How the Chess Pieces Move

The king moves one square in any direction — horizontally, vertically or diagonally. It is the most important piece: if it cannot escape capture, the game is lost. The king can never move onto a square attacked by an enemy piece, and the two kings can never stand on adjacent squares. The king also takes part in castling.

The queen is the most powerful piece. She moves any number of squares in a straight line — along ranks, files or diagonals — but cannot jump over other pieces. She captures the same way she moves.

The rook moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically. It cannot move diagonally or jump pieces. Rooks are strongest on open files and work well as a pair. The rook also participates in castling.

The bishop moves any number of squares diagonally. Because it never changes square colour, each player has one light-squared and one dark-squared bishop. The pair together can control both colours.

The knight moves in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction then one square at a right angle (or one then two). Crucially, the knight is the only piece that jumps over other pieces — only its destination square matters. A knight always lands on the opposite colour from the one it started on.

Pawns are the only pieces that move and capture differently. A pawn moves straight forward one square, but on its first move it may advance two squares. It captures diagonally forward one square — never straight ahead. Pawns can never move backwards. They have two special rules: en passant capture and promotion when reaching the far rank.

A rough guide to how valuable each piece is, used to judge trades:

• Pawn = 1
• Knight = 3, Bishop = 3
• Rook = 5
• Queen = 9
• King = priceless (it is never traded)

These are guidelines, not laws — position often matters more than material.