making a checkerboard patteren around the sides of the cake is not difficult... getting the pattern on top of the cake is a bit more tricky. To go around the sides.. i use the square fondant cutters, cut your peices and stick it right to the cake. (I cover the whole cake in fondant first.) making sure every sqaure is snug up against the other, so there is no cake showing between the peices. it can be time consuming, but once you get into it, you'll be amazed at how quickly the sides are covered.
hth, Hope the makes sense, and good luck
Charleen
When I did the checkerboard on a cake it was simple black and white. I covered the cake in white fondant and cut out black squares with a small cookie cutter. I started from the bottom and worked my way up doing the first two rows at the same time to assure everything was lined up. It's not very hard...just keep checking as you go to make sure everything is straight. Good luck!! 
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