Chess is a board game of strategic skill for two players, played on a chequered board on which each playing piece is moved according to precise rules. The object is to put the opponent's king under a direct attack from which escape is impossible (checkmate).
Step 1:
Position the board so each player has a black space in their left corner. Have both players sit across from one another to start your game. Turn the board so each player has a black square in the lower-left corner and a white square in the lower-right corner. Use the rhyme, "white on the right" to help you remember while you’re setting up your game.
Step 2:
Learn the rank and file system to place pieces and keep notation. Ranks are the horizontal rows and the files are the columns going between the players. Ranks are listed 1-8, starting with the side of the board with the white pieces. Files are listed as the letters “a” through “h” starting from the white player’s left side. Reference a specific square on the board by listing the rank followed by the file.[2] For example, the left corner for the white player is a1 while the left corner for the black player is h8. Practice notation by listing each move you and your opponent make by writing down the piece and the square to which it moves. You do not need to use the rank and file notation system if you don’t want to, but it does make setting up the board easier.
Step 3:
Place the rooks in the corners of the board. Rooks usually look like castle towers and can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically, but they cannot jump over other pieces. Place the white rooks on squares a1 and h1, and put the black rooks on squares a8 and h8.
Step 4:
Set the knights next to your rooks. The knights look like horses and move in L-shapes by going 2 spaces horizontally and 1 space vertically, or 2 spaces vertically followed by 1 space horizontally. Put the white knights on squares b1 and g1, and set the black knights on b8 and g8. Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces as long as the space it ends on is vacant.
Step 5:
Put the bishops next to your knights. Bishops are the third-tallest pieces in your chess set and move in a straight line diagonally. If you’re the white player, place your bishops on c1 and f1 and put the black bishops on squares c8 and f8. Bishops can’t move onto a square that isn’t the same color as its starting square.
Step 6:
Place the queens on their matching colors in the back rows. Queens are the second-tallest pieces and can move any number of squares in any direction as long as the spaces are vacant. Put the white queen on d1 and the black queen on d8 so they’re directly across from one another. The queen can’t change directions in a single turn.
Step 7:
Set the kings next to the queens. Your king is the tallest piece in your chess set and is the piece you need to protect throughout the game. Kings can move 1 space at a time in any direction during your turn. Put the kings next to the queens to complete your back row of pieces. You can’t move your king into a space where it can get captured during the next turn.
Now get ready to play, remember, White takes first turn.