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    Chess Pieces

    Home | Chess game basics | Chess pieces | Chess rules | Play chess online | ChessLab | Chess links

    The king

    chess king The legal moves for the king are shown as arrows in the diagram on the left. The king can move to any of the squares pointed to by an arrow. The king is the main chess piece. The side whose king is captured loses. This capture is called 'checkmate'. Checkmate happens once the king is under attack, cannot move and cannot be helped by its own army of chessmen.

    To underscore the highest relative value of the king (relative to other pieces) in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the king was assigned a value of 200 points.

     

     

    The queen

    chess queen For the queen, the legal moves are shown as arrows in the diagram on the left. The queen can move any number of squares diagonally and also in horizontal and vertical directions. The queen, however, cannot jump over any pieces. The diagram on the left illustrates that the queen can move to any of the squares pointed to by an arrow and also to any of the squares marked with red dots.

    To underscore the high relative value of the queen (relative to other chess pieces) in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the queen was assigned a value of 9 points.

     

    The rook

    chess rook For the rook, the legal moves are shown in the diagram on the left. The rook can move any number of squares in horizontal and vertical directions. The rook, however, cannot jump over any pieces. The diagram on the left illustrates that the rook can move to any of the squares pointed to by an arrow and also to a square marked with a red dot.

    To underscore the relative value of the rook in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the rook was assigned a value of 5 points.

    The bishop

    chess bishop The legal moves for the bishop are shown in the diagram on the left. The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally only. The bishop, however, cannot jump over any pieces. The diagram on the left illustrates that the bishop can move to any of the squares pointed to by an arrow.

    To underscore the relative value of the bishop relative to other chess pieces in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the bishop was assigned a value of 3 points.

     

     

    The knight

    chess knight The diagram on the left shows all legal moves for the knight. The knight can move from one corner to the other of any 2x3 rectangle of squares. The knight is also the only piece that can jump over any other chess pieces. The diagram on the left illustrates that the knight  can move to any of the squares pointed to by a red dot.

    To underscore the relative value of the knight (relative to other chess pieces) in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the Knight was assigned a value of 3 points.

     

    The pawn

    chess pawns The pawn's legal moves are shown in the diagram on the left. The pawn can move from straight ahead only. From its starting square, the pawn can move  or 2 squares straight ahead. If the pawn is not on its starting square, it can only move 1 square straight ahead. The diagram on the left illustrates that the pawn can move to any of the squares pointed to by an arrow and a red dot. Although pawns move only forward, they capture only sideways 1 square diagonally forward -- see diagram in Chess Rules)

    To underscore the value of the pawn relative to other chess pieces in a chess game, in early computer chess programs, the Pawn was assigned a value of 1 point.

     

     

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