The chessboard consists of 64 squares arranged in an 8x8 grid. The squares alternate between light and dark colors, traditionally white and black.
Key Features:
8 rows (called ranks) numbered 1 to 8
8 columns (called files) labeled a to h
Each square has a unique coordinate (like e4 or h7)
The board should be positioned with a light square in each player's right corner
Standard Chess Starting Position
Initial setup for a game of chess
♜8
♞
♝
♛
♚
♝
♞
♜
♟7
♟
♟
♟
♟
♟
♟
♟
6
5
4
3
♙2
♙
♙
♙
♙
♙
♙
♙
♖a1
♘b
♗c
♕d
♔e
♗f
♘g
♖h
This is how every chess game begins:
- Pawns on the second rank
- Rooks in the corners
- Knights next to rooks
- Bishops next to knights
- Queen on her color
- King on the remaining square