Chessboard
If you plan on playing chess with your friends, the chessboard is where all the action will happen! Learn everything there is to know about the chessboard.
What Is A Chessboard?
The chessboard is the place where you put all the pieces to play a game of chess. It is divided into 64 equal squares of alternating colors: the dark-squares and the light-squares.
What Are The Parts Of A Chessboard?
Did you know that, just like you, a chessboard has different parts of the body? Different than you, though, it does not have arms and legs. Instead, it has ranks and files.
The files are the vertical squares of the chessboard—the ones that go up and down.
The files of the chessboard.
A chessboard has eight different files, and each has its own name (just like your friends). They are named from left to right, and you can call them the a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h-files.
The ranks are the horizontal squares of the chessboard—they go left and right.
The ranks of the chessboard.
Just like the files, they also have names. They are named them from the bottom up: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth-ranks.
Now that you know the names of the files and ranks, it is easy to learn what each square is called. But don't worry, you will not have to memorize 64 different names. There is a simple trick to find out what to call each square.
Each square has a first and a last name. The first name is the same as the one from the file where the square is. The square's last name is the same as its rank.
Isn't it easy to guess the name of the red square in the picture below?
First name e, last name 4. And we end up with e4!
How Do You Set Up A Chessboard?
Now that you know everything about the chessboard, it is time to learn how to set it up so you can start having fun with it. Before we start, you need to learn one important rule: the square on the bottom-right corner must be a light-square.
The h1-square must be a light-square.
After making sure your board is facing the right way, we start with the pawns. They always go in front of the other pieces.
The pawns on a chessboard.
Now, you should place the rooks on each corner of the board.
The rooks on a chessboard.
The knights on a chessboard.
After that, it is time to place the bishops on the board.
The bishops on a chessboard.
Then, it is time for you to place the queen and the king. The queen always goes first and lands on the color that matches her own color.
An easy way to remember this is to keep in mind that the queen's shoes must match her dress. If the queen is wearing a dark dress, she must wear dark shoes. If she's wearing a light dress, she must wear light shoes.
The queens on a chessboard.
The kings on a chessboard.
You are all set! You are now ready to start having fun with your friends. And you know what? If you invite your friends to ChessKid.com, you don't even need to worry about setting the board up, since we do that for you!