The board consists of eight rows and eight columns for a total of 64 squares of alternating colours. When the board is set up it should be positioned so that a light square is positioned on the extreme lower right hand side of the chess board (as you can see, this works for both players). The diagram shows how the pieces should be initially situated. When you find out how all the pieces move you will notice that the front rank is fully supported by the rank behind. When setting up, make sure that the light queen is positioned on a light square and the dark queen is situated on a dark square. The two armies should be mirror images of one another. The light side always moves first. Each player's side of the chessboard is determined by chance. Usually by one player placing a pawn in each hand and closing his fists. Holding forth his fists the opposing player picks one. Whatever colour the pawn he chooses is the side he shall command.

There are eight pawns situated on each side of the board. They are the least powerful piece on the chess board, but have the potential to become equal to the most powerful. Pawns cannot move backward or sideways, but must move straight ahead unless they are taking another piece. Generally pawns move only one square at a time. The exception is the first time a pawn is moved, it may move forward two squares as long as there are no obstructing pieces. A pawn cannot take a piece directly in front of him but only one at a forward angle. In the diagram the green dots show where the pawn may move and the red dots show where the pawn may capture a piece. In the case of a capture the pawn replaces the captured piece and the captured piece is removed from play. Should a pawn get all the way across the board to reach the opponent's edge of the table, it will be promoted. The pawn may now become any piece that the moving player desires (except a king or pawn). Thus a player may end up having more than one queen on the board. Under normal circumstances a player will want to promote his pawn to be a queen since that piece is the most powerful and flexible. The new piece is placed where the pawn ended its movement. There is a separate rule regarding pawns called en passant that will be described separately.

Perhaps the most obscure and least used move in chess is called En Passant. It can only occur when a player exercises his option to move his pawn two squares on its initial movement. When this happens, the opposing player has the option to take the moved pawn "en passant" as if it had only moved one square. This option, though, only stays open for one move. In the example diagram on the left, the light pawn has just moved forward two squares. The dark pawn, may now move to the square with the red dot and remove the light piece. The en passant move was developed after pawns were allowed to move more than one square on their initial move. This was done to make sure they retained some of the restrictions imposed by slow movement, while at the same time speeding up the game.

The rook, shaped like a castle, is one of the more powerful pieces on the board. The rooks, grouped with the queen, are often thought of as the "major pieces". Rooks are worth a bishop or a knight plus two pawns. The rook can move any number of squares in a straight line along any column or row. They CANNOT move diagonally. In the example shown in the diagram on the left, the rook can move or capture in any square that has a blue dot. The simplicity of the rook's movement is indeed what makes it powerful. It can cover a significant area of the board and there are no areas which an opponent's piece - moving one square at a time - can slip through. The rook may also make a move in conjunction with the king. This maneuver will be explained in the section called castling.

The bishop may move any number of squares in a diagonal direction until it is prevented from continuing by another piece. Each player begins with two bishops, one originally situated on a light square, the other on a dark square. Because of the nature of their movement, the bishops always remain on the same coloured squares. Bishops are a powerful piece (though less so than the queen or rooks). It is roughly equal in power to a knight or three pawns. Nevertheless, the bishop is a great piece to have in open situations when it can range the board. The knight is better in cluttered situations where it can utilize its ability to jump over other pieces.

The knight is the only piece on the board that may jump over other pieces. This gives it a degree of flexibility that makes it a powerful piece. Since obstructions are not a bar to movement (unless there is a friendly piece on the square where the knight would move) the knight's path of movement has never been well defined. The knight can be thought of as moving one square along any rank or file and then at an angle, as defined in the diagram at left. (The yellow dot is the square being passed over and the blue dot is the space where the knight may move and may also capture opposition pieces.) The knight's movement can also be viewed as an "L" laid out at any horizontal or vertical angle. Note that the squares to where the knight can move are all of the opposite colored squares two steps away from his starting square. This may help you visualise the knight's range of influence on the board.

The queen is, without doubt, the most powerful piece on the chessboard. She can move as many squares as she desires and in any direction (barring any obstructions). In the diagram on the left, the blue dots indicate to which squares this particular queen may move. As you can see, she can cover 27 squares. This is a healthy percentage of the board. She captures in the same way that she moves, replacing the unlucky opposing piece that got in her way. (She must, of course, stop in the square of the piece she has captured - unlike the knight the queen does not jump other pieces.) The queen's power is so great that she is considered to be worth more than any combination of three other pieces. Thus it would be better, under normal circumstances, to sacrifice two rooks and a bishop (for example) than to give up a queen. Strategy Note: It is generally thought to be unwise to bring the queen out too early. The cluttered board makes her more vulnerable to entrapment.

Though not the most powerful piece on the board, the king is the most vital, for once he is lost the game is lost (more about this in the end game section). As shown in the movement diagram, the king can only move one square in any direction. There is only one restriction on his movement - he may not move into a position where he may be captured by an opposing piece. Because of this rule, two kings may never stand next to each other or capture each other. Strategy Note: Guard the king closely. His loss means loss of the game. He is typically not a good piece to use on offense, but will be a help in a carefully constructed defense.

Castling is a special defensive maneuver. It is the only time in the game when more than one piece may be moved during a turn. This move was invented in the 1500's to help speed up the game and to help balance the offense and defense. The castling move has some fairly rigid caveats: It can only occur if there are no pieces standing between the king and the rook. Neither king nor rook may have moved from its original position. There can be no opposing piece that could possibly capture the king in his original square, the square he moves through or the square that he ends the turn. The king moves two squares toward the rook he intends to castle with (this may be either rook). The rook then moves to the square through which the king passed. Hopefully, the diagram to the left makes this clear. Strategy Note: Castling is a great aid in defensive strategy. It also has a tendency to bring a powerful rook into play when under normal circumstances it might be stuck behind a wall of pawns.