**USEFUL TIP** - How to Know the Color of Each Square [NO memorization required!]

Ever wanted to know the color of each square on the chessboard? Here’s a simple and efficient way:

(NOTE: none of the images shown are to be memorized, they serve only as visual helpers)

The method is quite simple: just associate each letter: A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H to its corresponding number, based on their alphabetical order, so:

• A = 1; B = 2; C = 3; D = 4; E = 5; F = 6; G = 7; H = 8

After doing so, the following image should make some sense:



You can see that the square a1 is “1+1” in the image, and, for example, e7 is “5+7”. The first number corresponds to the letter and the second is just the same as in the normal algebraic notation.

Now just ADD the two numbers:



You will notice that all the EVEN numbers fall on DARK squares and all the ODD numbers fall on LIGHT squares.

I know I said NO memorization, but actually this is the only thing to memorize: Even = Dark Squares and Odd = Light Squares.

So next time someone asks you the color of, for example, f6 just think 6+6 = 12, which is EVEN number so f6 is a DARK square.

Hope you enjoyed!

Side note: this used to be the notation in en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correspondence_chess

Great :)

Thanks @Sarg0n

In fact this is still in use in correspondence chess. Anyways, I'm not trying the reinvent the wheel, or say we should go back to it, I believe algebraic notation to be much more practical and easier, but no one can deny that it helps answer the square color question quite simply ;)

This is a common algorithm for a program to draw the chessboard.

I don't understand this fascination with knowing the color of each square. I do understand the relationship between the squares and the movement of the pieces.

The tip looks interesting, although I cannot comment on how useful it may or may not be to me.

> I don't understand this fascination with knowing the color of each square. I do understand the relationship between the squares and the movement of the pieces.

I'm not as preoccupied with knowing square colours as much as I am with coordinates. That said, I think knowing some square colours can be helpful to more quickly identifying squares. For example, e4 is white so knowing this might help one to be oriented faster when working out whether one is viewing from white or black's perspective. I find it's just an extra safety to not getting my e and d files back to front, as simple as that should be - or in other words, it's just an extra association in my mind for a particular square's uniqueness.

A chessboard has two colors which is broken down by groups of 4 squares.
Orientation of the chessboard: The lower left is dark, the lower right is light.
So all the four square nearest any corner are the same.
Drop down two rows or move over two columns and the rule still applies.

Bottom row ... when seeing or hearing an odd number:
a-b (Dark-Light)
c-d (Dark-Light)
e-f (Dark-Light)
g-h (Dark-Light)

Top row ... when seeing or hearing an even number:
a-b (Light-Dark)
c-d (Light-Dark)
e-f (Light-Dark)
g-h (Light-Dark)

So when someone says e4 : The 4 means even and so you say (White-Dark = a-b) (White -Dark c-d) (White -Dark =e-f)
e is White

If they say d5 then the number 5 is dark and so we visualize Dark-White for (a-b) Dark-White for (c-d) and so we can say d is white.

There is no need to convert letters to numbers. Just visualize the group of two colors on that row of column.

Try to visualize a pattern of 4 squares and see where they fit on the chess board. Four groups up and four groups right brings you to the top right of the chessboard. So g7 is dark, h7 is light & g8 is light and h8 is dark.

There are 4 sectors to a chessboard. Each sector has four groups of 4 squares.

Break the chessboard into 4 sectors and the chessboard is much easier to visualize.
Do you see the diagonals of the 4 squares? The dark is pointing in one direction and the white diagonal in pointing in the opposite direction.

The cluster of 4 squares or 16 squares in one sector is much easier to visualize then the total 64 squares of the chessboard.

In the cluster of 16 squares each row or column only has 2 squares of dark or light squares. Two of the rows or columns are the same pattern. So... a1 to a4 is the same pattern as c1 to c4. b1 to b4 is the same pattern as d1 to d4.
These two patterns are the same in all four sectors of the chessboard.

So knowing that a1,c1,e1,g1 short letters start dark (Bottoms up) & the tall letters b1,d1,f1,h1 start brighter are important patterns of columns to visualize. Every time they say a short letter visualize dark first. Every time they say a tall letter, visualize a light square. Then move up the chessboard by alternating the color until you reach the number of the square.

Or you can visualize the side of the chessboard and read from left to right. The odd numbers are dark, the even numbers are light. Then you can say for the number one dark-light (a-b); dark-light (c-d) and you stop at the letter that was noted.

Learning to visualize the chessboard, helps when reading chess notations. It even helps playing blind folded. For me, the trick is remembering what pieces are in each sector of the chessboard. It's hard to remember sectors which have lots of pieces. A large cluster of pieces is harder to remember than a small cluster. So when playing blind folded, try something simple like two pieces for white and one king for the opponent. When you master that, play a pawn war before adding more pieces.

I invented chess and have never found any need to know the color of any square.

Taking a bit of time to memorize and visualize the board may be most useful. This could be a stepping stone to full board and position visualization. Interesting trick though.

Actually, in the beginning, the chessboard had no colors. The God spoke and there was racism.