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Queenside

Also known as: Queen's wing

The half of the board formed by the a-, b-, c-, and d-files, where the queens begin.

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Explanation

The queenside contains the a-, b-, c-, and d-files. A file is a vertical line of eight squares identified by a letter. The name comes from the traditional , in which both queens begin on the d-file.

From White's side, the queenside appears on the left; from Black's side, it appears on the right. The name identifies a fixed board sector and does not change when a queen moves, is captured, or a viewer rotates the board. The opposite sector is the .

Long castling

is a special move involving the king and a rook. In queenside castling, the king finishes on the c-file and the rook on the d-file in traditional chess. It is commonly called long castling.

In the traditional starting position, three squares separate the king and that rook, one more than on the kingside; the king still moves only two squares.

Common confusions

Queenside versus the left side

It is the left side only from White's viewpoint. It appears on Black's right, but it remains the same group of files.

View term
Long castling and king distance

“Long” does not mean the king travels farther. In both traditional castling moves, the king moves two squares; the rook and initial spacing differ.

Sources

  1. 1.Glossary of Terms in the Laws of Chess, FIDE Rules Commission
  2. 2.FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2023, FIDE
  3. 3.Chess Castling - Chess Terms, Chess.com

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