Accessed by clicking the set up position shortcut icon.The dialog is also accessed from the Edit->Set up position menu item. The Setup Position dialog allows you to edit an existing position or set up a new position altogether.

The dialog shows the following information:

  • The current board position of the edit
  • The current side to move in the position
  • The move number of the position
  • The current FEN of the position at the bottom of the dialog
  • On the right hand side there is a palette of chess pieces to select from


Changing the position

You can change the position in a number of ways:

  • You can drag any piece to another square to move it
  • You can drag any piece off the board to remove it
  • You can select any piece/colour from the palette:
    • then click on one or more squares to add the piece on that square
    • if you click on a square which already contains that piece/colour it will be removed from the square leaving it empty


Operation selections

Use the Select position selector to

  • Select Empty board will clear the board of pieces leaving an empty board
  • Select Starting position to reset the position to the opening chess position
  • Select Current game to reset the position to the position in the current game shown in the current database tab


Use shortcut keys to:


  • Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on macOS) to Paste FEN position from the clipboard onto the board
  • Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on macOS) to Copy FEN from the current board position shown onto the clipboard
  • Cancel will cancel the position set up and return to the game window
  • OK will accept the position set up and return to the game window with the new position


Advanced tab

In the advanced tab you can adjust:

  • the Castling rights of the current position shown in the Board tab - please note in any position HIARCS Chess Explorer will initially set the most likely castling rights for the position.
  • set the number of plies (half moves) since the last capture or pawn move.