2. Components
The Board
- A square board divided into 100 equal squares, alternately black and white (2.1)
- Play happens only on the dark squares, so 50 squares are active (2.2)
- The skewed lines of dark squares are the diagonals; there are 17 of them (2.3)
- The long diagonal joins two corners and comprises 10 squares (2.3)
Naming the Parts
- Bases — the side of the board facing each player, which are the promotion lines (2.5.1)
- Sides — the squares in the first and/or last column (2.5.2)
- Rows — horizontal lines of 5 dark squares (2.5.3)
- Columns — vertical lines of 5 dark squares (2.5.4)
Square Numbering
- By convention the dark squares are numbered 1 to 50, without the numbers actually being written on the board (2.6)
- Numbering follows the rows left to right, from the first square of the top row to the last square of the bottom row (2.6)
- The promotion rows are numbered 1–5 and 46–50 (2.6.1)
- The side columns are numbered 6-16-26-36-46 at the left and 5-15-25-35-45 at the right (2.6.2)
- Squares 5 and 46 sit at the ends of the long diagonal and are called the corners of the board (2.6.3)
The Men
- 20 white or light-coloured men and 20 black or dark-coloured men (2.7)
- A piece is either a man or a king, and the two move and capture differently (3.1, 3.2)
- A playing clock is required whenever a time control is in force (10.2.1, 10.4)