How To Set Up A Chess

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

1. ane

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

   • You ready up your pieces on the two horizontal rows ("ranks") closest to you. The major pieces go on the first rank. The pawns keep the second rank.
   • Unlike in checkers, chess uses every single foursquare on the board.
   • When setting up your chessboard, a tip to go on in mind is that White is always on rank 1 and 2 and that Blackness is always on ranks seven and 8.

2. 2

   Place your rooks in each corner. Start with your rooks (sometimes called castles), which are tall pieces that move in directly lines horizontally (along "ranks") and vertically (forth "files"). Identify a rook on each of your ii corners.

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

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3. 3

   Place the knights next to the rooks. The knights, which wait like horses, go just to the right and left of the rooks. Knights motility three squares in an "L" shape, first two spaces in ane direction, then i space in another, or first one space in i direction, so two in some other. Knights can hop over pieces to make their moves, being the only pieces allowed to practice so.

   • The symbol for a knight is♞.

4. 4

   Place the bishops to the inside of the knights. The tall, circular-topped bishops start adjacent to the knights. Bishops motility only along diagonal lines.

   • The symbol for a bishop is♝.
   • The left bishop volition outset on a dark square (and e'er remain on night). The right bishop starts on a low-cal square (and e'er remains on calorie-free).

5. 5

   Place the queen on the remaining, matching-color square. If you are the white side, your queen goes on the remaining white foursquare in the eye of the first rank. If yous are playing blackness, your queen goes on the remaining blackness square. The queen is ane of the tallest pieces in the game and has a spiked crown. She can movement horizontally, vertically, or diagonally any number of spaces, making her the about powerful piece on the lath.

   • The symbol for the queen is ♛.

6. 6

   Place the male monarch on the last open up square of the beginning rank. The king is ordinarily the tallest piece on the lath and appears to wearable a rounded crown oft topped with a cross. The king tin can motion in whatsoever direction but only one space at a time. You utilise the rest of your pieces to protect your king. If you lose your king, you lose the game.

   • The symbol for the king is ♚.

7. vii

   Place the pawns along the 2nd rank. After you've put your major pieces on the first rank, line upward the lowly pawns like a protective wall on the 2d rank. Pawns motion forward one space at a fourth dimension, but they tin make a variety of special moves, too.

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

8. 8

   Review your pieces. Your first two rows should look like this (black side):

   ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
   ♜♞♝♚♛♝♞♜

   Adept TIP

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

   

   Sahaj Grover
   Chess Grandmaster

   Try this variation: There's a variant of chess chosen Chess960. In this format, the pieces are gear up up randomly on the outset rank, and the pawns remain the aforementioned. This was adult so players aren't able to prepare beforehand, so they accept to be more creative when they play.

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1. 1

   Win the game past "checkmating" your opponent's king. This occurs when the male monarch cannot escape bank check no matter what. Past contrast, your opponent's king is merely "in check" if y'all could capture him on your next move simply the opponent has a means of escaping. A player must immediately move their king out of check if it'due south possible to practice then. ^[ane]

   • You never really capture a rex. One time it's apparent that a king cannot avoid being captured on the next move, checkmate is immediately declared, and the game is over.
   • Some players like to say "check" when they make a movement that puts the opponent's king in immediate danger.
   • You lot may non place your own male monarch in check. Such a move is considered "illegal" and must be immediately rescinded. ^[2]

2. 

   2

   Capture the opponent'due south pieces to remove them from the game. If one of your pieces makes a movement that ends on a square already occupied by an opponent's piece, you "capture" that piece and remove it from the game. Your piece so takes the captured slice'south place on that square. You cannot capture your ain pieces or occupy any square with more than than one slice. In other words, y'all 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 any other piece (but may not end a move on a square already occupied by ane of your pieces).

   • With the exception of the pawn, you lot can capture pieces only with a "normal" move. For case, rooks can capture merely with vertical or horizontal moves.
   • You lot cannot move over a piece to capture another one. If your piece "hits" another slice during its movement, it stops, captures the piece, and stays on that foursquare. The knight is the only exception to this, every bit information technology takes a piece only when it ends a movement by landing on that piece's foursquare.

3. 3

   Brainstorm with White. White ever makes the start move, and the players alternate after that. For players of equal ability, there is a slight advantage to going get-go. Each plough consists of i player moving one piece. ^[iii]

   • A player must motion a piece every turn. They cannot skip a turn just because they don't know where to motion. If a histrion has no legal moves and is not in cheque, the game is a stalemate (run across beneath).
   • The only exception to the "move one piece" rule is called "barter," which allows a histrion to move two pieces at in one case in a specific pattern to protect the king. See below for more on barter. ^[4]

4. 4

   Lookout man out for stalemate. A game can end in a tie "describe". Stalemate occurs when neither rex is in check and the next role player to motion has no legal move available. If yous are in an advantageous position, you would desire to avoid stalemate. (The opposite is true if you are in a weak position and would love to force a describe.) Stalemate typically may occur when there are simply a few pieces left such as pawns blocked by other pawns, and kings that tin can't move without putting themselves in check.

   • Remember that you can never put yourself in bank check. Thus, if it's your turn to move and your but bachelor movement would put your king in cheque, the game is over, and a stalemate is alleged. ^[5] In some tournaments this means you lose, although most players telephone call this a describe.
   • Stalemate does not occur if either rex is currently in check.

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1. 1

   Motility pawns one infinite forward. That is usually all they can do, and so they're not very useful. However, in certain circumstances, they go quite effective:

   • If your pawn gets all the way to the showtime rank (for White) or 8th rank (for Black), you can '"promote"' the pawn to whatsoever slice other than the rex or pawn. That means that a pawn that has advanced very far along its file becomes quite powerful. Players typically promote to a queen but may promote to another piece to avoid stalemate or apply the knight's motility (promoting to a piece other than the queen is called "underpromotion").
   • In its very first move, a pawn may (but does non take to) move ii spaces forward instead of one.
   • A pawn can capture a slice that is diagonally i square in front of information technology. It cannot capture an otherwise next piece.
     • En passant, or "capture in passing", can occur when the opponent moves their pawn two spaces ahead to avoid moving into your pawn's capture position (frontwards-diagonally next). If this happens, but on your very side by side turn you can move your pawn diagonally into the space they skipped and take that pawn anyway.^[6]

2. 

   2

   Motion rooks an unlimited number of spaces vertically or horizontally. Rooks move in direct lines forward, backward, or sideways. They tin can cross as many vacant squares as they want merely must stop if they come up to another slice (or, of course, the edge of the board).

   • If an enemy piece is in the mode, the rook must stop before the slice or capture it. If information technology's your ain piece, it must stop earlier information technology comes to that square.^[7] (You cannot capture your ain pieces.)

3. 

   3

   Move knights in an "L"-shape. Knights take the almost distinctive move in the game: they "hop" iii times, first two spaces in one direction and and then one infinite in a perpendicular direction, or commencement one infinite in any direction and then 2 spaces perpendicularly.^[viii]

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

4. 

   4

   Motility bishops any number of spaces diagonally. Bishops can move in iv directions: diagonally right or left (either forward or backward). This means a bishop always stays on the same color squares. For example, if information technology begins on a light square, there is no style for a bishop e'er to become onto a dark foursquare.

   • Bishops cannot hop over pieces. If there is a piece in the way, the bishop must either stop or (if it's an opponent'southward piece) capture information technology.

5. 

   v

   Move the queen in a directly line in whatsoever direction and any number of spaces. She can move forward, backward, sideways, and diagonally as many vacant spaces equally she wants. This makes her your most powerful piece.

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

6. 

   six

   Movement the king in any direction one space at a time. Kings tin move one space forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally. The only exception is called castling, whereby a rex and one of the rooks switch positions to help defend the rex. In lodge to castle:

   • Neither the male monarch nor the rook can accept moved at whatsoever point in the game thus far.
   • In that location can be no pieces in betwixt the rook and the king.
   • The rex cannot be in check at the time of castling, nor can the rex in castling motility through or to a foursquare in which he would be in bank check.
   • In 1 turn, motility the king two spaces towards the rook, then slide the rook into the square the male monarch skipped over. They will at present be on contrary sides and right next to each other. ^[ix]

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Chess Assist

Add together New Question

• Question

  Which color goes commencement, white or black?

  

  White always goes start, only the player black has the advantage of choosing which side of the tabular array 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 one person takes one pawn of each color, put them backside his back, mixes them, and the other thespian chooses a paw. The color that player picked is the color he gets to play with. Subsequently the offset game, the actor who lost plays white.

• Question

  What is the dominion on castling?

  

  Barter is a defensive tactic involving moving your king and one of your rooks at the same fourth dimension. If castling to the king'south side, the king moves ii squares to his right, and the rook moves ii squares left to stand up to the left of and adjacent to the rex. If castling to the queen'southward side, the king moves ii squares to the left, and the rook moves three squares to the the correct to stand to the right of and next to the king. Castling tin can be done only when there are no pieces between the king and the rook y'all will motility. The male monarch and rook cannot take moved previously. Y'all cannot castle if your king is in bank check or if doing and then would move your king through or to a foursquare where he would exist in check.

• Question

  Is there a way to castle with any other pieces?

  

  No. Only the king and rooks tin can castle.

• Question

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

  

  This is known as a "promoted pawn." A pawn that reaches the eighth (or back) row can immediately go any other piece (except a king). This includes uncaptured pieces. This means that after promotion a player could have two queens or three rooks, bishops or knights. Typically a player would promote his/her pawn to a queen only can choose another piece instead (if doing so would be advantageous in a particular state of affairs).

• Question

  When you get a queen back where does she go?

  

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

• Question

  Can I castle out of check?

  

  No, y'all cannot castle if your male monarch is in check. Yous can castle only under these circumstances: (1) Your king is not in cheque; (2) Y'all accept not previously moved either your king or the rook you lot want to castle with; (iii) In that location are no pieces standing betwixt your king and that rook; and (4) Your king will not motion through or to a square in which the male monarch would be in check. Also, every bit a matter of chess etiquette, if your opponent is inexperienced, you should brand him/her aware of the possibility of castling before the game begins.

• Question

  Tin can any chess pieces motility astern?

  

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

• Question

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

  

  Yeah. You can have two queens -- the one yous started with, and the promoted pawn. In fact, you could wind up with more than than 2 queens if you lot promote more than than i pawn.

• Question

  What can the queen practice?

  

  The queen can motility one or more spaces in a straight line in whatsoever direction. This makes her a payer's near powerful attacking piece. She must stop before reaching a space occupied by a slice of her color. She may not move beyond a infinite in which she captures a piece of the opposite color. (She, of course, must stop at any edge of the board.)

• Question

  If I am moving a knight, does the entire L shape need to be vacant?

  

  No. A knight may jump over other pieces of either color. The knight may not finish its movement by landing on a square already occupied by a piece of the knight'southward color. It may, however, land on a square occupied by a piece of the opposite color (in which example the knight captures that piece).

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VideoRead Video Transcript

• Learn chess annotation. Chess notation allows you to write downwardly in a kind of "autograph" both your own and your opponent's moves, allowing you to report and re-create your game later.

• Larn chess tactics. Chess is an amazingly complex game. Information technology has very few rules, but those rules have given nativity to whole books full of tactics and strategy. Read as many as you can to become a meliorate chess 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 up a player in substitution for an opponent'southward thespian.

• Learn how to open in chess. The opening stage of a game lays the groundwork for the rest of the game. Sideslip upward here and yous're likely to pay for it later. Openings are fun to study. An experienced opponent will be aware of many opening patterns.

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Things You'll Need

• Chess Board
• Chess Pieces

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Article Summary Ten

To set a chessboard, position the lath so that the bottom-right square is white, and place a rook in each of your 2 corners. Then, place the knights next to the rooks, and the bishops next to the knights. Place the queen on the remaining block in the back row that matches the color of your pieces, and position the king in the remaining cake. Fill in the second row, or rank, with pawns to protect your other pieces. For more tips, including how to motion the pieces during the game, read on!

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