Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 1
The board and its squares
- What you will learn
- You can find every square on the board by its name.
- What you should already know
- None. The course begins here.
Time: about 5 minutes
New to chess? Here every piece introduces itself, with all its moves: The pieces
Step 1 of 6
Look first
This is the position at the start of every game. White is at the bottom, Black at the top.
Every square has a name: first the letter, then the number. The king is the tall piece with a cross on its crown. Tap the square where the white king stands.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e1
- Queen d1
- Rook a1
- Rook h1
- Bishop c1
- Bishop f1
- Knight b1
- Knight g1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d2
- Pawn e2
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King e8
- Queen d8
- Rook a8
- Rook h8
- Bishop c8
- Bishop f8
- Knight b8
- Knight g8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn d7
- Pawn e7
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 2 of 6
Decide
Before the game begins, check that the board is the right way round.
From White’s side, h1 is the square in the bottom-right corner. What colour is it?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King e1
- Queen d1
- Rook a1
- Rook h1
- Bishop c1
- Bishop f1
- Knight b1
- Knight g1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d2
- Pawn e2
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King e8
- Queen d8
- Rook a8
- Rook h8
- Bishop c8
- Bishop f8
- Knight b8
- Knight g8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn d7
- Pawn e7
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Tap the square e4.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e1
- Queen d1
- Rook a1
- Rook h1
- Bishop c1
- Bishop f1
- Knight b1
- Knight g1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d2
- Pawn e2
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King e8
- Queen d8
- Rook a8
- Rook h8
- Bishop c8
- Bishop f8
- Knight b8
- Knight g8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn d7
- Pawn e7
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 4 of 6
How squares get their names
The board has 64 squares, alternating between light and dark.
The vertical columns are called files. They have letters from a to h.
The horizontal rows are called ranks. They have numbers from 1 to 8. White starts on ranks 1 and 2, Black on 7 and 8.
A square’s name starts with the letter, then the number: e4 is on the e-file and the fourth rank.
Key idea
A square’s name starts with the file’s letter, followed by the rank’s number.
When does this apply?
This works from either side of the board. When the board is the right way round, the bottom-right square is light.
Step 5 of 6
Different side, same names
Rank 8 is now at the bottom, and the h-file is on the left.
Now you see the board from Black’s side. White has moved a pawn. Tap the square it is on now.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e1
- Queen d1
- Rook a1
- Rook h1
- Bishop c1
- Bishop f1
- Knight b1
- Knight g1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d2
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King e8
- Queen d8
- Rook a8
- Rook h8
- Bishop c8
- Bishop f8
- Knight b8
- Knight g8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn d7
- Pawn e7
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 6
What you take away
Next you will learn how the pieces move.