The Chessboard

Chess is played on a chessboard of 64 squares - if you have ever played checkers or draughts, then it is the same board!

Half of the squares are always a dark color and the other half are always a light color, and they are laid out in a checkered pattern, alternating between dark, light, dark, light over the whole board.

So, if the chessboard has 64 squares, then there must be 8 squares along each side, as 8 x 8 = 64. That means that there are 8 horizontal rows, which are usually called ranks and are numbered from 1 to 8, and there are 8 vertical columns, which are usually called files and are lettered from a to h.

These rank and file values allow you to refer to any particular square on the board (the letter is written first, then the number). For example, square a1 is the bottom left-hand corner square, and square h8 is the top, right-hand corner square.

You sit on one side of the chessboard and the person you are playing against, your opponent, sits on the opposite side, facing you.

The only other difficult thing you have to remember is that you must have a light-colored square on the corner nearest your right hand, so you may have to turn the board around until light is right!

Now that you know about the chessboard, it is time to learn all about the chess pieces, which are a lot more interesting...