A 

chess piece, or chessman, is any of the six different types of movable objects used on
a chessboard to play the game of chess.

Contents

 1Number of pieces
o 1.1Usage of the term piece
 2Moves of the pieces
 3Relative value
 4Historical illustration
 5Piece names
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9External links

Number of pieces[edit]
Chess pieces

King

Queen

Rook

Bishop

Knight

Pawn

Each player begins with a total of sixteen pieces (but see the subsection below for other usage of the
term piece). The pieces that belong to each player are distinguished by color. The lighter colored pieces
are referred to as "white," and the player that owns them, "White". The darker colored pieces are referred
to as "black", and the player that owns them, "Black".
In a standard game, each of the two players begins with the following sixteen pieces:

 1 king
 1 queen
 2 rooks
 2 bishops
 2 knights
 8 pawns
Usage of the term piece[edit]
The word "piece" has three meanings, depending on the context. Context should make the intended
meaning clear (Burgess 2009:523) (Hooper & Whyld 1992:307).

1. It may mean any of the physical pieces of the set, including the pawns. When used this way,
"piece" is synonymous with "chessman" (Hooper & Whyld 1992:307) or simply "man" (Hooper &
Whyld 1987:200). Chess sets have been made in a variety of styles, sometimes for decorative or
artistic purposes rather than practical play, but the Staunton pattern is standard for competition.
2. In play, the term is usually used to exclude pawns, referring only to a queen, rook, bishop, knight,
or king. In this context, the pieces can be broken down into three groups: major pieces (queen
and rooks), minor pieces (bishops and knights), and the king.(Brace 1977:220)
3. In phrases such as "winning a piece", "losing a piece" or "sacrificing a piece" and other related
contexts, it refers only to minor pieces (bishops or knights). By convention, the queen, rooks, and
pawns are specified by name in these cases – for example, "winning a queen", "losing a rook", or
"sacrificing a pawn".(Just & Burg 2003:5)

Moves of the pieces[edit]

Main article:  Rules of chess
a b c d e f g h
8 8

7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2
1 1
 a b c d e f g h

Chess starting position. Squares are referenced using algebraic notation.

The rules of chess prescribe the types of move a player can make with each type of chess piece. Each
piece type moves in a different way. During play, the players take turns moving one of their own chess
pieces.

 A rook moves any number of vacant squares forwards, backwards, left, or right in a straight line.
It also takes part, along with the king, in a special move called castling.
 A bishop moves any number of vacant squares diagonally in a straight line. Consequently, a
bishop stays on squares of the same color throughout a game. The two bishops each player starts
with move on squares of opposite colors.
 The queen moves any number of vacant squares in any direction: forwards, backwards, left,
right, or diagonally, in a straight line.
 The king moves exactly one vacant square in any direction: forwards, backwards, left, right, or
diagonally; however, it cannot move to a square that is under attack by an opponent, nor can a player
make a move with another piece if it will leave the king in check. It also has a special move called
castling, in which the king moves two squares towards one of its own rooks and in the same move,
the rook jumps over the king to land on the square on the king's other side. Castling may only be
 performed if the king and rook involved have never previously been moved in the game, if the king is
not in check, if the king would not travel through or into check, and if there are no pieces between the
rook and the king.
 A knight moves on an extended diagonal from one corner of any two-by-three rectangle of
squares to the farthest opposite corner. Consequently, the knight alternates its square color each
time it moves. Other than the castling move described above where the rook jumps over the king, the
knight is the only piece permitted to routinely jump over any intervening piece(s) when moving.
 A pawn moves forward exactly one square, or optionally, two squares when on its starting
square, toward the opponent's side of the board. When there is an enemy piece one square
diagonally ahead of a pawn, either left or right, then the pawn may capture that piece. A pawn can
perform a special type of capture of an enemy pawn called en passant ("in passing"). If the pawn
reaches a square on the back rank of the opponent, it promotes to the player's choice of a queen,
rook, bishop, or knight (Just & Burg 2003:13–16).
Pieces other than pawns capture in the same way that they move, except for castling. A capturing piece
replaces the opponent piece on its square, except for an en passant capture by a pawn. Captured pieces
are immediately removed from the game. A square may hold only one piece at any given time. Except for
castling and the knight's move, no piece may jump over another piece (Just & Burg 2003:13–16).