Are you playing chess for the first time and looking to educate yourself on the basics of chess? You are in the right place!
How many chess pieces are in a set?
Contents
There are a total of 32 chessmen or pieces in a chess set. These 32 pieces comprise 16 white chessmen and 16 black men.
The chess board is an eight-by-eight square grid, and there are a total of 63 black and white squares.
The type of chessmen and their quantities are mentioned below. I have mentioned them in the order of value. The most valuable pieces come first.
- One King
- One Queen
- Two Knights
- Two Bishops
- Two Rooks
- Eight Pawns
The above pieces come in black and white.
The Queen is actually the most valuable and powerful piece in chess. But I have mentioned the King at first because when a King is taken, then the game is over.
How to position your chess pieces?
Follow these simple steps to set up your chessboard.
All black pieces must come on one side and all white pieces on the other. Then place all the rooks at the corners. Then place all the knights next to each rook. Next to the knights come the bishops. In the middle comes the King and the Queen. The Queen should be placed to the left of the King.
Then in the next row comes all the pawns- eight pawns on each side.
How can each chess piece move?
- The King’s movement is quite limited compared to the Queen. He can move in any direction but can take only one step at a time.
- The Queen is the most powerful. She can move in any direction and as many squares as she wants.
- Bishop can only move diagonally but as many squares as he wants.
- The Knights can move three squares but in an ‘L’ pattern- two squares one way and three squares the other.
- The rooks can’t move diagonally. They can only move forward, sideways, and backward as many squares as they want.
- Pawns can only move one square forward, but they can move two squares on their first move.
How many chess pieces are in a set: Summary
There are a total of 32 chess pieces, 16 white and 16 black. The chess board is an eight-grid-by-eight-grid board, and there are a total of 63 squares, including black and white.
What is the first move when playing chess? Read this article for the best possible move you can make as a beginner.
*All pics are from unsplash.com
