Pawn - A pawn can only move ahead to the opponents side of the board. It cannot go back a square. A pawn is placed on each square in front of a player's pieces in the beginning of a game. All of White's pawns start on the second rank. All of Black's pawns start on the seventh rank. Each player begins with eight pawns. In most cases, a pawn can only move one square up. However, a pawn that has not moved at all during the game can move up by two squares. 