Chess setups

This means the knight from d2 moved to e4 instead of another knight that could also move to e4. Because the knight can jump over material it is the only piece besides the pawns that can start the game off for one side. To take your game to the next level make sure you check out our complete guide on the knight. The pawn is the basic piece in chess and each side starts with eight. Each pawn is worth 1 point. While that may not seem like a lot, many good chess players can win a chess game if they have a 1 point advantage.

While the pawn is the weakest piece on the board, it serves a vital role in the game. Most of the early part of the game will be centered around the pawn structure and controlling the center of the board with your pawns.

The other pieces will support the pawn in the early stages. Later on the pawns will play more of a supportive role for the minor and major pieces will limiting the squares the opponent can go to. The first time you move a pawn you can move it one or two squares. Once the pawn has moved you can only move the pawn one square after that. Look at ex. Instead the only move the pawn can make is to take the pawn on e6. When a pawn moves you will see the notation e5.

If you only see a square that means the pawn is moving there. If a pawn from d5 is capturing a pawn on e6 then you would see the notation exd6. There is only special move that a pawn can make called en passant.

This can occur only immediately after a pawn moves two squares. If you have a pawn next to the pawn after it has moved two squares you can take this pawn with en passant but you only have one move. Any other move you make will negate the possibility to use en passant.

White has just moved d4. Black has a pawn on c4 and has one move only to play cxd3. It is a strange move as the black pawn does not actually end up on a square that is occupied by a white piece but it does in fact capture the white pawn on d4.

To take your game to the next level make sure you check out our complete guide on the pawn. Now you have a basic understanding of how pieces move, how many points each piece is worth, and how to read notation from a chess game. Be sure to check out other topics in our chess basics series to learn more. Twitter Youtube. Shop Cart Sign in Join Menu. Chess Pieces Starting chess board with all the pieces. The kings start on the e1 and e8 squares. The white king should be on a dark square.

The black king starts on a light square. The King moves from d4 to e5. This move would be notated as Ke5. With no safe squares to move, this is checkmate. Black wins. Each side starts with two rooks placed on the four corners of the chess board. The rook can move vertically or horizontally any number of squares without jumping over another piece. At the beginning of the game the rook is blocked in by the pawn and knight. Both rooks can move to e4.

Since the rook on d1 moves to d4 the chess notation would be Rd1d4. Each side starts with two bishops. One bishop will be on a light square and one on a dark square. Bishops can move diagonally any number of squares without jumping over another piece. Bishops are initially blocked by pawns but will be one of the first pieces you move in a chess game.

The queen starts right next to the king. They should be on the d1 and d8 squares. The queen can move vertically, horizontally, or diagonally any number of squares. The queen moves to the d5 square and is notated Qd5. Each side starts with two knights. If you want to get a game going, there is a chessboard already set up for you at Chess. Updated: Dec 10, , AM. Lay out the light square in the bottom-right corner Set up the pawns on the second rank Put your rooks in the corners Place your knights next to the rooks Bishops go next to knights Queen goes on her color Place your king in the last square available Don't forget, white moves first!

Step 1: Lay out t he board with the light square in the bottom-right corner. Step 3: Put your rooks in the corners. Step 4: Place your knights next to your rooks. Step 5: Bishops go next to knights. Step 6: Your queen goes on her own color. Step 7: Place your king on the last square. Learn how to set up the chess pieces correctly. Chess Board is turned around. The board is turned around above, but same rules apply.

As you can see above there is a white square at the right hand side lower corner where the rook is placed upon. The white queen is placed on a white square and the black queen is on a black square. The number 1 starts on the side with the white chess pieces and the number 8 starts on the side with the black pieces. The board has 64 squares, 32 squares are dark and 32 are white squares. There are rows or ranks and files.

A row consists of 8 horizontal squares. A file consists of 8 vertical squares. There are long and short diagonals.