How do you set up a chessboard?
B · Beginner · The board and the pieces · 1 of 10Place the board so that each player has a white square in the near right-hand corner. Each side has 16 pieces. The rooks go in the corners, then the knights, then the bishops, with the queen on the square of her own colour and the king beside her. The eight pawns stand in front. White moves first.
How it works
- The board: an 8 by 8 grid of 64 squares, alternately light and dark.
- Which way round: "the near corner square to the right of the player is white".
- Each side has: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns.
- Files, ranks and diagonals: the eight columns are files and the eight rows are ranks. A diagonal is a straight line of squares of one colour running corner to corner.
- Who starts: White makes the first move, then the players move in turn.
- The aim: to attack the opponent's king so that it has no legal move. That is checkmate.
- Wrong set-up: if the pieces started on the wrong squares, the game is cancelled and a new one is played.
- Board the wrong way round: the game continues, and the position is moved to a correctly placed board.
The glossary has the board, the pieces, the rank and file, white and black, the queen and the king.
Tricky cases
After a few moves, the players notice the king and queen were set up the wrong way round. Does the game carry on?
No. If the initial position was incorrect, "the game shall be cancelled and a new game shall be played". In rapid and blitz games the claim must be made before each player has completed 10 moves.
The board has a black square in the right-hand corner. Is the game void?
No. The game continues, and the position is transferred to a board placed the right way round.
The players sat down with the wrong colours. Do they restart?
It depends. If fewer than 10 moves have been made by both players, a new game is played with the correct colours. After 10 moves or more, the game goes on.
Can Black move first if both players agree?
No. Under the Laws, White makes the first move.
Why the rule exists
A fixed starting position means every game begins level and every recorded game can be replayed anywhere. The white corner square is the check that the board is the right way round, which in turn puts each king and queen on the right squares.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong starting position found during the game | New game | FIDE Laws 7.2.1 |
| Board placed the wrong way round | Game continues on a correctly placed board | FIDE Laws 7.2.2 |
| Colours reversed | New game if fewer than 10 moves were made; otherwise play on | FIDE Laws 7.3 |
| Rapid and blitz without full supervision | No claim about set-up once each player has completed 10 moves | FIDE Laws A.5.1.2; B.3 |
| Chess960 | The pieces on the first rank start in one of 960 shuffled positions | FIDE Laws, Guidelines II |
From the rule book
FIDE, Laws of Chess (approved 7 August 2022, applied from 1 January 2023), Articles 1, 2 and 7.2 to 7.3, Appendix A.5 and Guidelines II. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2023 (FIDE Handbook E.01).