Chess ABC

Elements of the game

The Board

It is a checkered board having 64 squares (8 squares high and 8 squares wide), 32 of them are white and 32 are black.

The Placement of the Board according to the Rules:

The lower right-hand corner of the board must be a white square.

The Ranks

The 8 lines of horizontal squares are called Ranks.

The Files

The 8 lines of vertical squares are called Files.

The Diagonals

This is the name of the slanting set of squares joined at their vertices.

Each Diagonal is formed by the same color square.

The Center Squares

The Center of the Board is composed of 4 squares as shown in the Diagram. These squares and their neighbors (“widened” Center) acquire great value during the development of the game.