Printable
Chess Board Setup Diagram
Set the board up correctly every time.
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Two rules that prevent the common setup errors
- Light square on the right. Each player should have a light-coloured square in their near-right corner (h1 for White, a8 for Black).
- Queen on her own colour. The white queen starts on d1 (a light square); the black queen on d8 (a dark square). Kings take the last square next to their queen.
Back-rank order
From the corner inward: Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen, King, Bishop, Knight, Rook. Pawns fill the entire second rank in front. White’s pieces are on ranks 1–2, Black’s on ranks 7–8.