How Chess Pieces Move
In chess, each of the six pieces moves in its own way: the rook moves in straight lines (files and ranks), the bishop moves along diagonals, the queen combines both, the king moves one square in any direction, the knight jumps in an "L" shape, and the pawn moves forward and captures diagonally. Every piece except the knight stops when another piece is in the way, and every piece captures by landing on the enemy piece's square.
Rules that apply to every piece
If you've never played, the beginner's guide to playing chess walks through a whole game in five steps; here the focus is on how each piece moves.
Before going piece by piece, three general rules:
- Capturing means taking the square. A piece captures an enemy piece by moving onto its square; the captured piece leaves the board. Nobody jumps over a piece to capture it, as in checkers.
- No jumping over pieces. Rooks, bishops, queens, kings and pawns can't pass through other pieces. Only the knight jumps.
- You can't capture your own pieces, and no move may leave your own king in check (under attack).
Each player starts with 16 pieces: 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights and 8 pawns. If you're not sure where each one goes, see the chessboard and notation.
The rook
The rook moves any number of squares in a straight line — forward, backward or sideways — always along the file or rank it stands on. In the middle of an empty board it reaches 14 squares.
Rooks love open files (files with no pawns) and are essential in the endgame. They also take part in castling, a special move with the king.
The bishop
The bishop moves any number of squares diagonally. That's why it never changes color: a bishop that starts on a light square spends the whole game on light squares. Each player has one light-squared and one dark-squared bishop.
The queen
The queen is the most powerful piece: she moves like a rook and like a bishop, any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally. From the center of an empty board she reaches 27 squares.
⚠️ Watch out: because she's so valuable, the queen shouldn't come out too early. She becomes a target, and your opponent gains time by attacking her while developing their own pieces.
The king
The king moves one square in any direction. He's the most important piece: if he's attacked and has no way out, it's checkmate and the game is over. That's why the king can never move to a square the opponent attacks, and the two kings can never stand on neighboring squares.
The king also castles together with a rook (see the special moves).
The knight
The knight moves in an "L": two squares in one direction and then one to the side. It's the only piece that jumps over others, which is why it can move on the very first turn. It has its own lesson: how the knight moves.
The pawn
The pawn is the simplest piece and the one with the most fine print:
- It only moves forward, one square at a time. It never goes back.
- On its first move, it may advance one or two squares.
- It captures diagonally, one square ahead. It's the only piece that captures differently from the way it moves.
- It's blocked by any piece directly in front of it — friend or foe.
When a pawn reaches the last rank it's promoted: it becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight, the player's choice. There's also the en passant capture. Both rules are covered in the special moves.
Attacking and defending
Two words come up all the time in chess:
- A piece attacks a square (or an enemy piece) when it could move there on its next turn (the pawn is the exception: it attacks the two diagonal squares ahead but only moves straight forward). The rook on d4 in the first diagram attacks every square on the d-file and the 4th rank.
- A piece is defended (or protected) when another piece of the same color could capture whatever takes it. If your opponent captures a defended piece, they lose their own piece right after.
A piece that's attacked and not defended is hanging: your opponent can take it for free. Once you know how each piece moves, start looking at the board this way: what's attacked, what's defended and what's hanging. It's the first step toward not losing pieces — and toward winning your opponent's.
Quick summary
| Piece | How it moves | Can it jump? |
|---|---|---|
| King | 1 square in any direction | No |
| Queen | Straight lines and diagonals, any distance | No |
| Rook | Straight lines (files and ranks) | No |
| Bishop | Diagonals | No |
| Knight | "L" shape (2 + 1) | Yes |
| Pawn | 1 square forward (2 on its first move); captures diagonally | No |
Exercises
Put it into practice: one bishop exercise, one queen exercise and one pawn exercise. Tap (or click) the piece, then the destination square.
Hint
The a3 bishop travels on dark squares. Which diagonal leads straight to the black king?
Show solution
1.Bb2#
1.Bb2# — the bishop steps onto the long a1–h8 diagonal and checks the king on h8. The king has no escape: g8 and h7 are occupied by Black's own pieces, and g7 is on the bishop's diagonal too. Black's bishop moves on light squares, so it can't block.
Hint
The white king already covers a7 and b7. You need to attack the king and cover b8.
Show solution
1.Qe8#
1.Qe8# — the queen goes up the e-file and gives check along the 8th rank, also covering b8. The squares a7 and b7 are taken by the white king.
Hint
Pawns capture diagonally. Where does it need to go to attack both c6 and e6?
Show solution
1.d5
1.d5! — the pawn threatens to capture the knight on c6 and the rook on e6. No black piece can take it, and Black can't save both: White wins material.
Frequently asked questions
What is the strongest chess piece?
The queen, because she combines the rook's and the bishop's moves. The king is the most important piece, but not the strongest.
Can a pawn move backward?
No. Pawns only move forward. All the other pieces can go back.
Can a pawn move two squares at any time?
No. Only on that pawn's first move. After that it moves one square at a time.
Which piece can jump over other pieces?
Only the knight. All the others stop when a piece is in the way.
Can a bishop change color?
No. Since it only moves diagonally, it always stays on squares of the same color.