Chess board setup
The correct starting position, one step at a time, on a board you can see and flip.
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How do you set up a chess board?
Turn the board so each player has a light square bottom-right, then fill the back rank from the corners inwards: rooks, knights, bishops, queen on her own colour, king on the last square. Add eight pawns in front. White uses ranks 1 and 2, Black uses ranks 7 and 8.
- Orient the board. Turn the board so each player has a light square in their bottom-right corner. The old reminder is "white on the right".
- Place the rooks. Rooks go in the four corners: a1 and h1 for White, a8 and h8 for Black.
- Place the knights. Knights sit next to the rooks, on b1, g1, b8 and g8.
- Place the bishops. Bishops go beside the knights, on c1, f1, c8 and f8.
- Queen on her own colour. The white queen goes on d1, a light square. The black queen goes on d8, a dark square. This is the step people get wrong: queen on her own colour.
- Kings take the last square. Each king fills the one remaining square on the back rank: e1 for White, e8 for Black.
- Add the pawns. Eight pawns fill the second rank for White and the seventh rank for Black. The board is now set up correctly.
What are the two mistakes people actually make?
Rotating the board the wrong way, and swapping the king and queen. Every other piece is symmetrical, so those two errors account for almost every incorrectly set up board. Both are fixed by two short rules: white on the right, and queen on her own colour.
| Rule | What it means | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| White on the right | Each player has a light square in their bottom-right corner | Look at the corner nearest your right hand. It should be light. |
| Queen on her own colour | White queen on a light square, black queen on a dark square | White queen sits on d1 (light). Black queen sits on d8 (dark). |
| Queens face queens | Both queens occupy the d-file | Look straight down the board from your queen. The other queen is there. |
| Kings face kings | Both kings occupy the e-file | Same check, one file to the right from White's view. |
The memory aid that actually sticks: "light on right, queen on her colour." If the board is rotated correctly and the queen is on her own colour, everything else follows automatically, because the king can only go in the square that is left.
Which pieces go where?
| Piece | White squares | Black squares | How many |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rook | a1, h1 | a8, h8 | 2 each |
| Knight | b1, g1 | b8, g8 | 2 each |
| Bishop | c1, f1 | c8, f8 | 2 each |
| Queen | d1 | d8 | 1 each |
| King | e1 | e8 | 1 each |
| Pawn | a2 to h2 | a7 to h7 | 8 each |
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What size, weight and material actually matter.
Frequently asked questions
Which corner square should be white?
The bottom-right corner must be light for both players. The reminder is "white on the right". If yours is dark, rotate the board 90 degrees.
Does the queen go on white or black?
The queen goes on her own colour. White queen on d1 (light), black queen on d8 (dark).
Which side does the king go on?
e1 for White, e8 for Black, beside the queen. Place the queen first and the king takes the square that is left.
Does it matter if the board is set up wrong?
Yes. A rotated board changes which side castling happens on and flips the colour complexes, so the whole game plays differently. In tournament play an incorrectly set up board is restarted.
Are the knights facing a particular direction?
No. Which way a knight faces has no effect on play. Facing them inwards is only convention.