rook
chess
Also known as: castle
Quick Summary
Position of chess pieces at the beginning of a game
Position of chess pieces at the beginning of a game. The pieces are placed on the two ranks closest to the player. In the closest rank, pieces are arranged from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook. In front of that rank, each square has a pawn.
The rook is one of the six types of pieces in chess. Each player starts with two rooks, which are positioned on the corner squares of the board.1
Rooks can move any number of unoccupied squares horizontally or vertically along their rank or file. They were formerly also known as castles. In some chess variants, like freestyle chess, the rook's starting position can differ, but its castling movement remains consistent with regular chess. The term "rook" itself has origins in Arabic and Persian words.123
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