Chess pieces vary in both value and abilities. A standard chess match consists of each player having the following chess pieces. 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights and 8 Pawns. These pieces are the number of then provided to you along with the chess board make up a standard chess set. Besides these standard chess pieces, there are many chess variants or certain kinds of chess problems that call for non-standard chess pieces known as, fairy pieces. The word piece has three meanings, depending on the context. First, it may mean any of the physical chess pieces of the chess set, including any of the pawns. Second, it may be used to exclude pawns, referring only to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight, and perhaps also the king. Third, it may refer only to a minor piece (a bishop or knight) on the chess set.
The value assigned to the different chess pieces attempts to represent the strength the piece potentially has in a game. With game circumstances constantly changing, so do the values assigned to the chess pieces from the chess sets. To maximize the value of your chess pieces you must take advantage of their special abilities. For example, a bishop positioned to control a long, open diagonal will appear much more valuable than a knight stuck in a corner. Chess pieces capture opposing pieces by replacing them on their square, except for an en passant capture. Only one piece may occupy a given square. Except for castling and the movement of the knight, a piece may not move over another piece.
Chess sets can be anything from a standard design to an art piece. Over the years chess sets have become somewhat of an opinion based thing. With some many different options there really is no way that you wouldn’t be able to find more than one chess sets that suits your taste. The variation of designs availablefor chess sets is broad, from small cosmetic changes to highly abstract representations to themed designs such as those which emulate the drawings from the works of Lewis Carroll or modern treatments such as Star Trek or The Simpsons.
Themed designs for chess sets are usually intended for display rather than for actual play. When it comes to chess sets and their elaborate designs there are significant changes and adjustments made. For example, Chess pieces used for play are usually figurines or replicas of famous characters that are taller than they are wide than normal chess pieces. You can find anything from traditional chess sets to small magnetic chess sets designed to use during travel.
Chess sets and chess pieces may vary depending on the style you are looking for however, the rules of the game never change nor does the layout of the board. So if you like the rules of chess but would like a not so formal chess set you can still enjoy the tradition of the game with your non-traditional set.