A chess set consists of a chessboard and (nominally) 'white' and 'black' chess pieces for playing chess. There are sixteen pieces of each color: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Extra pieces may be provided for use in pawn promotion, most commonly one extra queen per color. Chess boxes, chess clocks, and chess tables are common pieces of equipment used with chess sets. Chess sets are made in a wide variety of styles, sometimes for ornamental rather than practical purposes. For tournament play, the Staunton chess set is preferred and, in some cases, required.
Human chess uses people (often in costumes) as the pieces. Blindfold chess may be played without any set at all.