Chess Board Vision Trainer
Five drills for the things strong players never have to look up — square colours, coordinates, knight distances, and what a piece hits from where it stands.
Things about the board worth knowing
- A knight changes the colour of its square on every single move. Two squares of the same colour are therefore always an even number of moves apart, and two of opposite colours always an odd number.
- A knight in the corner reaches two squares. A knight in the middle four reaches eight. That single fact is most of the argument for developing toward the centre.
- A bishop never leaves the colour it starts on, so each side has one bishop for each colour and losing one permanently weakens those squares.
- A queen on an empty board reaches 21 squares from a corner and 27 from the middle — a much smaller difference than the knight’s, which is why a queen is less fussy about where it stands.
- The most surprising knight journey is between two squares a single diagonal step apart, such as a1 and b2: it takes four moves. Crossing the entire board from a1 to h8 takes only six, and six is the longest journey on the board.
How to use
- Pick a drill and answer from the buttons.
- The board shows the answer afterwards — knight routes and attacked squares included.
- Turn the coordinates on while you are learning, then off.
Frequently asked questions
Why does square colour matter?
Because a bishop never leaves the colour it starts on. Knowing at a glance that f1 is light and c1 is dark is what turns "the dark squares are weak" from a phrase into something you can actually see. Half the board is each colour, and every square is a different colour from the ones beside it and the same as the ones diagonally touching it.
Is there a trick to knight distances?
One that helps a great deal: a knight changes the colour of its square on every single move. So two squares of the same colour are always an even number of moves apart, and two of opposite colours always an odd number. That halves the possibilities before you start counting.
How far apart can two squares be for a knight?
Six moves, and that is the worst case anywhere on the board — a1 to h8. The surprise is nearer to home: a1 to b2, a single diagonal step, takes four. Adjacent squares are often the awkward ones.
How much does the centre matter?
For a knight, enormously: two squares from a corner against eight from the middle. For a queen much less — 21 from a corner against 27 from the middle — which is why a queen is far less fussy about where it stands than a knight is.
Why does a rook not care where it stands?
Because it reaches exactly fourteen squares from every square on an empty board. Seven along the rank and seven along the file, wherever you put it. It is the only piece with that property.
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