How To Set Up Chess Board Game

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

1. 1

   Set the lath so that the bottom-right square is a light foursquare. Both players will have a light square in the correct corner on the border of the board closest to them. The setup for each player looks identical from their perspective.

   • Yous ready your pieces on the two horizontal rows ("ranks") closest to you. The major pieces become on the outset rank. The pawns become on the second rank.
   • Different in checkers, chess uses every unmarried foursquare on the lath.
   • When setting up your chessboard, a tip to proceed in mind is that White is always on rank 1 and two and that Blackness is always on ranks vii and 8.

2. 2

   Place your rooks in each corner. Starting time with your rooks (sometimes chosen castles), which are alpine pieces that move in direct lines horizontally (forth "ranks") and vertically (along "files"). Place a rook on each of your two corners.

   • On a novelty board, such as Civil War sets or movie-themed pieces, it may be impossible to tell what a piece is without knowing the icons (or dominion-book symbols) which may be marked on the bottom of the pieces. The symbol for a rook is ♜.

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3. 3

   Identify the knights side by side to the rooks. The knights, which look similar horses, become just to the right and left of the rooks. Knights move three squares in an "50" shape, first 2 spaces in one direction, and so 1 space in another, or get-go one space in one direction, so 2 in some other. Knights can hop over pieces to brand their moves, being the only pieces allowed to do and so.

   • The symbol for a knight is♞.

4. 4

   Identify the bishops to the inside of the knights. The alpine, round-topped bishops beginning next to the knights. Bishops motion simply along diagonal lines.

   • The symbol for a bishop is♝.
   • The left bishop will showtime on a dark square (and e'er remain on dark). The correct bishop starts on a light foursquare (and always remains on lite).

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 middle of the start rank. If you are playing black, your queen goes on the remaining black square. The queen is ane of the tallest pieces in the game and has a spiked crown. She can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally any number of spaces, making her the most powerful slice on the lath.

   • The symbol for the queen is ♛.

6. 6

   Place the male monarch on the last open square of the first rank. The male monarch is usually the tallest piece on the board and appears to vesture a rounded crown often topped with a cantankerous. The king can move in any direction merely only 1 space at a fourth dimension. Yous use the rest of your pieces to protect your king. If y'all lose your king, you lose the game.

   • The symbol for the rex is ♚.

7. 7

   Identify the pawns along the second rank. After you've put your major pieces on the first rank, line up the lowly pawns similar a protective wall on the second rank. Pawns motility forward one space at a time, only they can brand a variety of special moves, likewise.

   • The symbol for pawns is ♟.
   • Once both players place their pieces like shown above, they're ready to play.

8. viii

   Review your pieces. Your offset 2 rows should look like this (black side):

   ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
   ♜♞♝♚♛♝♞♜

   EXPERT TIP

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

   

   Sahaj Grover
   Chess Grandmaster

   Effort this variation: There'southward a variant of chess called Chess960. In this format, the pieces are set up randomly on the get-go rank, and the pawns remain the aforementioned. This was developed so players aren't able to ready beforehand, and then they accept to be more creative when they play.

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1. 1

   Win the game by "checkmating" your opponent's king. This occurs when the king cannot escape bank check no matter what. By contrast, your opponent's king is but "in check" if you could capture him on your next motility but the opponent has a means of escaping. A player must immediately motility their rex out of check if it'due south possible to practise and then. ^[1]

   • You never actually capture a king. Once information technology'southward apparent that a king cannot avert being captured on the side by side move, checkmate is immediately declared, and the game is over.
   • Some players like to say "check" when they brand a movement that puts the opponent'southward king in immediate danger.
   • You may not place your ain rex in check. Such a motion is considered "illegal" and must be immediately rescinded. ^[2]

2. 

   two

   Capture the opponent'south pieces to remove them from the game. If one of your pieces makes a motility that ends on a square already occupied by an opponent'southward piece, yous "capture" that piece and remove it from the game. Your slice then takes the captured piece's identify on that square. You cannot capture your own pieces or occupy whatever square with more than than ane slice. In other words, you cannot move a piece through or to a square already occupied by ane of your pieces—with the exception of your knights. They may move over whatsoever other piece (only may not end a move on a square already occupied by ane of your pieces).

   • With the exception of the pawn, y'all tin can capture pieces only with a "normal" motion. For example, rooks tin can capture only with vertical or horizontal moves.
   • You cannot move over a piece to capture another 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, equally it takes a piece only when information technology ends a motion by landing on that piece'south square.

3. iii

   Brainstorm with White. White always makes the kickoff move, and the players alternate afterwards that. For players of equal power, at that place is a slight advantage to going get-go. Each plough consists of one actor moving one slice. ^[iii]

   • A player must motion a piece every turn. They cannot skip a turn simply because they don't know where to move. If a player has no legal moves and is not in check, the game is a stalemate (see below).
   • The only exception to the "move one piece" dominion is called "castling," which allows a player to move 2 pieces at one time in a specific pattern to protect the king. See below for more on castling. ^[iv]

4. four

   Watch out for stalemate. A game can end in a tie "draw". Stalemate occurs when neither king is in check and the next player to move has no legal motion available. If you are in an advantageous position, y'all would want to avert stalemate. (The contrary is true if you are in a weak position and would love to strength a describe.) Stalemate typically may occur when at that place are simply a few pieces left such as pawns blocked by other pawns, and kings that can't move without putting themselves in check.

   • Think that you can never put yourself in bank check. Thus, if it's your plough to motility and your merely available motion would put your king in bank check, the game is over, and a stalemate is declared. ^[v] In some tournaments this means you lot lose, although most players call this a describe.
   • Stalemate does non occur if either king is currently in check.

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1. ane

   Motility pawns one infinite forward. That is usually all they tin can practise, so they're non very useful. Yet, in sure circumstances, they become quite effective:

   • If your pawn gets all the way to the first rank (for White) or 8th rank (for Blackness), you can '"promote"' the pawn to whatever slice other than the male monarch or pawn. That means that a pawn that has avant-garde very far along its file becomes quite powerful. Players typically promote to a queen but may promote to another piece to avoid stalemate or use the knight'south move (promoting to a slice other than the queen is called "underpromotion").
   • In its very first move, a pawn may (but does non have to) move two spaces forward instead of one.
   • A pawn can capture a piece 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 2 spaces ahead to avoid moving into your pawn's capture position (frontwards-diagonally adjacent). If this happens, simply on your very next turn you lot can motility your pawn diagonally into the infinite they skipped and take that pawn anyhow.^[vi]

2. 

   two

   Motion rooks an unlimited number of spaces vertically or horizontally. Rooks move in straight lines forrard, backward, or sideways. They tin can cross as many vacant squares every bit they want but must stop if they come to another slice (or, of course, the border of the board).

   • If an enemy slice is in the manner, the rook must terminate before the piece or capture information technology. If it's your ain slice, it must cease earlier it comes to that square.^[seven] (You cannot capture your own pieces.)

3. 

   three

   Move knights in an "L"-shape. Knights have the about distinctive movement in the game: they "hop" three times, commencement two spaces in ane direction and and then one infinite in a perpendicular direction, or commencement 1 space in any direction and so two spaces perpendicularly.^[8]

   • Knights are the only pieces allowed to hop over other pieces of either color. They capture a piece simply past finishing their move on a square occupied past an enemy slice. (They cannot stop on a square already occupied past a piece of their own colour.)

4. 

   four

   Move bishops whatsoever number of spaces diagonally. Bishops can move in four directions: diagonally right or left (either forward or backward). This ways a bishop ever stays on the same color squares. For example, if it begins on a light square, there is no way for a bishop e'er to get onto a dark square.

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

5. 

   5

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

   • A queen cannot move in the knight'due south L-shaped pattern.
   • A queen cannot move over pieces. She must complete her motion either by stopping before coming to another piece or by capturing that piece.

6. 

   6

   Move the king in any direction one space at a time. Kings can move ane space forward, astern, sideways, or diagonally. The but exception is chosen barter, whereby a king and one of the rooks switch positions to help defend the king. In order to castle:

   • Neither the rex nor the rook can have moved at any point in the game thus far.
   • There can exist no pieces in between the rook and the king.
   • The king cannot be in check at the time of barter, nor can the male monarch in castling move through or to a square in which he would be in check.
   • In one turn, motion the male monarch two spaces towards the rook, then slide the rook into the square the king skipped over. They will 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 first, white or black?

  

  White always goes kickoff, merely the role player blackness has the advantage of choosing which side of the table to sit down on and on which side should the clock be. I good way to decide who plays white and who plays blackness is to have 1 person takes one pawn of each color, put them backside his back, mixes them, and the other player chooses a paw. The colour that player picked is the colour he gets to play with. After the commencement game, the player who lost plays white.

• Question

  What is the rule on barter?

  

  Barter is a defensive tactic involving moving your king and one of your rooks at the same fourth dimension. If castling to the king's side, the rex moves 2 squares to his right, and the rook moves two squares left to stand up to the left of and side by side to the king. If barter to the queen's side, the king moves two squares to the left, and the rook moves three squares to the the right to stand to the correct of and next to the rex. Barter can exist done but when there are no pieces between the rex and the rook you volition motion. The king and rook cannot have moved previously. Yous cannot castle if your king is in check or if doing so would motion your king through or to a square where he would be in bank check.

• Question

  Is at that place a way to castle with any other pieces?

  

  No. Only the king and rooks tin castle.

• Question

  When a pawn reaches the opponent's back row, can it become whatever piece - or only a captured piece?

  

  This is known as a "promoted pawn." A pawn that reaches the eighth (or back) row tin can immediately become any other piece (except a male monarch). This includes uncaptured pieces. This ways that after promotion a histrion could have ii queens or three rooks, bishops or knights. Typically a role player would promote his/her pawn to a queen but can choose another slice instead (if doing so would be advantageous in a item situation).

• Question

  When y'all go a queen dorsum where does she go?

  

  She is placed on the foursquare where your promoted pawn was when it was promoted.

• Question

  Can I castle out of check?

  

  No, y'all cannot castle if your rex is in check. You tin can castle only under these circumstances: (one) Your king is not in bank check; (2) You lot have not previously moved either your male monarch or the rook you want to castle with; (iii) There are no pieces continuing between your male monarch and that rook; and (iv) Your male monarch will non motility through or to a square in which the king would be in bank check. As well, as a matter of chess etiquette, if your opponent is inexperienced, you should make him/her aware of the possibility of barter earlier the game begins.

• Question

  Can whatever chess pieces move backward?

  

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

• Question

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

  

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

• Question

  What can the queen practise?

  

  The queen can motion 1 or more spaces in a straight line in any direction. This makes her a payer's about powerful attacking slice. She must cease before reaching a space occupied by a piece of her color. She may non move beyond a space in which she captures a piece of the reverse colour. (She, of course, must end at whatsoever edge of the lath.)

• Question

  If I am moving a knight, does the unabridged Fifty shape need to be vacant?

  

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

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VideoRead Video Transcript

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

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

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

• Learn how to open in chess. The opening stage of a game lays the groundwork for the residual of the game. Slip up here and you're likely to pay for it afterward. Openings are fun to study. An experienced opponent will be aware of many opening patterns.

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Things You'll Demand

• Chess Board
• Chess Pieces

About This Article

Article Summary X

To fix a chessboard, position the board so that the bottom-correct square is white, and place a rook in each of your 2 corners. Then, identify the knights next to the rooks, and the bishops next to the knights. Place the queen on the remaining block in the dorsum row that matches the colour of your pieces, and position the king in the remaining block. Make full in the 2d 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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