everything done until setPiece, the board showcases the piece

src/backend/Board.java

@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ public class Board {
 	}
 
 	public void populateBoard() {
+		// Puts the board in its default configuration
+		// adding all necessary pieces at the expected starting locations 
 		 PieceType[] backRow = {
 		            PieceType.Rook, PieceType.Knight, PieceType.Bishop,
 		            PieceType.Queen, PieceType.King, PieceType.Bishop,
@@ -71,6 +73,7 @@ public class Board {
 	}
 
 	public void cleanBoard() {
+		// removes all pieces from the board, readying it to add pieces for a new game 
 		 // Iterate over each row and column and set the board position to null
         for (int y = 0; y < line; y++) {
             for (int x = 0; x < col; x++) {
@@ -81,15 +84,40 @@ public class Board {
 	}
 
 	public String toString() {
-		//TODO
+		// Returns a string representation of the board's current state
-		return "";
+		StringBuilder boardString = new StringBuilder(); // To construct the string representation
+
+        // Iterate through each row and column to build the string
+        for (int row = 0; row < line; row++) {
+            for (int col = 0; col < this.col; col++) {
+                Piece piece = board[row][col];
+                if (piece != null) {
+                    boardString.append(piece.getType().getSummary()); // append the piece symbol
+                } else {
+                    boardString.append("."); // the dot symbolizes empty space
+                }
+                if (col < this.col - 1) {
+                    boardString.append(" "); // add space between columns
+                }
+            }
+            boardString.append("\n"); // new line after each row
+        }
+
+		return boardString.toString();
 	}
 
 	public ArrayList<Piece> getPieces() {
 		ArrayList<Piece> pieces = new ArrayList<>();
-		//TODO
+		// Iterate through the 2D array to gather all non-null pieces
-
+        for (int y = 0; y < line; y++) {
-		return pieces;
+            for (int x = 0; x < col; x++) {
+                Piece piece = board[y][x];
+                if (piece != null) {
+                    pieces.add(piece); // Add the piece to the list if it's not null
+                }
+            }
+        }
+		return pieces; // return the list or array of pieces
 	}
 
 	public void userTouch(int x, int y) {