What are the names of the chess pieces?
There are six kinds: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king and pawn. Each side has one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops and eight pawns — sixteen pieces per player, thirty-two in total.
Rook
Looks like a castle tower with a flat, blocky top. Say: 'This one is a castle. It lives in the corner.'
Knight
A horse's head. Say: 'The knight is a horse. What sound does a horse make?' It's the most reliable participation moment there is.
Bishop
Tall, with a pointy hat. Say: 'Point to the pointy hat.'
Queen
A crown with lots of points. She stands on her own colour.
King
A crown with a cross on top, right beside the queen.
Pawn
Eight small round-headed pieces that all share one name. Counting them together is genuinely age-appropriate work.
What order should you teach them in?
In the order they sit on the board — rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, pawn — because that's the pattern the child will need when it's time to set the board up.
Two Castles is a picture book for ages 2–5 that teaches the pieces and the setup, not the moves. See the book →