♔ King
The most important piece. If your king is checkmated, you lose the game.
Movement
Moves one square in any direction — vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. The king cannot move onto a square attacked by an enemy piece.
Special Rule
Castling: A defensive move where the king moves two squares toward a rook, and that rook jumps to the square next to the king.
Conditions:
- Neither the king nor the chosen rook has moved yet
- No pieces stand between them
- The king is not in check, and the squares it crosses are not attacked
Strategy
Castle early to tuck your king behind a wall of pawns. In the endgame, the king becomes an active attacker.
♕ Queen
The most powerful piece, worth roughly 9 pawns. The queen combines the movement of a rook and a bishop.
Movement
Moves any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
Strategy
Losing the queen is usually devastating. Avoid bringing her out too early — instead, look for positions where she attacks several pieces at once.
♖ Rook
A powerful long-range piece, worth roughly 5 pawns.
Movement
Moves any number of squares vertically or horizontally. The rook cannot move diagonally.
Strategy
Rooks dominate open files (vertical columns with no pawns). Two rooks defending each other on the same file or rank are a serious threat.
♗ Bishop
A diagonal sniper, worth roughly 3 pawns.
Movement
Moves any number of squares diagonally. A bishop that starts on a light square stays on light squares forever; the same goes for dark-square bishops.
Strategy
Bishops thrive on open diagonals. Avoid blocking them with your own pawns. The two bishops working together (the "bishop pair") is a well-known long-term advantage.
♘ Knight
The only piece that can jump over others, worth roughly 3 pawns.
Movement
Moves in an L-shape: two squares in one direction (vertical or horizontal), then one square perpendicular. The knight ignores any pieces in between.
Strategy
A knight in the center can reach up to 8 squares; a knight in the corner can reach only 2. Knights are excellent at forks — attacking two pieces at the same time.
♙ Pawn
The most numerous piece, worth 1 (the baseline value).
Movement
Moves one square forward at a time (or two squares on its very first move).
Captures only diagonally forward — never straight ahead.
Note: a pawn cannot move forward into a square that is occupied by any piece, friendly or enemy.
Special Rules
Promotion: When a pawn reaches the far end of the board, it must promote to a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight. A queen is almost always the best choice.
En passant: If an enemy pawn moves two squares forward and lands beside your pawn, you can capture it as if it had only moved one square — but only on your very next move.
Strategy
Connected pawns (pawns that defend each other diagonally) are strong. Isolated pawns are weak. In the endgame, push pawns toward promotion.