Rules 02: The initial position of the pieces
2.1. The chessboard is composed of an 8x8 grid of 64 equal squares alternately light (the 'white' squares) and dark (the 'black' squares). The chessboard is placed between the players in such a way that the near corner square to the right of the player is white.
2.2. At the beginning of the game one player has 16 light-coloured pieces (the 'white' pieces); the other has 16 dark-coloured pieces (the 'black' pieces).
These pieces are as follows:
A white king A white queen Two white rooks Two white bishops Two white knights Eight white pawns |
A black king A black queen Two black rooks Two black bishops Two black knights Eight black pawns |
2.3. The initial position of the pieces on the chessboard is as follows:
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2.4. The eight vertical columns of squares are called 'files'. The eight horizontal rows of squares are called 'ranks'. A straight line of squares of the same colour, touching corner to corner, is called a 'diagonal'.