While chess can be an intimidating concept, chess
setup and rules are actually quite simple and easy to understand, if you only
take time to really learn the basics. The first thing you should understand is
that chess is a game played between two opposing sides, the black and the white
side, each taking alternate turns, moving a piece at a time in order to capture
the enemy’s king. The player on the white side moves first. This is one of the
first and most important chess setup
and rules you should remember as you learn to play the game.
Moving on to the chess pieces, you will
notice that each side is given a total of 16 chess materials of different
types, each of which moves in a particular way. A piece isn’t allowed to land
on a chess square that is occupied by a friendly or same colored piece. If your
piece lands on one that is taken by an enemy piece, the material is captured
and removed from the board. Pieces are not permitted to jump over another,
except for the knight, which is also the only piece that can move in different
directions and not just in a straight line.
The bishops can move for any number of
diagonal squares, while the rooks can move horizontally or vertically. The
queen, which is considered the most powerful piece, can move in a straight line
either diagonally, vertically, or horizontally. Pawns can only move one square at a time,
except during its first move, in which case it can move two squares forward. It
can never move backward and can only capture pieces by moving diagonally toward
the next square forward.
Chess setup and rules at the start of the game requires each player having a light-colored
square in their bottom right-hand corner. Starting from the bottom left and the
bottom right squares, put your rooks, continuing inward with your knights and
bishops on either side. The queen should always go on the square of its own
color (white on light, black on dark) and the king should stand on the
remaining square between the queen and the bishop. The second row in front of
the larger pieces is reserved for all your pawns.