Piece placement
Lists the ranks from 8 down to 1, separated by slashes. Uppercase letters are White pieces (K, Q, R, B, N, P), lowercase letters are Black pieces, and digits count empty squares.
Chess board editor
Set up any chess position, check that it could occur in a game, and copy its FEN. Paste a FEN to see the position on the board, or download it as an image.
Move pieces · Drag a piece to move it, or drag it off the board to remove it. You can also tap a piece and then an empty square.
Legal position
White to move.
Available when a pawn could have just moved two squares and can be captured en passant.
Explore this position
Know what to play from the first move
Opening positions are easier to remember when you play them, not just look at them. Chessmate trains each opening line on the board with spaced review, so you know the moves when the position comes up in your games.
How to use the board editor
Place and move pieces
Choose a piece from the rows above and below the board, then tap squares to place it. With the move tool, drag pieces around the board, or drag a piece off the board to remove it.
Set the side to move and castling
Choose who moves next, then tick the castling rights that still apply. The editor only offers castling when the king and rook stand on their starting squares.
Check the position
The status box tells you whether the position could occur in a game, and points out problems such as a missing king, pawns on the back rank, or a side in check when it is not their turn.
Copy, share, or download
Copy the FEN for an analysis board or a chess engine, copy a link that opens this position, or download the board as a PNG image for notes and worksheets.
What a FEN string means
FEN (Forsyth–Edwards Notation) describes a chess position in one line of text. The starting position is rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1, and its six fields are separated by spaces.
Side to move
w means White moves next, and b means Black moves next.
Castling rights
K and Q mean White can still castle kingside and queenside, and k and q mean the same for Black. A dash means neither side can castle.
En passant square
The square a pawn skipped with a two-square move, such as e3 or d6, when an en passant capture is possible. Otherwise it is a dash.
Halfmove clock
Moves since the last capture or pawn move, counted per player. It is used for the fifty-move rule.
Fullmove number
Starts at 1 and goes up by one after each Black move.
Board editor FAQ
How do I set up a chess position?
Start from the starting position or clear the board, then choose pieces from the rows above and below the board and tap squares to place them. Drag pieces to move them, set the side to move, and copy the FEN when you are done.
How do I get the FEN of a position?
The FEN field updates as you edit the board. Use Copy FEN to copy it, then paste it into any analysis board, chess engine, or database that accepts FEN.
Can I paste a FEN to see the position?
Yes. Paste a full FEN, or only the piece placement part, into the FEN field. The board updates as soon as the text can be read.
Why does the editor say my position is illegal?
Each side needs exactly one king, pawns can’t stand on the first or eighth rank, and the side that is not to move can’t be in check. Each side can also have at most 8 pawns and 16 pieces. The editor doesn’t try to prove that a position can be reached from the starting position.
Why can’t I turn on a castling right?
A castling right needs the king on e1 or e8 and the rook on its starting corner square. Move the pieces back to those squares and the right becomes available again.
Can I save the position as an image?
Yes. Download PNG saves an 800 × 800 pixel diagram with coordinates, shown from the side you are viewing. Flip the board first to save it from Black’s side.
Is the board editor free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no account or download, and the link you copy keeps the position in the address.
Try another free chess tool
Opening Quiz
Answer five questions to find which openings to play with White and Black.
Open tool →Opening Trainer
Play an opening line with coach notes, then replay it from memory for a score.
Open tool →Chess Traps Trainer
Practice 32 opening traps for White and Black until you can play them from memory.
Open tool →Opening Explorer
Compare popular moves and results from Lichess and master games.
Open tool →PGN Viewer & Opening Identifier
Replay a PGN on the board and identify its opening.
Open tool →PGN to GIF
Turn a chess game into a downloadable animated board.
Open tool →Chess Clock
Time over-the-board games with presets, increment, delay, and time odds.
Open tool →