand in the corners, the knights next to them, then the bishops. The queen and king take the two middle squares, and the eight pawns fill the rank in front. Black's pieces mirror White's exactly, so each queen faces the other across the board.

  4. Where does the queen go?

    The queen and king are the pair people mix up. The rule is that the queen goes on her own colour: the white queen on the light square d1, the black queen on the dark square d8. The two stars mark d1 and e1.

    Question

  5. Who moves first?

    With the board set up, the game begins. The players then take turns, one move each, for the whole game. You cannot pass, and you cannot move twice.

    Question

What you learned

  • Turn the board so each player has a light square in the bottom-right corner.
  • Files run a to h, ranks run 1 to 8, and every square is named by both, like e4.
  • Rooks in the corners, then knights, then bishops; the queen on her own colour, the king beside her.
  • White moves first, and then the players alternate.

In this course

Unit 1The pieces

  1. The Chessboard and How to Set Up the Pieces
  2. How the Rook Moves in Chess
  3. How the Bishop Moves in Chess
  4. How the Queen Moves in Chess
  5. How the King Moves in Chess
  6. How the Knight Moves in Chess
  7. How Pawns Move and Capture in Chess
  8. Chess Piece Values: What Each Piece Is Worth

Unit 2Special moves

  1. What Is Check in Chess, and How to Get Out of It
  2. How to Castle in Chess: Kingside and Queenside
  3. En Passant in Chess, Explained on the Board
  4. Pawn Promotion in Chess: Turning a Pawn Into a Queen

Unit 3Winning the game

  1. What Is Checkmate? Learn to Mate in One
  2. Stalemate in Chess: Why It's a Draw
  3. How to Checkmate With a King and Queen

Unit 4Your first tactics

  1. The Fork: Attack Two Pieces at Once
  2. The Pin in Chess: Freeze a Piece in Place
  3. The Skewer in Chess: Attack Through a Piece

Unit 5Checkmate patterns

  1. Back-Rank Mate in Chess: Spot It and Stop It
  2. Smothered Mate in Chess: The Knight's Checkmate
  3. The Ladder Mate: Checkmate With Two Rooks
  4. How to Checkmate With a King and Rook

Unit 6More tactics

  1. Discovered Attack in Chess: Unmask a Hidden Attacker
  2. Double Check in Chess: Two Checks at Once
  3. Removing the Defender in Chess: Take the Guard

Unit 7Opening principles

  1. Control the Centre: A Chess Opening Principle
  2. How to Develop Your Pieces in the Chess Opening
  3. Scholar's Mate: How It Works and How to Stop It
  4. Fool's Mate: The Fastest Checkmate in Chess

Unit 8Endgame basics

  1. The Rule of the Square in Chess Endgames
  2. The Opposition in Chess: King Endgame Basics
  3. King and Pawn vs King: How to Win the Ending

Lessons for every game

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