The Pieces
Six pieces, six personalities. Click any piece for its full story: purpose, movement, history, and the games that made it famous.
♙
Pawn
1 point
"The pawns are the soul of chess." — François-André Danican Philidor, 1749
♘
Knight
3 points
The only piece on the board that can jump.
♗
Bishop
3 points
Chess's most dramatically upgraded piece — once its weakest, now a long-range powerhouse.
♖
Rook
5 points
The heavy artillery — slow to start, decisive by the endgame.
♕
Queen
9 points
The most powerful piece on the board — and, for 900 years, the weakest.
♔
King
No point value — the game itself
"Shah mat" — "the king is helpless." The whole game exists to say this sentence.