How each piece moves

The rook moves in a straight line along ranks and files, as many squares as it likes, as long as nothing blocks it. The bishop moves diagonally and therefore always stays on squares of the same color. The queen combines both: she is the most powerful piece. In the diagram, the queen on d5 controls 27 squares.

The knight jumps in an “L” shape: two squares in one direction and one square perpendicular to it. It is the only piece that can jump over others. Every jump takes it to a square of the opposite color.

The pawn moves one square forward, or two from its starting square. It captures diagonally, one square forward. It never moves backwards. If a pawn reaches the last rank, it turns into another piece (you will see this in “Special moves”).

The king moves one square in any direction. It can never move to a square attacked by the opponent: the king cannot be left in check.