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How to Set Up a Chess Board

The game of chess was first played in the ancient Persia and the current rules were established in the late 1400s. Chess is the original "war game," a game of skill and intelligence. Learning how to play chess is simple; mastering it is not. Children as young as two or three can be taught simple moves, and many kids can play a full game by the age of four or five. All chess players must learn how to set up a chess board. A chess board is an 8 by 8 board of light and dark squares. There are a total of 64 squares on the board. One player uses the white pieces, and the other player uses the black pieces. Each side has 8 pawns, which are smallest, and 8 larger pieces. So each player has 16 pieces, and there are a total of 32 pieces. Learn how to set up a chess board in this article, and be on your way to gaining a new--and very old--skill.

Things You'll Need

Chess pieces
Chess board

Instructions

- 1
  Count the pieces. Each side should have 16 pieces total. There should be a King (who usually has a cross on top), a Queen who has a crown, two Bishops which have a pointy top with a slit in it, two Knights which look like horses, two Rooks which look like castles, and eight pawns which have a round head.
- 2
  Decide the colors. The players need to agree who will play the White pieces, and who will play the Black. If you're not sure, then try hiding a white pawn in one hand and a black pawn in the other, and let your opponent pick a hand.
- 3
  Arrange the board. The two players sit opposite each other, with the board in between them. From each player's perspective, the corner square on the right should be a light colored square.
- 4
  Set up the major pieces. The eight major pieces stand next to each other on each player's back row. They are arranged by height on most sets: the Rooks are shortest and stand in the corners The slightly-higher Knights stand next to the rooks. The Bishops are a little taller than the Knights, and stand next to them. Finally, in the middle of the back row, stand the King and Queen.
- 5
  Get the King and Queen right. The white Queen stands on a light square and the black Queen stands on a dark square.
- 6
  Set up the pawns. The pawns all stand on each player's second row.
- 7
  Check for mistakes. If you've done it right, each piece should be directly across from the same kind of piece of your opponents.

Chess & Checkers