Understanding How Chess Pieces Move

Chess is a game full of strategy and deep thinking. So, understanding the movement of each chess pieces is the first step to victory. We know there are 16 pieces for each player, now lets see each unique chess pieces movement.

Movement of chess pieces:

1. The king can move one square in any direction — forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally. But be careful! Protect your king because if it gets captured, the game ends.

2. Queens are powerful. They move diagonally, horizontally, or vertically across the board. They are like the kings but have more range.

3. Rooks are like castle towers. They move in straight lines either horizontally or vertically, as far as they can go.

4. Bishops move diagonally across the board. They can only move on squares of the same color as where they started.

5. Knights are tricky! They move in an “L” shape — two squares in one direction, then one square to the side. They can jump over other pieces.

6. Pawns are the foot soldiers. They move forward but capture diagonally. At the start, they can move two squares, then just one square at a time.

If you new to chess knowing how these pieces move helps plan ahead and outsmart the opponent. Click on the link to see the illustrated guide to chess movement.