Britannica Sources used in this answer

How many pieces does each player begin with in chess?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

In chess, each player begins the game with 16 pieces. These pieces are arranged on the two ranks closest to the player at the start of the game.1

The army consists of six different types of pieces:
* King
* Queen
* Rook
* Bishop
* Knight
* Pawn1