Additional queens, rooks, bishops or knights may be produced by the promotion of pawns (so in theory a player may have up to nine queens, ten rooks, ten bishops, or ten knights).

One side is referred to as "White" and the other as "Black" (see White and Black in Wooden Chess pieces). To distinguish between the two, the black pieces are darker than the white pieces. The Staunton chess set is the standard style for tournament or casual play. Besides these standard pieces, there exist many chess variants or certain kinds of chess problems that call for non-standard fairy pieces.

The words Wooden Chess pieces has three meanings, depending on the context.

First, in casual use, it may mean any of the physical pieces of the 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. (In this case, the general term for piece or pawn is man.)

Third, it may refer only to a minor piece (a bishop or knight). The context should make the intended meaning clear