The king is the most important piece on the chessboard. The king may move one square in any
direction, including diagonally (except for castling). It can never be captured
and if it is in danger then it must be made safe immediately. If it is not possible
to make the king safe then the game is lost. When they are attacked by a piece of
the opponent, it is called check, and
when in a check that cannot be removed, they are
checkmated,
and the game is lost for their owner.
Special moves: Castling
The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. This is because it can control more squares than any other chessman. It moves straight forward or backwards and diagonally any number of squares. However, it cannot jump over other pieces.
The RookThe rook moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically, but it cannot jump over other pieces.
The BishopThe bishop moves to any square on the diagonals on which it stands. However, it is not allowed to jump over other pieces.
The KnightThe knight's move is composed of two different steps; first, it makes one step of one single square along its rank or file, and then, still moving away from the square of departure, one step of one single square on a diagonal. It does not matter if the square of the first step is occupied.
The Pawn
The pawn normally moves
only forward.
First move: It advances from its original square either
one or two vacant squares along the file on which it is placed, and on subsequent
moves it advances one vacant square along the file.
Capturing: it advances one square along either of the diagonals on which
it stands.
Special moves of the pawn:
En passant
Promotion