Chess rules
How Do the Chess Pieces Move?
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Every chess piece has its own way of moving. In short: the rook moves in straight lines, the bishop diagonally, the queen in any straight or diagonal line, the knight in an L-shape (and can jump), the king one square in any direction, and the pawn forward — but it captures diagonally.
On this page
The six pieces at a glance
Except for the knight, no piece can jump over another. Ordinary captures land on the enemy piece’s square; en passant is the special exception, in which a pawn lands on the square the captured pawn passed over. Here is the movement system in one table.
- Rook
- Straight lines: any distance along ranks and files
- Bishop
- Diagonals only: stays on one colour all game
- Queen
- Rook + bishop combined: any straight or diagonal line
- Knight
- L-shape (2 + 1); the only piece that jumps over others
- King
- One square in any direction; can also castle
- Pawn
- Forward one (or two from start); captures diagonally
Movement and conventional value
Mobility is one reason long-range pieces are valuable, but a piece’s worth also depends on its role and the position. As a material guide, a queen is about 9 points, a rook 5, a bishop or knight about 3, and a pawn 1. A pawn that reaches the far side promotes to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. Understanding how each piece moves comes before using those estimates.
Learn each piece in depth
Each piece has its own page with an interactive board you can experiment on:
- The knight — the tricky L-shaped jumper
- The bishop — the one-colour diagonal slider
- The rook — straight-line power and castling
- The queen — the most powerful piece
- The king — slow, but the piece you protect
- The pawn — simple to learn, full of special rules