What Are the Names of All of the Chess Pieces?

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The names of all of the chess pieces are the pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen and king. There are more pawns compared to any other pieces, 16 pawns total, with eight for each player.

Additionally, each player has two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. A pawn can move two spaces forward on its first move only, and every subsequent move requires a forward move of one space. A knight can move either two squares forward and one square to the left or right, or one square forward, with two squares to the right or left. The knight must make an L shape. The bishop can move any number of spaces physically possible, but must move only in a diagonal fashion. The rook is similar in that it can move any amount of spaces, but only in straight lines. A queen is the most powerful chess piece and can move anywhere on the board, in any fashion at any time. A king can move only one space at a time in any direction.

The pieces are referred to as chessmen and one player will be white, and one player black. The colors may differ, but one set of chessmen is always darker than the other.