Chess is a game to be played by two players, with one player having 16 black or dark color chess pieces and the other player having 16 white or light color chess pieces. The chess players move on a square chessboard.
Each chess piece has a defined starting point or square with the dark chess pieces aligned on one side of the board and the light pieces on the other. The chess pieces are used both for defense and offense. Each player has one chess piece called the king. The ultimate objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king.
When either side’s king is trapped to where it cannot move without being taken, it’s called “checkmate” or the shortened version “mate”. At this point, the game is over. It takes only a while to learn chess rules and often a lifetime to master it.
Setting up the board:
While setting the chess pieces on the board you should make sure that the two armies or the opposing teams should be mirror images of each other.
Easy ways to remember placement
Be sure the board is turned the proper way. Both players should have a dark square in the lower left. One way to remember this is smoke before fire.
Please note that the light queen should be positioned on a light square and the dark one on the darker square, each on their own color.
Conversely, the Kings go on their opposite colors. White king on dark square and black King on light square.
They will be directly across the board from each other; this is an easy way to remember their positioning on the board.