Chessboard

A chessboard is the board used in the game of chess, which consists of eight rows and eight columns of squares arranged in two alternating colors (light and dark). Similar boards are also known as checkerboards. The colors are called "black" and "white" (or "light" and "dark"), although the actual colors are usually dark green and buff for boards used in competition, and often natural shades of light and dark woods for home boards. Some play sets may use red and black, which is also used for checkers.

The board is always placed so that the rightmost square on the row nearest each player is a "white" square. The size of the board is usually chosen to be appropriate for the chess pieces used. A square size approximately 1.25 to 1.3 times the size of the base of the king is preferred.

In modern commentary, the columns (called files) are labeled by the letters a to h from left to right from the white player's point of view, and the rows (called ranks) by the numbers 1 to 8, with 1 being closest to the white player, thus providing a standard notation called algebraic chess notation.

In older English commentary, the files are labeled by the piece originally occupying its first rank, and ranks by the numbers 1 to 8 from each player's point of view, depending on the move being described. This is called english chess notation, and is no longer commonly used.