The Board - putting the bishops, knights, rooks and pawns into starting position.

We already have the Kings and Queens in position - we now have to place the bishops on the board. One goes next to the King (on the King's side of the board) and one goes next to the Queen (on the Queen's side of the board).

Next we place the knights on the board - one each for the King and Queen, and then, to complete the back row, we put the Rooks (or Castles) in the outermost squares - see the diagram below.

In front of this row of dignitaries goes a rank of pawns.

This is the starting position for our chess game.

Our Board is the battlefield for a battle between the White Army and the Black Army. Both Armies are equal when in their starting positions. Each Army has 8 pawns and 8 pieces.

The diagram I have drawn for you is arranged with the White pieces at the bottom, and the Black pieces at the top. You will find that this is the way they usually present the board in chess books.

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