A Few Rules of Thumb

When notating, recall that it’s file 1st, which means the file key is forever first. E.g., the lower right square would be a8 or a-file, 8th rank. While notation is not necessary for the beginning chess participant, keeping track of files and ranks is a effective way of imaging the playing area, assessing space, and therefore, projecting one’s strategy.

As for the chess sets, each one consists of 32 color-coded pieces: sixteen are reserved for the white participant and another 16 for the black. At the games start, a color/side is selected: white or black, which also decides who moves first. The participant assigned the white chess pieces always has the honor.