How to Set Up a Chess Board Properly

Setting up a chess board takes thirty seconds once you know it — and it is the first thing a more experienced player will check. Two mistakes are common: the board turned the wrong way, and the King and Queen swapped.

Step 1: Turn the board the right way

Each player should have a light square in the bottom-right corner.

Remember: "light on the right" (or "white on the right").

If the bottom-right square is dark, turn the board a quarter turn.

Step 2: The back row

Each player's pieces go on the row nearest to them. From the corners in towards the middle:

1. Rooks — in the two corners.
2. Knights — next to the Rooks.
3. Bishops — next to the Knights.
4. Queen — on the remaining square of her own colour: the white Queen on a light square, the black Queen on a dark square.
5. King — on the last square, beside the Queen.

Remember: "Queen on her colour."

If you have done it right, the two Queens face each other across the board, and so do the two Kings.

Step 3: The pawns

All eight pawns go on the second row, directly in front of the other pieces.

The finished board

From White's side, left to right:

• Back row: Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen, King, Bishop, Knight, Rook.
• Second row: eight pawns.

Black mirrors White exactly, so each piece faces its opposite number.

Chess board notation

Players and books refer to squares by a grid:

• Files — the columns — are lettered a to h from White's left.
• Ranks — the rows — are numbered 1 to 8 from White's side.

So White's King starts on e1, its Queen on d1, and Black's King on e8. The bottom-right corner, light, is h1.

Quick checks

• Light square on the right for both players.
• White Queen on a light square, black Queen on a dark one.
• Kings on the e-file, facing each other.
• Bishops start on one light and one dark square each — and stay on that colour for the whole game.

Who goes first

White always moves first. Players often decide colours by hiding a pawn of each colour in their fists and letting the opponent choose a hand.

Now you are ready to play. Chess rules for beginners · How each piece moves.

A magnetic set keeps the pieces where you put them, which means a game can be left half-played on a shelf, or carried on a train, without a reset.