Editing Rules of chess (section)

==Equipment==
{{Main|Chess piece|Chessboard|Staunton chess set|Chess clock}}
[[File:JaquesCookStaunton.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|alt=A photo of the original Staunton chess pieces from about 1849.|Original Staunton chess pieces, introduced in 1849. {{em|Left to right:}} [[pawn (chess)|pawn]], [[rook (chess)|rook]], [[knight (chess)|knight]], [[bishop (chess)|bishop]], [[queen (chess)|queen]], and [[king (chess)|king]].]]
Pieces of the [[Staunton chess set]] design are the standard and are usually made of wood or plastic.{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 2.1}} They are often black and white; other colors may be used (like a dark wood or even red for the dark pieces) but they would still be called the "white" and "black" pieces (see [[White and Black in chess]]).{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 2.6}} The height of the king should be about 95&nbsp;mm, within 10 percent.{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 2.3}}{{efn|The US Chess Federation allows the height of the king to be 86–114&nbsp;mm ({{frac|3|3|8}}–{{frac|4|1|2}}&nbsp;inches).{{sfn|Just|2019|}}}} The diameter of the king should be 40 to 50% of its height.{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 2.4}} The size of the other pieces should be in proportion to the king. The pieces should be well balanced.

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|alt=This photo shows a chessboard with pieces set up on both sides, ready to play. A chess clock is at the side.| Pieces at the start of a game and an analog [[chess clock]]]]

The size of the squares of the [[chessboard]] should be approximately 1.25 to 1.3 times the diameter of the base of the king, or 50 to 65&nbsp;mm. Squares of approximately 57&nbsp;mm ({{frac|2|1|4}}&nbsp;inches) normally are well-suited for pieces with the kings in the preferred size range; four pawns should fit on a square.{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 3.3}} Squares may be the natural color of the wood, or other combinations of dark and light colors.{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 3.1}}

In games subject to [[time control]], a [[chess clock]] is used, consisting of two adjacent clocks and buttons to stop one clock while starting the other, such that the two component clocks never run simultaneously.{{sfn|FIDE|2023|loc=article 6.1}} The clock can be [[Analog clock|analog]] or [[Clock#Digital|digital]] though a digital clock is preferred under both USCF and FIDE rulesets. This is because most tournaments now include either an [[Time control#Increment and delay methods|increment]] (extra time being added prior or after the move) or [[Time control#Increment and delay methods|delay]] (a countdown to when a clock starts again) to their time controls.{{sfn|FIDE|2022|loc=article 5.1}} Before the start of the game, in FIDE competitions the arbiter  decides where the chess clock is placed;{{sfn|FIDE|2023|loc=article 6.5}} in USCF competitions the director may decide, or the director may leave it to the players, in which case the player with the black pieces will decide.{{sfn|Just|2019|loc=chapter 1, section 16L}}