How Do Chess Pieces Move?

The king moves one square in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The king is the most important piece. If your king is checkmated, you lose the game. The king can capture any enemy piece that is one square away, as long as that square is not defended.

Special rule: the king can castle with either rook. See our castling guide for full details.

The queen is the most powerful piece. She moves any number of squares in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Think of the queen as a combination of a rook and a bishop. She cannot jump over other pieces.

See our full guide on why the queen is so powerful.

The rook moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically. It cannot move diagonally. Rooks are most powerful on open files (files with no pawns) and on the seventh rank (your opponent's second row). The rook is worth approximately 5 points.

Special rule: the rook participates in castling with the king.

The bishop moves any number of squares diagonally. Each bishop is restricted to one colour of squares for the entire game: one bishop on light squares, one on dark squares. Bishops are most effective in open positions where diagonals are clear. The bishop is worth approximately 3 points.

See our guide on good bishops vs bad bishops.

The knight moves in an L-shape: two squares in one direction and one square perpendicular (or vice versa). The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. It always lands on a square of the opposite colour. The knight is worth approximately 3 points.

Knights are strongest in the centre of the board, where they control up to 8 squares. On the edge, they control only 4. See knight vs bishop comparison.

Pawns move forward one square at a time (never backward). On its first move, a pawn can advance two squares. Pawns capture diagonally, one square forward to the left or right.

Special pawn rules: En passant (see our en passant guide) and promotion (see our promotion guide). When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board, it promotes to any piece (usually a queen).

While no points are awarded during a game, chess players use a point system to evaluate trades:

For more details, see our piece values guide.