Question:
Is there a right way round for a chess board? I suddenly realised I'd never learnt about it. I know the queen has to start on her own colour square, but is there a correct orientation for the board, resulting in white always having the queen on the right (or left) of the king? If you turn a board 180 degrees, it will still look the same, but if you turn it 90 degrees, it will have the other colour in, say, the top left corner. Is it an either way situation, or is there a correct way?

There is a right way round. Boards are traditionally shown with Black at the top and White at the bottom. When this is so, the bottom left hand corner must be black (this is labelled a1 in modern notation - the columns are lettered, the rows numbered).

White to the right. The queen starts on her own colour, and the white king starts on the white queen's right as they face the enemy. The black king is on the black queen's left.

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Last updated February 16th 2004
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