The pawn is the least powerful piece. A Pawn can move one or two squares on it's first move. If a pawn has already moved, it can move forward only one square at a time. It attacks/captures pieces by moving one square diagonally to the left or right. Each side starts with 8 pawns.
A bishop can move diagonally as many squares as it likes, as long as it is not blocked by its own pieces or an occupied square. It can capture an enemy piece by moving to the occupied square where the piece is located. Each side starts with two bishops.
The knight is the only piece in chess that can jump over another piece, it moves in an "L-shape". The knight moves one square left or right horizontally and then two squares up or down vertically, OR it moves two squares left or right horizontally and then one square up or down vertically. The knight can capture only what it lands on, not what it jumps over. Each side starts with two knights.
The Rook can move as many squares as it likes left or right horizontally, or vertically (as long as it isn't blocked by other pieces). It can capture an enemy piece by moving to the occupied square where the piece is located. Each side starts with two rooks.
The queen is the most powerful chess piece, each side starts with one queen. It can move as many squares as it likes left or right horizontally, or as many squares as it likes up or down vertically. It can also move as many squares as it likes diagonally.
The king is the most important chess piece. The goal of a game of chess is to checkmate the king. Each side has one king. White's king starts on square e1, while Black's king starts on square 8.
