How to set up a chess board
Updated
Turn the board so each player has a light square in the bottom-right corner. Put the rooks in the corners, then the knights, then the bishops. The queen goes on her own colour (white queen d1, black queen d8), the king on the last square beside her, and the pawns fill the row in front. White moves first.
Step by step
Turn the board the right way
Place the board so the bottom-right corner square is light for both players. The saying is “light on the right”. White sits on the side of rank 1, Black on the side of rank 8.
Light square in each player’s bottom-right corner: h1 for White, a8 for Black. Rooks in the corners
The four rooks, the pieces that look like castle towers, go on the four corner squares.
Rooks on a1, h1, a8 and h8. Knights next to the rooks
The knights, the horses, stand right beside the rooks. By custom they face forward, toward the other player.
Knights on b1, g1, b8 and g8. Bishops next to the knights
The bishops, with the pointed hats, go next to the knights. Each side now has one bishop on a light square and one on a dark square, and they will stay on those colours all game.
Bishops on c1, f1, c8 and f8. Queen on her own colour
Two middle squares are left on each back row. The queen takes the one that matches her colour: the white queen on the light square d1, the black queen on the dark square d8. The two queens end up facing each other on the same file.
White queen on d1 (light), black queen on d8 (dark). King on the last square
Each king goes on the one square left, next to his queen: e1 for White, e8 for Black. The kings face each other too.
Kings on e1 and e8. The back rows are complete. Pawns in front
Finally, the eight pawns of each side fill the row directly in front: White’s on rank 2, Black’s on rank 7. That is the whole army: 16 pieces each.
The finished starting position. White moves first.
Remember: queen on her colour
The step people forget most is which middle square belongs to the queen and which to the king. The rule is “queen on her colour”: white queen on the light square, black queen on the dark square. If both queens stand on the same file facing each other, and both kings do too, you got it right.
Common mistakes
- Board turned the wrong way. If the bottom-right corner is dark, rotate the board a quarter turn. Otherwise the queens can't both be on their own colour.
- King and queen swapped. The diagram below shows it: the queens are on the wrong colour.
- Knights and bishops swapped. From the corner inward it is always rook, knight, bishop. A handy check: the knights stand right next to the rooks.
- Black moving first. White always starts.
Next up: how each piece moves, or go straight to the full rules.
Questions people ask
- Which way should a chess board face?
- Each player should have a light square in their bottom-right corner. Remember it as “light on the right”.
- Where does the queen go?
- On her own colour, next to the king: the white queen on d1 (light), the black queen on d8 (dark).
- Do the king and queen go on the left or right?
- From White’s side the queen is on the left of the king (d1, then e1). From Black’s side it looks reversed, but the queens still face each other on the d-file and the kings on the e-file.
- Who moves first?
- White always moves first. In a series of games, players usually swap colours each game.