If you know nothing about chess or know something and want to learn chess very well from a master title chess player and coach then read this article.
To become a chess player you need to a clear concept about the chess board.
And this is the 1st step of learning chess.
What is a chessboard?
A chess board is a square board for 2 players with 64 light and dark squares inside. Of which 32 squares are light squares and 32 squares are dark.
Chess board size
According to USCF (US Chess Federation) regulations, the inner squares of each chess board should be (2.25×2.25) inches.
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) regulates that each square inside the board must be 2 to 2.5-inch squares.
According to the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and International Chess Federation (FIDE) guidelines, international tournament chess board sizes should be 19 to 21 inches.
Chess board set up
Chess players must place the chess board so that each player’s right corner square is a light square.
There are some chessboards available in stores that have nothing written around them. In that case, the chess board should be placed so that the right corner square of both the players is a light square.
But usually, there is Algebraic Notation on the side of the chess boards, which can be seen easily to understand how to keep the chess board.
The chessboard’s File, Rank and Diagonal
Mastering file, rank and diagonal control techniques is very important in chess. Master chess players always fight on the chess board to control the opening. The more control the file, rank and diagonal have, the more likely the chess player is to win. Master players can blindly tell which file contains which squares, ranks and diagonals and which are black. So those who can memorize more of these files, ranks and diagonals, the faster they are likely to become better chess players.
File:
A line of 8 vertical squares is called a file. Similarly, the first long line of the chessboard on the left-hand side of the player containing the light pieces is called the first file, which is known as file “a”. Then the next file is “b”. Thus, the chessboard has 8 files from “a” to “h”.
There are 3 types of files in chess. 1) Open File, 2) Half Open File, 3) Close File.
Rank:
The rows of 8 squares vertically across the chessboard in front of the player are called ranks. The rank starts from the side of the chess player who is playing with the light pieces. The vertical row above it is called the second rank.
Thus, the chessboard has 8 ranks. The last rank is called the 8th, closest to the player playing with the dark pieces.
Diagonal:
On the chess board, all the squares that are located at the corner of a square of the same colour form a diagonal. So all light squares will be diagonal light squares and all dark squares will be diagonal dark squares. Bishop is very important for diagonal control. Because the bishop moves diagonally and attacks. There is a term in chess called Color Weakness. And this colour weakness is created by diagonal weakness. Diagonal control is therefore very important to become a great chess player.
