To set up a chessboard, put the rooks in the four corners, then the knights and bishops inside them, and the queen and king in the middle, with 8 pawns on the row in front. This article covers the steps for setting up, tips for remembering them, and how to read the square names (a1 to h8).

Contents

  1. The board has 8×8 = 64 squares
  2. Steps for setting up
  3. Which pieces go in the corners and next to the king?
  4. The queen goes on her own color
  5. Square names (a1 to h8)
  6. Common setup mistakes

The board has 8×8 = 64 squares

  • A chessboard has 8 squares up and 8 squares across, for 64 squares in all. Light squares and dark squares alternate.
  • Both players place the board so that the bottom-right square is light from their own side.
  • There are 32 pieces in all (16 white and 16 black).

An empty chessboard. From White's side, the bottom-right square h1 is light Place the board so that the bottom-right square (h1) is light from your side.

Steps for setting up

For White (set up on the two rows nearest you):

  1. Put the rooks on both ends (the corners) of the nearest row
  2. Put the knights next to them
  3. Put the bishops next to the knights
  4. Of the two squares left, put the queen on the square of her own color, and the king on the other
  5. Put the 8 pawns on the row in front

Black sets up the same way on the two rows on the far side. The queens face each other directly, and so do the kings.

The starting position. On the nearest row, from the edge: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook, with 8 pawns on the row in front The starting position. The white queen (d1) is on a light square, and the black queen (d8) is on a dark square.

Which pieces go in the corners and next to the king?

  • The pieces in the corners are the rooks (4 in all).
  • Next to the king are the queen and a bishop.
  • Next to the queen are the king and a bishop.

The queen goes on her own color

  • The white queen goes on a light square (d1), and the black queen on a dark square (d8).
  • In English, people remember this as "Queen on her color."
  • Following this rule keeps you from swapping the king and queen by mistake.

Square names (a1 to h8)

  • The columns are named with the letters a to h, from left to right as seen from White. These are called files.
  • The rows are named with the numbers 1 to 8, from nearest to farthest as seen from White. These are called ranks.
  • A square is named "letter + number." The white king starts on e1, and the black king on e8.
  • Chess notation (the record of moves) is written using these square names. → "How to Read Chess Notation"

A board with the name of each of the 64 squares, from a1 to h8 From White's side: a to h from left to right, 1 to 8 from near to far. Each square is named "letter + number."

Common setup mistakes

  • The board is turned the wrong way (the bottom-right square is dark): the queen and king end up on the wrong squares.
  • The king and queen are swapped: fix it with "the queen goes on her own color."
  • The knights and bishops are swapped: from the edge, the order is "rook, knight, bishop."

If you want to check the setup on a board, open "Board & Pieces" from "Tutorial" in the menu. On this site's game screen, the pieces are already set up when a game starts.

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