Chess 101 – Chess Setup and Rules

To learn chess, you need to know and understand its rules and how to set up the board and its pieces. Part of the lesson is identifying how certain pieces should move and where they can go. There may be a lot of references to help you get started, but we have listed down the essential things you must know about chess setup and rules to make it easier for you:

• Know the goal of chess – The ultimate objective of the game is the checkmate, which happens when you are able to trap the King of your opponent. Checkmate comes from ‘Shah Mat,’ a Persian phrase that literally means, ‘the King is ambushed.’

• Basic setup – The chessboard has eight columns and rows, totaling 64 alternating color squares. A unique pair of number and a letter corresponds to each square. Vertical files are identified as A to H, from the left of White (queenside) to the right. Horizontal ranks are numbered one to eight, starting from the area nearest to White’s side. Every square is identified by a file letter and a rank number. Basic chess setup and rules call for the white Queen to be on a white square, and the black Queen must be on a black square.
  
• Remember: White moves first – One of the most important things to remember in chess setup and rules is whoever takes the White side between you and your opponent starts the game. You will be taking turns, alternately moving a piece at a time. Movement is necessary, so you cannot pass.

• What happens if there are no moves left? - If it is your opponent’s turn to move and they are not in check, but they do not have legal moves anymore, that is a ‘Stalemate,’ which means that the game has ended in a draw.

• Every piece is allowed to move in a certain way – You may move a piece to another square or capture a piece of your opponent and replace it on its position. En passant, however, is an exception. A piece is unable to move through or over any other piece, except for the Knight.
  

Mastering the chess setup and rules calls for frequent practice and proper instruction from a qualified instructor. So, consider playing chess online and study with help from a chess instructor.