How To Set Up Chess Set

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Chess is an ancient game that humanity still plays—and enjoys—to this day. Although chess has but a few rules, games can become remarkably complex. Luckily, setting upwardly a chessboard is straightforward, and learning the rules of play is non difficult. This wikiHow volition aid you get started.

1. 1

   Prepare the lath and then that the bottom-right square is a light square. Both players will have a light square in the right corner on the edge of the board closest to them. The setup for each actor looks identical from their perspective.

   • You set up your pieces on the two horizontal rows ("ranks") closest to you. The major pieces go along the first rank. The pawns continue the 2nd rank.
   • Dissimilar in checkers, chess uses every single square on the board.
   • When setting upward your chessboard, a tip to keep in mind is that White is always on rank one and 2 and that Blackness is always on ranks vii and 8.

2. 2

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

   • On a novelty lath, such as Civil War sets or picture show-themed pieces, it may be impossible to tell what a slice is without knowing the icons (or dominion-volume 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 adjacent to the rooks. The knights, which look like horses, go merely to the right and left of the rooks. Knights movement three squares in an "L" shape, first two spaces in one management, then i space in another, or outset one space in one management, then two in some other. Knights can hop over pieces to make their moves, being the only pieces allowed to exercise so.

   • The symbol for a knight is♞.

4. iv

   Place the bishops to the inside of the knights. The tall, round-topped bishops kickoff next to the knights. Bishops motion only along diagonal lines.

   • The symbol for a bishop is♝.
   • The left bishop will start on a dark square (and ever remain on dark). The right bishop starts on a light square (and always remains on calorie-free).

5. 5

   Place the queen on the remaining, matching-colour foursquare. If you are the white side, your queen goes on the remaining white square in the middle of the first rank. If you are playing black, your queen goes on the remaining blackness square. The queen is 1 of the tallest pieces in the game and has a spiked crown. She tin can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally whatsoever number of spaces, making her the most powerful slice on the lath.

   • The symbol for the queen is ♛.

6. 6

   Place the king on the last open square of the kickoff rank. The rex is unremarkably the tallest piece on the board and appears to wear a rounded crown oft topped with a cantankerous. The king can move in any direction just only one space at a fourth dimension. You use the residual of your pieces to protect your male monarch. If you lose your rex, yous lose the game.

   • The symbol for the king is ♚.

7. 7

   Identify the pawns along the 2nd rank. Later on you've put your major pieces on the first rank, line up the lowly pawns like a protective wall on the second rank. Pawns move forrard one infinite at a time, but they can make a variety of special moves, as well.

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

8. eight

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

   ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
   ♜♞♝♚♛♝♞♜

   Good TIP

   Sahaj Grover is a Chess Grandmaster, World Champion, and motorbus, who attained his Grandmaster title at the historic period of 16. He has been a World Junior Bronze Medalist, Globe U10 Champion, South African Open 2022 & 2022 Champion, and the Winner of the Arnold Archetype 2022 & 2022.

   

   Sahaj Grover
   Chess Grandmaster

   Attempt this variation: There's a variant of chess chosen Chess960. In this format, the pieces are set up randomly on the first rank, and the pawns remain the same. This was developed so players aren't able to prepare beforehand, so they have to be more artistic when they play.

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1. one

   Win the game past "checkmating" your opponent's male monarch. This occurs when the male monarch cannot escape check no affair what. By dissimilarity, your opponent'due south king is only "in check" if yous could capture him on your side by side move but the opponent has a means of escaping. A player must immediately move their rex out of check if it'south possible to do so. ^[1]

   • You never really capture a king. Once information technology'southward apparent that a king cannot avoid being captured on the side by side move, checkmate is immediately declared, and the game is over.
   • Some players similar to say "bank check" when they make a movement that puts the opponent's king in immediate danger.
   • Y'all may non place your ain male monarch in check. Such a motion is considered "illegal" and must exist immediately rescinded. ^[2]

2. 

   2

   Capture the opponent'south pieces to remove them from the game. If one of your pieces makes a motion that ends on a square already occupied by an opponent'southward piece, you lot "capture" that slice and remove it from the game. Your slice then takes the captured piece's identify on that square. You cannot capture your ain pieces or occupy any foursquare with more than one slice. In other words, yous cannot movement a piece through or to a foursquare already occupied by 1 of your pieces—with the exception of your knights. They may move over any other piece (just may not end a move on a foursquare already occupied by one of your pieces).

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

3. 3

   Begin with White. White always makes the get-go move, and the players alternate after that. For players of equal power, there is a slight reward to going get-go. Each turn consists of ane player moving 1 piece. ^[3]

   • A player must move 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 bank check, the game is a stalemate (come across below).
   • The only exception to the "move one slice" rule is called "castling," which allows a player to motility two pieces at one time in a specific pattern to protect the male monarch. Come across beneath for more than on castling. ^[4]

4. 4

   Watch out for stalemate. A game tin can end in a tie "draw". Stalemate occurs when neither king is in cheque and the next player to motility has no legal move available. If you lot are in an advantageous position, you would want to avoid stalemate. (The opposite is truthful if y'all are in a weak position and would love to force a draw.) Stalemate typically may occur when there are just a few pieces left such as pawns blocked by other pawns, and kings that can't movement without putting themselves in check.

   • Remember that y'all tin never put yourself in check. Thus, if it's your turn to move and your only available movement would put your king in bank check, the game is over, and a stalemate is declared. ^[5] In some tournaments this means yous lose, although most players call this a describe.
   • Stalemate does non occur if either rex is currently in check.

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1. 1

   Movement pawns i infinite forward. That is ordinarily all they can do, and so they're not very useful. However, in certain circumstances, they become quite effective:

   • If your pawn gets all the mode to the commencement rank (for White) or eighth rank (for Blackness), yous tin '"promote"' the pawn to whatsoever piece other than the king 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 motion (promoting to a piece other than the queen is called "underpromotion").
   • In its very offset move, a pawn may (but does not accept to) movement two spaces frontwards instead of one.
   • A pawn tin can capture a slice that is diagonally one square in front of information technology. It cannot capture an otherwise adjacent slice.
     • En passant, or "capture in passing", can occur when the opponent moves their pawn ii spaces ahead to avoid moving into your pawn'due south capture position (frontward-diagonally side by side). If this happens, only on your very next turn yous tin can move your pawn diagonally into the space they skipped and take that pawn anyway.^[6]

2. 

   2

   Movement rooks an unlimited number of spaces vertically or horizontally. Rooks move in directly lines forward, backward, or sideways. They tin can cross every bit many vacant squares as they want but must end if they come to some other piece (or, of course, the edge of the lath).

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

3. 

   3

   Move knights in an "L"-shape. Knights take the most distinctive movement in the game: they "hop" three times, showtime ii spaces in one direction and and so ane infinite in a perpendicular management, or first ane space in any direction and and so 2 spaces perpendicularly.^[eight]

   • Knights are the just pieces allowed to hop over other pieces of either colour. 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 piece of their own color.)

4. 

   four

   Move bishops any number of spaces diagonally. Bishops tin move in iv directions: diagonally right or left (either forrad or backward). This means a bishop always stays on the aforementioned colour squares. For example, if it begins on a calorie-free foursquare, in that location is no way for a bishop ever to become onto a dark foursquare.

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

5. 

   5

   Move the queen in a straight line in any direction and any number of spaces. She tin can motion forrad, backward, sideways, and diagonally as many vacant spaces as she wants. This makes her your about powerful piece.

   • A queen cannot move in the knight's L-shaped pattern.
   • A queen cannot motility over pieces. She must consummate her motion either past stopping earlier coming to another piece or by capturing that slice.

6. 

   6

   Movement the male monarch in whatsoever direction ane space at a time. Kings can motility ane space frontwards, backward, sideways, or diagonally. The merely exception is called barter, whereby a king and one of the rooks switch positions to help defend the king. In order to castle:

   • Neither the king nor the rook can accept moved at any point in the game thus far.
   • At that place can exist no pieces in betwixt the rook and the king.
   • The male monarch cannot be in check at the fourth dimension of castling, nor can the king in castling motility through or to a foursquare in which he would be in check.
   • In one turn, move the rex ii spaces towards the rook, then slide the rook into the foursquare the king skipped over. They will now be on contrary sides and right adjacent to each other. ^[9]

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Chess Assist

Add together New Question

• Question

  Which colour goes offset, white or black?

  

  White always goes beginning, but the actor blackness has the advantage of choosing which side of the table to sit on and on which side should the clock exist. I good way to determine who plays white and who plays black is to accept one person takes i pawn of each colour, put them backside his back, mixes them, and the other thespian chooses a paw. The colour that player picked is the color he gets to play with. After the first game, the player who lost plays white.

• Question

  What is the rule 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 rex moves two squares to his correct, and the rook moves two squares left to stand to the left of and next to the king. If castling 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 up to the right of and side by side to the king. Castling can be washed only when there are no pieces betwixt the king and the rook you lot will move. The king and rook cannot accept moved previously. You cannot castle if your rex is in check or if doing then would move your king through or to a foursquare where he would be in check.

• Question

  Is there a fashion to castle with any other pieces?

  

  No. Merely the king and rooks can castle.

• Question

  When a pawn reaches the opponent'due south back row, can information technology become any slice - or just a captured slice?

  

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

• Question

  When you get a queen back where does she become?

  

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

• Question

  Can I castle out of cheque?

  

  No, you cannot castle if your king is in check. Y'all can castle merely nether these circumstances: (ane) Your male monarch is not in check; (two) You have not previously moved either your king or the rook you want to castle with; (3) There are no pieces standing between your rex and that rook; and (4) Your king will not motion through or to a square in which the king would be in check. Also, as a affair of chess etiquette, if your opponent is inexperienced, you should make him/her aware of the possibility of castling before the game begins.

• Question

  Can any chess pieces motility backward?

  

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

• Question

  Tin can I have more than 1 queen if I promote a pawn?

  

  Yes. You tin can have ii queens -- the ane you lot started with, and the promoted pawn. In fact, you could current of air up with more than than two queens if you lot promote more than one pawn.

• Question

  What can the queen exercise?

  

  The queen can motility one or more than spaces in a straight line in whatever direction. This makes her a payer's most powerful attacking piece. She must stop before reaching a infinite occupied by a piece of her color. She may not motion beyond a space in which she captures a piece of the opposite colour. (She, of class, must terminate at any edge of the lath.)

• Question

  If I am moving a knight, does the unabridged 50 shape need to be vacant?

  

  No. A knight may jump over other pieces of either colour. The knight may not stop its move by landing on a foursquare already occupied by a piece of the knight'southward color. It may, even so, land on a square occupied by a piece of the opposite color (in which case the knight captures that piece).

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VideoRead Video Transcript

• Learn chess annotation. Chess note allows you lot to write downward in a kind of "shorthand" both your own and your opponent'southward moves, allowing you to study and re-create your game later on.

• Learn chess tactics. Chess is an amazingly circuitous game. Information technology has very few rules, just those rules take given nascence to whole books full of tactics and strategy. Read as many every bit you lot can to become a better chess player.

• Know the values of chess pieces. Chess pieces are assigned values every bit a affair of convenience for players trying to evaluate opportunities to surrender a histrion in exchange for an opponent's thespian.

• Acquire how to open in chess. The opening phase of a game lays the groundwork for the residual of the game. Slip upwardly here and you're likely to pay for it afterward. Openings are fun to written report. An experienced opponent volition be aware of many opening patterns.

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Things Yous'll Need

• Chess Board
• Chess Pieces

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Article Summary X

To ready up a chessboard, position the lath so that the bottom-correct square is white, and place a rook in each of your 2 corners. Then, place the knights adjacent 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 block. Fill in the 2nd 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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