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Chess setup seems a bit overwhelming at first because the pieces must start in certain squares and are only allowed to move in certain ways, but it does not take long to begin having fun playing. It is good if two people can learn together avoiding discouragement if one person constantly wins over the other.
Starting from the corners and working inward, we will set up the chess board and discuss briefly the moves the initial pieces can make; remembering that vertical rows are files (letters) and horizontal rows are ranks (numbers). When beginning it is best to have a board with the files and ranks marked.
Rooks are generally shaped as castles on a traditional board, but to call them castles is incorrect in some circles. The person playing white has a black square at "a1" and a white square at "h1" and this is where their rooks begin. The person playing black will have rooks at "a8" and "h8". Rooks are generally considered to be very powerful and are able to move horizontally and vertically along the files and ranks. It can move multiple squares if needed until it encounters the other player's piece (capture), the edge of the board, or one of their own pieces (stop).
The next pieces to set are the knights. Generally shown as horses, or horse heads, the knights occupy "b1" and "g1" (white) and "b8" and "g8" (black). The movement of the knight is special because it is the only piece that is allowed to jump over other pieces of the player or the opponent. Their movement forms an "L" by moving two spaces up or back and one left or right or vice versa. It does not matter if there are other pieces except at the end of the L where the knight lands. It cannot land in a square occupied by its own color but it can capture a piece of the opponent's color. Part of its power is that it can sneak up on pieces the opponent may consider protected. It is not considered to be as powerful as the rook, but equal in power to the bishops.
The next pieces to set are the bishops, which usually in English sets resemble a bishop's hat or mitre. This is not true of the appearance of the bishops in all sets from all countries. The bishops occupy the squares "c1" and "f1" for white and "c8" and "f8" for black. Bishops move along the diagonals and will always be on the same color square they started on. It can move multiple squares if needed until it encounters the other player's piece (capture), the edge of the board, or one of their own pieces (stop). It is not as powerful as a rook, but is equal in power to the knights.
Starting from the corners and working inward, we will set up the chess board and discuss briefly the moves the initial pieces can make; remembering that vertical rows are files (letters) and horizontal rows are ranks (numbers). When beginning it is best to have a board with the files and ranks marked.
Rooks are generally shaped as castles on a traditional board, but to call them castles is incorrect in some circles. The person playing white has a black square at "a1" and a white square at "h1" and this is where their rooks begin. The person playing black will have rooks at "a8" and "h8". Rooks are generally considered to be very powerful and are able to move horizontally and vertically along the files and ranks. It can move multiple squares if needed until it encounters the other player's piece (capture), the edge of the board, or one of their own pieces (stop).
The next pieces to set are the knights. Generally shown as horses, or horse heads, the knights occupy "b1" and "g1" (white) and "b8" and "g8" (black). The movement of the knight is special because it is the only piece that is allowed to jump over other pieces of the player or the opponent. Their movement forms an "L" by moving two spaces up or back and one left or right or vice versa. It does not matter if there are other pieces except at the end of the L where the knight lands. It cannot land in a square occupied by its own color but it can capture a piece of the opponent's color. Part of its power is that it can sneak up on pieces the opponent may consider protected. It is not considered to be as powerful as the rook, but equal in power to the bishops.
The next pieces to set are the bishops, which usually in English sets resemble a bishop's hat or mitre. This is not true of the appearance of the bishops in all sets from all countries. The bishops occupy the squares "c1" and "f1" for white and "c8" and "f8" for black. Bishops move along the diagonals and will always be on the same color square they started on. It can move multiple squares if needed until it encounters the other player's piece (capture), the edge of the board, or one of their own pieces (stop). It is not as powerful as a rook, but is equal in power to the knights.
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