Fairy chess piece a "crowned" piece. The crowned knight combines the knight with the king's moves. The dragon king of shogi is a crowned rook (rook + king). Marine pieces are compound pieces consisting of a rider (for ordinary moves) and a locust (for captures) in the same directions. Marine pieces have names alluding to the sea and its myths, e.g., nereide (marine bishop), mermaid (marine queen), or poseidon (marine king). Some classes of pieces come from a certain game, and will have common characteristics. Examples are the pieces from xiangqi, a Chinese game similar to chess. The most common are the "leo",
Chess piece play, pieces of the Staunton chess set design are standard. The height of the king should be between . United States Chess Federation rules call for a king height between . A height of about is preferred by most players. The diameter of the king should be 40–50% of its height. The size of the other pieces should be in proportion to the king. The pieces should be well balanced such that their center of gravity is closer to the board. This is done by adding weights such as iron studs or lead blocks at the bottom and felted. It