Chess is played on a square board made of 64 smaller squares, arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. The squares alternate between a light and a dark color. You'll commonly hear them called 'white' and 'black' squares, but they can be any two contrasting colors.

Before starting, make sure the board is oriented correctly. Each player should have a light-colored square at their bottom-right corner. A simple way to remember this is the phrase, 'white on the right'.

The board isn't just a random collection of squares; it's a map with coordinates. The columns, running up and down, are called files. They are labeled with letters from 'a' to 'h'. The rows, running side to side, are called ranks. They are labeled with numbers from '1' to '8'.

This grid system allows you to name any square on the board. For example, the bottom-left square is 'a1', and the top-right square is 'h8'. This system, called algebraic notation, is the language of chess.

Each player starts with an army of 16 pieces. There are six different types of pieces, each with its own unique role. One army is light-colored (White) and the other is dark-colored (Black).

Setting up the board is always the same. Let's place the pieces rank by rank.

First, the pawns. These are your foot soldiers. Each player has eight pawns. They form a wall in front of your other pieces. White's pawns go on the 2nd rank, and Black's pawns go on the 7th rank.

Next, we place the major pieces on the back rank for each player (rank 1 for White, rank 8 for Black). We'll build from the outside in.

The Rooks go in the corners, on the 'a' and 'h' files. Think of them as the towers of a castle.

Next to the Rooks, place the Knights. They look like horses and are your cavalry.

Next to the Knights, place the Bishops. They sit on the 'c' and 'f' files.

This leaves just two squares in the center of your back rank for the most important pieces: the King and Queen.

The Queen is the most powerful piece. A simple rule helps place her correctly: the queen goes on her own color. The White Queen goes on the light central square (d1), and the Black Queen goes on the dark central square (d8).

Finally, the King takes the last remaining square on the back rank, right next to his queen.

And that's it. The board is set up, and the armies are ready. White always makes the first move.