How Do Chess Pieces Move? A Guide to Every Piece

How each chess piece moves and captures: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn, with interactive boards, piece values and tips for beginners.

Every chess player starts in the same place: learning how the six types of pieces move. It takes only a few minutes, and once you know it, you can play a real game. This guide covers each piece in turn, with an interactive board for each one, and finishes with how much each piece is worth.

A few rules apply to every piece:

How does the rook move?

The rook moves in straight lines: any number of squares forward, backward, left or right, along its file (column) or rank (row). It cannot jump over pieces, so its path must be clear.

Interactive board: The rook on d4 can move along the whole d-file and the whole 4th rank.

Rooks are strongest on open files, files with no pawns on them, and on the 7th rank, where they attack the enemy pawns. Each player starts with two rooks, in the corners.

How does the bishop move?

The bishop moves diagonally, any number of squares, as long as nothing is in the way. Because it only moves diagonally, a bishop always stays on squares of the same color. Each player has one "light-squared" and one "dark-squared" bishop.

Interactive board: The bishop on d4 moves along both diagonals that cross its square.

How does the queen move?

The queen is the most powerful piece. She combines the rook and the bishop: she moves any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally, in all eight directions.

Interactive board: From the center of the board, the queen controls up to 27 squares.

The queen cannot jump over pieces, and she cannot make the knight's L-shaped jump. Each side starts with one queen, but a pawn that reaches the last rank can promote to an extra one.

Because the queen is so valuable, beginners often bring her out early and lose time when she is chased around by smaller pieces. Develop your knights and bishops first.

How does the king move?

The king moves one square in any direction: forward, backward, sideways or diagonally. He is the most important piece, since the game is lost when your king is checkmated, but he is not a strong attacker early in the game.

Interactive board: The king on e4 can step to any of the eight neighboring squares.

Two special rules for the king:

The king captures the same way it moves, one square in any direction, as long as the captured piece is not protected. Try it: the black queen has come too close.

Interactive board: The queen on d2 gives check, but nothing protects her. The king can simply take her.

In the endgame, when most pieces are gone, the king becomes a strong fighting piece. Bring it to the center.

How does the knight move?

The knight moves in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction (up, down, left or right) and then one square to the side. Another way to say it: one square straight and then one square diagonally outward.

The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. Only the square it lands on matters.

Interactive board: A knight in the center can jump to eight different squares. Notice that it always lands on a square of the opposite color.

That is why a knight can move at the very start of the game, jumping over the row of pawns:

Interactive board: From the starting position, the knight on g1 jumps over the pawns to f3.

Now try it. Capture the black rook with your knight:

Interactive board: Use the knight's L-shaped jump to capture the rook on c6.

Knights are best near the center ("a knight on the rim is dim") and are great at forks, attacking two pieces at once. Learn more in chess tactics for beginners.

How does the pawn move?

The pawn is the simplest piece, but it has the most special rules:

Interactive board: The white pawn jumps two squares on its first move, then captures the black pawn diagonally.

A pawn that is blocked straight ahead is not stuck if there is an enemy piece diagonally in front of it. Try it:

Interactive board: The pawn on e4 cannot move forward: the black pawn on e5 blocks it. But it can still capture.

Pawns have two more special moves:

To practice pawn moves on your own, try the interactive pawn lesson in our free rules course.

How much is each chess piece worth?

Players use a simple point system to compare pieces when trading:

These values are guidelines, not laws. A well-placed knight can be stronger than a passive rook. But as a beginner, use them to avoid bad trades: giving up a rook (5) for a knight (3) usually costs you the game in the long run.

How the pieces start

At the start, each side has 16 pieces: 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, 1 queen and 1 king. The exact setup, including where the queen and king go, is explained in how to set up a chessboard.

Frequently asked questions

Which chess piece is the most powerful?

The queen. She can move any number of squares in all eight directions, which makes her worth about nine pawns. The king is the most important piece, but not the most powerful.

Can the knight jump over pieces?

Yes. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, of either color. It just needs its landing square to be empty or occupied by an enemy piece it can capture.

Can a pawn move backwards?

No. A pawn can never move backwards or sideways, not even to capture. It is the only piece that cannot retreat, so every pawn move is permanent: think before you push.

The direction is fixed by color. White pawns always move up the board toward the 8th rank, and Black pawns always move down toward the 1st rank.

Can a pawn move diagonally?

Only when it captures. A pawn moves straight forward, but it captures one square diagonally forward, to the left or right. It cannot step diagonally onto an empty square.

There is one exception that looks like a diagonal move to an empty square: en passant, where your pawn captures an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares past it. A pawn can capture any enemy piece this way, including a queen, but never the king (see the next question).

Can a pawn take a king?

No. No piece ever captures the king in chess. A pawn can attack the king (give check) by standing diagonally in front of it, and then the king must escape the check on the very next move. If it cannot, it is checkmate and the game ends with the king still on the board.

Moving your king into check, or leaving it in check, is simply an illegal move. In casual play you take it back; in a tournament the arbiter or director corrects it and may penalize it, and repeated illegal moves can lose the game.

Can a pawn move two squares?

Yes, but only on its first move. A pawn still on its starting square (the 2nd rank for White, the 7th for Black) may move one or two squares straight forward, as long as both squares are empty. After that, it moves one square at a time.

A pawn cannot jump: if the first square is occupied, it cannot move two squares either. And if your two-square move lands right beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may capture yours en passant on the very next move.

Can a pawn capture straight ahead?

No. A pawn moves straight forward but captures only diagonally, one square forward to the left or right. A piece standing directly in front of a pawn blocks it.

Can the king capture pieces?

Yes. The king can capture any enemy piece on a neighboring square, as long as that piece is not protected. Capturing a protected piece would put the king in check, which is illegal.

Can a king take a queen?

Yes, if the queen stands on a square next to the king and no other enemy piece protects her. A queen that gives check from right beside the king without support can simply be captured, as on the king board above.

If the queen is protected, the king cannot take her, because the king would move into check. That is why a supported queen next to the enemy king is often checkmate.

Can a king take a king?

No. A king can never capture the other king, because the two kings can never stand on neighboring squares: moving next to the enemy king would put your own king in check, which is illegal. No piece ever captures a king. The game ends with checkmate one move earlier.

If a king ends up next to the other king in a casual game, an illegal move was made and should be taken back. Under both FIDE and US Chess rules an illegal move is corrected, and tournaments can add a penalty; see what happens if you make an illegal move.

Can the king move two squares?

Only when castling. Normally the king moves one square in any direction. Once per game, if the king and a rook have not moved and the other conditions are met, the king moves two squares toward that rook and the rook jumps over it. The full conditions, including why you cannot castle out of or through check, are in the castling guide.

Can the queen move like a knight?

No. In standard chess the queen moves only in straight lines and diagonals, any number of squares. The knight's L-shaped jump is the one move she cannot make, which is why a knight can attack a queen without the queen attacking it back.

A piece that moves like a queen and a knight combined does exist in some chess variants (it is often called an amazon), but it is not part of the normal game.

Can a queen jump over pieces?

No. Only the knight can jump. The queen needs a clear path: any piece in the way, of either color, blocks her. She can capture the first enemy piece in her path, but she cannot continue past it.

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