Before you get down to the chessmen with higher ranks, put your pawns down first. Think of them as the first line of defense before the higher-ups show themselves during a battle. They are usually the smallest pieces in your set, and there are 8 of them. They are positioned on the second rank or row in a straight line. Player 1 (White): The pawns go on the vertical row with a “2” and line them all the way from A – H Player 2 (Black): The pawns go the “7” vertical row and also go from horizontal columns of A – H Pawn set up Put all of your 8 pawns in a line across the second row, also known as ranks. Doing this is also very strategic because it clears up your pile of pieces to make sorting through them easier in the following steps.