Editing Chess (section)

===Setup===
[[File:ChessStartingPosition.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.0|Setup at the start of a chess game]]
[[Chess set]]s come in a wide variety of styles. The [[Staunton chess set|Staunton pattern]] is the most common, and is usually required for competition.<ref name=fideequip>{{Cite web |title=C. General Rules and Technical Recommendations for Tournaments / 02. Chess Equipment / 01. Standards of Chess Equipment / FIDE Handbook |url=https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/StandardsOfChessEquipment2022 |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=International Chess Federation (FIDE) |language=en}}</ref> Chess sets come with [[chess piece|pieces]] in two colors, referred to as [[White and Black in chess|''white'' and ''black'']], regardless of their actual color; the players controlling the color sets are referred to as ''White'' and ''Black'', respectively. Each set comes with at least the following 16 pieces in both colors: one [[King (chess)|king]], one [[Queen (chess)|queen]], two [[Rook (chess)|rooks]], two [[Bishop (chess)|bishops]], two [[Knight (chess)|knights]], and eight [[Pawn (chess)|pawns]].<ref name=FideLawsOfChess/>

The game is played on a square [[Chessboard|board]] of eight rows (called ''{{chessgloss|ranks}}'') and eight columns (called ''{{chessgloss|files}}''). Although it does not affect gameplay, by convention the 64 squares alternate in color and are referred to as {{em|light}} and {{em|dark}} squares.<ref name="FideLawsOfChess"/><!--FIDE uses "white and black squares" in the citation; new citation needed--->
{{clear left}}

{{Chess diagram   
| tright
| 
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
| Initial position: {{em|first row:}} rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook; {{em|second row:}} pawns
}}
To start the game, White's pieces are placed on the first rank in the following order, from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. Pawns are placed on each square of the second rank. Black's position mirrors White's, with equivalent pieces on every file.<ref name="FideLawsOfChess"/> The board is oriented so that the right-hand corner nearest each player is a light square; as a result the white queen always starts on a light square, while the black queen starts on a dark square. This may be remembered by the phrases "white on the right" and "queen on her color".<ref>{{harvp|Hooper|Whyld|1992|p=47}}</ref>

In competition, the piece colors are allocated to players by the organizers. In informal games, colors may be decided either by mutual agreement, or randomly, for example by a coin toss, or by one player concealing a white pawn in one hand and a black pawn in the other and having the opponent choose.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}