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.
Also called: initial position
Before the first move the board is set up the same way every time. The board lies between the players so that the square in the near right corner is light. White occupies ranks one and two, Black ranks seven and eight. The back rank, from the a-file to the h-file, holds rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook, and a pawn stands in front of each piece on the next rank. The queens face each other on the d-file, the white queen on a light square and the black queen on a dark one, and the kings face each other on the e-file. A handy memory aid is "queen on her color". The Laws treat errors in setup seriously. If it is found that the initial position was set wrongly, the game is canceled and a new one is played. If the board is placed the wrong way round, the game goes on but the position is moved to a correctly placed board. If colors were reversed, a game with fewer than ten moves by each player is replayed. The start position is also the first test of any notation or program, because it has a fixed, known description.
Also worth reading is Chessboard. The chessboard is the playing field for every game of chess, a large square divided into eight rows and eight columns of light and dark cells that alternate, set so the corner nearest each player's right hand is light.
A neighboring idea is FEN. FEN is a compact line of text that records a chess position: the pieces rank by rank, whose turn it is, castling rights, any en passant square, and two move counters.
Also worth reading is 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 "Starting position" 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
Chess pieces are the sixteen units each side starts with: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns; in everyday speech, though, piece usually means everything except the pawns.
The chessboard is the playing field for every game of chess, a large square divided into eight rows and eight columns of light and dark cells that alternate, set so the corner nearest each player's right hand is light.
Chess960 is a variant that begins from one of 960 randomly chosen back-rank setups, with the king between the rooks and the bishops on opposite colors, and is otherwise played with the usual rules.
FEN is a compact line of text that records a chess position: the pieces rank by rank, whose turn it is, castling rights, any en passant square, and two move counters.
The pawn moves one square straight forward, or two from its starting square, captures one square diagonally forward, and is exchanged for a queen, rook, bishop or knight on the far rank.
The rules of chess are the Laws of Chess, the document FIDE publishes that sets out how pieces move, how a game ends, how clocks and records work, and how arbiters handle problems.
Guides that go further
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.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Sources
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Articles 2.1 to 2.3, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Articles 7.2 and 7.3, read Oct 21, 2026.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.