Before you can play the game, you must know how to set up the board.

The easiest way to remember where the pieces are for those who are new to the game is to start by placing the regular chess pieces on the board.

Start with the white side of the board. The first four columns on your left will look exactly like a chess board's arrangement.

Place the Rooks on the outermost files first, then work your way inward.

Place The White Knights Next

Moving inward one file, place the Knights as shown

Place The White Bishops Next

Moving inward one file again, place the Bishops.

Place The White Queen In The "d-file"

The previous setup arrangements were symmetric since a pair of pieces went onto the board in each step.

Since there is only one Queen for each side, you just have to remember that it is always placed in the "d-file" as shown.

Place The King "In The Middle"

New players prefer to place the White King next, since it "always goes in the middle" of the currently empty squares.

This is a simple and effective way to teach those who are just learning, rather than have them try to memorize the file designations for the Queen, Chancellor, and Archbishop all at once.

Place The White Chancellor Next To The Queen

Always place the Chancellor next to the Queen. Do not think of it as being next to the King and you will always place it correctly.

Place The White Archbishop Next To The King

It's pretty hard to get this last step wrong, since there is only one remaining location to place the Archbishop.

Place The Black Pieces, Then Add all of the Pawns

Just remember each black piece is in the same file as its corresponding white piece, even though it might look different when you are sitting on black's side of the board!