Chessboard

Setting it up correctly comes first. Before placing a piece, look at the corner square closest to your right hand: it must be light. A second quick check is that each queen starts on her own color, the white queen on a light square and the black queen on a dark one.

The colors are more than decoration. Thirty-two squares are light and thirty-two dark, and the Laws of Chess call them the white and the black squares whatever stands on them. Because a bishop never changes color, every game is split into two color complexes, and many plans come down to which complex your pawns and bishops control.

Players also divide the board into zones. The four central squares, d4, d5, e4 and e5, are the most valuable early on. The files a to d form the queenside and e to h the kingside, named after where the queen and king start, and the two rows nearest each player are that player's home ranks.

A common mistake in home study is setting up a printed diagram with the board turned the wrong way, which swaps the king and queen and makes the notation fail. Another is studying only from White's side; turn the board around regularly so positions look familiar from both chairs.

Tip: name the color of random squares, such as h1 light and a1 dark, until it is instant. That habit speeds up bishop and endgame calculation.

Also worth reading is File. A file is one of the eight vertical columns of the chessboard, labeled a to h from White’s left to right, and a key line along which rooks, queens and pawn structures operate.

Also worth reading is Rank. A rank is any of the eight horizontal rows of the chessboard; FIDE numbers them 1 to 8 beginning on White's side, and rooks and queens slide along them while pawns climb from one rank to the next.

It sits close to Staunton pieces. Staunton pieces are the standard design of chess set used in tournaments, with a distinct silhouette for each piece, and the design the Laws name for the specially made boards used by visually disabled players.

Once "Chessboard" is familiar, the next question is what to work on at your rating, which the improvement plans by rating band answer with game and puzzle data.

Related terms

• Square

  A square is one of the sixty-four light or dark cells of the chessboard, each identified by a unique letter and number such as e4, and each able to hold at most one piece at a time.

• File

  A file is one of the eight vertical columns of the chessboard, labeled a to h from White’s left to right, and a key line along which rooks, queens and pawn structures operate.

• Rank

  A rank is any of the eight horizontal rows of the chessboard; FIDE numbers them 1 to 8 beginning on White's side, and rooks and queens slide along them while pawns climb from one rank to the next.

• Diagonal

  A diagonal is the slanting path a bishop travels, a straight run of squares of a single color from one edge of the board to a neighboring edge, also used by the queen and by a pawn when it captures.

• Coordinates

  Coordinates are the letters a to h along the files and the numbers 1 to 8 along the ranks that give every square of the chessboard a unique name, such as c3 or g7.

• Starting position

  The starting position is the fixed arrangement at the start of every standard game: pawns on the second and seventh ranks, pieces behind them, queens on their own color, and a light square at each player's right.

Guides that go further

• How to choose a chess coach

  What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.

• How much does chess coaching cost?

  Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.

• The first lesson

  A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.

Sources

• FIDE Laws of Chess (taking effect from 1 January 2023), Article 1.1, read Oct 21, 2026.
• FIDE Laws of Chess (taking effect from 1 January 2023), Article 2.1, read Oct 21, 2026.
• FIDE Laws of Chess (taking effect from 1 January 2023), Article 2.3, read Oct 21, 2026.