How Chess Pieces Move
Complete guide to chess piece movements
King
One square in any direction
The King is the most important piece. If your King is checkmated, you lose the game. The King can move one square in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Special: Can perform castling with a Rook (moving two squares toward a Rook).
Tips:
- Keep your King safe, especially in the opening
- Castle early to protect your King
- In the endgame, the King becomes an active piece
Queen
Any number of squares in any direction
The Queen is the most powerful piece. She combines the movement of the Rook and Bishop, moving any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Special: Cannot jump over other pieces.
Tips:
- Don't bring your Queen out too early
- The Queen is worth about 9 pawns
- Use the Queen for attacking and controlling key squares
Rook
Any number of squares horizontally or vertically
The Rook moves in straight lines - any number of squares along a rank (row) or file (column). Rooks are powerful in open positions.
Special: Can castle with the King. Two Rooks can control an entire rank or file.
Tips:
- Rooks are worth about 5 pawns
- Put Rooks on open files
- Connect your Rooks (place them on the same rank)
Bishop
Any number of squares diagonally
The Bishop moves diagonally any number of squares. Each player starts with two Bishops - one on light squares and one on dark squares.
Special: A Bishop always stays on the same color squares throughout the game.
Tips:
- Bishops are worth about 3 pawns
- The Bishop pair is very strong
- Bishops are better in open positions
Knight
L-shape: 2 squares + 1 square
The Knight moves in an L-shape: two squares in one direction and then one square perpendicular to that. It's the only piece that can jump over other pieces.
Special: Can jump over pieces. Always lands on a different color square.
Tips:
- Knights are worth about 3 pawns
- Knights are better in closed positions
- A Knight on the rim is dim (keep Knights centralized)
Pawn
Forward one square (or two from starting position)
Pawns move forward one square, but capture diagonally. On their first move, pawns can advance two squares. Pawns cannot move backward.
Special: En passant capture. Promotion to any piece when reaching the last rank.
Tips:
- Pawns are worth 1 point
- Control the center with pawns
- Passed pawns (no enemy pawns blocking) are very strong
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