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Setting up the pieces

How to set up the chessmen before a game: where the rooks, knights, bishops, queen and king go. Simple tips so you never mix up the king and the queen

  • Beginner
  • Rules
  • 2 min read
Contents
  1. The starting position
  2. A tip about the queen
  3. How to check yourself

The starting position

Before setting up, check the board: there must be a white square on your right. Then:

  1. Pawns go on the second rank for White and the seventh rank for Black. The eight pawns stand in a straight row.
  2. Rooks go in the corners: a1 and h1 for White, a8 and h8 for Black.
  3. Knights go next to the rooks: b1 and g1, b8 and g8.
  4. Bishops go next to the knights: c1 and f1, c8 and f8.
  5. The queen goes on the remaining square of her own colour: the white queen on the white square d1, the black queen on the dark square d8.
  6. The king goes on the last free square: e1 for White, e8 for Black.
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The starting position. The queens stand on squares of their own colour: White's on d1, Black's on d8.

A tip about the queen

Beginners most often mix up the king and the queen. Remember: “the queen loves her own colour”. The white queen always starts on a white square, the black queen on a dark one. Kings and queens face each other on the d- and e-files.

How to check yourself

  • White's and Black's pieces mirror each other: rook opposite rook, knight opposite knight.
  • The kings stand on the same e-file, the queens on the same d-file.
  • There are no empty squares between the pieces and the pawns, and the four middle ranks are empty.

Once the pieces are set up, you can start: White moves first. How each piece moves is explained in the article “How the pieces move”.