The board and setting it up · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

The board and setting it up

Chess · Chess basics · ages 6-8
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which piece goes in the corner squares at the start?

    • Rook
    • Knight
    • Bishop
    • Queen

  2. Each player begins the game with 16 pieces.

    Circle one:   True   False

  3. How many squares are on a chess board?

    Answer: ______________

  4. How many pawns does each player start with?

    Answer: ______________

  5. Where should a light square be when you set up the board?

    • In your right-hand corner
    • In your left-hand corner
    • In the middle
    • It does not matter

  6. How many pieces are on the board when the game begins, counting both sides?

    Answer: ______________

  7. The white queen starts on a dark square.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. Starting from a corner, what is the order of the back-row pieces?

    • Rook, knight, bishop
    • Bishop, knight, rook
    • Knight, rook, bishop
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The board and setting it up W1-ct_yl8BQGr-zn4-s1

  1. Rook · Each player puts a rook in both back-row corners.
  2. True · That is 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, 1 queen, and 1 king.
  3. 64 · The board is 8 rows of 8 squares, and 8 times 8 is 64.
  4. 8 · The eight pawns stand in a row in front of the other pieces.
  5. In your right-hand corner · Remember the saying "white on the right" for the near corner.
  6. 32 · Each player has 16 pieces, and 16 plus 16 is 32.
  7. False · The queen starts on her own color, so the white queen begins on a light square.
  8. Rook, knight, bishop · From the corner it goes rook, then knight, then bishop, then the king and queen.
Worksheet · LightMySky