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  • Lesson 5 of 32
  • The pieces
  • 2 min

How the King Moves in Chess

The king is the piece the whole game is about. It is not strong, but if it is trapped the game is lost, so it moves carefully.

Step 1 of 3

  1. One square at a time

    The king moves one square in any direction: forwards, backwards, sideways or diagonally. From the middle of the board that is eight squares. It captures the same way, by stepping onto an enemy piece next to it.

  2. Walk the king

    One step per move. The stars lead the king up the board.

    Your move

    Walk the king onto each of the three stars.

  3. Never into danger

    The king may never move to a square where it could be captured. Both black pieces next to your king look like free captures, but the knight on d5 is guarded by the pawn on c6. The board won't even let you take it. The rook on f5 is guarded by nothing.

    Your move

    Capture the piece that is safe to take.

What you learned

  • The king moves one square in any direction.
  • It captures by stepping onto an enemy piece.
  • It may never move onto a square where it could be captured.

In this course

Unit 1The pieces

  1. The Chessboard and How to Set Up the Pieces
  2. How the Rook Moves in Chess
  3. How the Bishop Moves in Chess
  4. How the Queen Moves in Chess
  5. How the King Moves in Chess
  6. How the Knight Moves in Chess
  7. How Pawns Move and Capture in Chess
  8. Chess Piece Values: What Each Piece Is Worth

Unit 2Special moves

  1. What Is Check in Chess, and How to Get Out of It
  2. How to Castle in Chess: Kingside and Queenside
  3. En Passant in Chess, Explained on the Board
  4. Pawn Promotion in Chess: Turning a Pawn Into a Queen

Unit 3Winning the game

  1. What Is Checkmate? Learn to Mate in One
  2. Stalemate in Chess: Why It's a Draw
  3. How to Checkmate With a King and Queen

Unit 4Your first tactics

  1. The Fork: Attack Two Pieces at Once
  2. The Pin in Chess: Freeze a Piece in Place
  3. The Skewer in Chess: Attack Through a Piece

Unit 5Checkmate patterns

  1. Back-Rank Mate in Chess: Spot It and Stop It
  2. Smothered Mate in Chess: The Knight's Checkmate
  3. The Ladder Mate: Checkmate With Two Rooks
  4. How to Checkmate With a King and Rook

Unit 6More tactics

  1. Discovered Attack in Chess: Unmask a Hidden Attacker
  2. Double Check in Chess: Two Checks at Once
  3. Removing the Defender in Chess: Take the Guard

Unit 7Opening principles

  1. Control the Centre: A Chess Opening Principle
  2. How to Develop Your Pieces in the Chess Opening
  3. Scholar's Mate: How It Works and How to Stop It
  4. Fool's Mate: The Fastest Checkmate in Chess

Unit 8Endgame basics

  1. The Rule of the Square in Chess Endgames
  2. The Opposition in Chess: King Endgame Basics
  3. King and Pawn vs King: How to Win the Ending

Lessons for every game

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