I came across this question that was posed on the hugely popular question-and-answer website Quora. As you can see from the picture, if anyone offers you the chance to be a “living” chess piece if you can’t be a king your best bet, perhaps surprisingly, is to be the h2-pawn, while the d2-pawn is all but doomed.
If you are a rook, you stand a good chance (around 55% survival) and queens also have great chances (around 49%).
The situation with the c-d-e pawns is very interesting. The most survivable central pawn is the White c-pawn (42%), while White’s d-pawn is the most doomed of all the chessmen (24%) – more so even than the knights (~26%). There’s a pleasing symmetry in the survival rates of the White and Black c- and e-pawns that suggests they’re frequently exchanged on the d-file.
Bishops survive around 35% of the time, with the kingside bishops slightly more likely to survive than queenside ones.
Now, when next you jump on a chess board, you have a sense of the survival chance of each of the chess pieces. Enjoy your games!