Chess - Pawn Promotion Moves

We just talked about how the Pawn chess piece can be very powerful.

There are several examples to prove that the Pawn chess piece promotion, when put into action, is powerful.

Two Queens put King in Check
after the pawn exchanges

In this scenario, the White is "only" a Pawn ahead. It is Whites move, and the Pawn is moved to the last row. This Pawn is exchanged for a Queen and the new Queen puts the King in check. This is a simple move that illustrates the power of the Pawn.

Bishop and extra Queen checkmate

In the second scenario, the Pawn chess piece proves to be very valuable. In studying the next diagram, you will see what would happen if the Pawn was there and if the Pawn was not there. If the Pawn was not there, the White Bishop could not force a checkmate. The Black King would always be able to escape.

But with the Pawn on the board, this gives White the last edge and White can win. All White needs to do is move the Pawn to the last row, and exchange the Pawn for a Queen (promoted Pawn). The Bishop now can use the Queen to force a checkmate and win!

None of this could be completed if there was no Pawn to promote a Queen. Just try not to loose the Pawn or the new Queen. :)

In this last scenario, the next point is clearly made. Black promotes a Queen by advancing his

New  promoted Queen, Knight
and black King checkmate

pawn to the eighth row.

The White Knight captures the new Queen. The Black Knight captures the White Knight.

This situation sets up for a very easy win for Black. The Black Knight and Black King transports the last Pawn to the last row. Another Queen is promoted, and the White King is eventually defeated by the new Black Queen, the Knight, and the Black King.

Sacrifice of one Pawn

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Chess Pawn's Power

Pawn

I really like the Pawn chess piece. He's kind of like the superman of chess. This little unassuming chess piece can do quite a bit of damage if you are not careful, or if you know how to use the Pawn's power.

According to the value of the chess pieces, the Pawn is the weakest chess piece on the board.

So how can a player be more likely to win if he is only "a Pawn ahead"?

Here's the story. There are so many puzzles in chess. Even though the Pawn is the lesser chess piece on the board, it can easily become the strongest quickly. It has the potential to always be a strong chess piece.

The chess board game is usually centered around the King, Queen, and the stronger pieces. So the Pawn chess piece is able many times to go - one square at a time - to the end square of the board unnoticed.

When a Pawn reaches the square at the end of the board, one of the captured pieces can be promoted. The Pawn has the choice of promoting any chess piece, but usually picks the Queen if she has been captured. The Pawn exchanges places with the promoted chess piece and the game goes on. The Queen chess piece is the most powerful player on the chess game board.

This is the reason why many chess board games have two Queens. A Pawn can choose this extra Queen and therefore have 2 Queens on the board in his color. What a turn in the outcome of the game that could be!

Pawn Promoting Queen

Keeping in mind that this is one of the rules that make chess a perfect strategy game.

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Which Chess Piece Is The Most Valuable?

Which Chess Piece do you think is the most valuable?

The King, The Queen, The Bishop, The Knight, The Rook, or the Pawn? 

There is a way that has compared the value of chess pieces from centuries back. It is quite reliable and quite convenient.

Why would we want to value one chess piece before another?

There are certain chess pieces, like the Queen and the Rook that can force a checkmate. The Bishop and the King can not enforce checkmate. Therefore the Queen and Rook are stronger chess pieces. The comparative strength of chess pieces can be measured with a reliable table.

Queen ----------- 9 points
Rook   ----------- 5 points
Bishop ----------- 3 points
Knight ----------- 3 points
Pawn   ----------- 1 point

The Queen is the most important, strongest and most valuable player on the chess board.

This point system gives you great information as to what happens when a chess piece is captured. If the Queen is lost - you stand a chance of loosing the game by almost 100%!

Exchange - When an opponent captures one of your chess pieces and you capture one of his. The table above comes in handy to determine which chess piece to capture if you have a choice.

If you capture straight across, then no worries. A Pawn for a Pawn, a Bishop for a Bishop is an even exchange because they are worth the same amount of points of strength.

You will not loose if your opponent captures your Bishop and you capture his Knight. Both of you lost the same strength, neither has lost more because the chess pieces have the same points.

It's simple to see: if you capture an opponent Rook, and he only gets a Pawn, you have gained the advantage. You have the stronger force. Once you understand the table, it is easy to apply.

The way to use the table of points above is to keep track of the points you have gained or lost. You will know whether you are ahead or behind and will be able to know how powerful you would be to force a checkmate.

Players who know they are weakened sometimes concede the game because they are too weak to force a checkmate. Do not let yourself get too weak, keep an eye on the points you have lost and won.

If you have lost your Queen and do not have chess pieces to compensate for her powers, such as a Bishop or Knight, it is certain you will loose the game.

The Rook is the second most valuable in strength and if you loose it, and have no others to make up for it, to compensate for your loss of strength, you will be loosing the game.

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Chess Bishop and Knight Checkmate

In the diagram below, you will see that the squares the King would normally be able to move on are controlled by 3 white chess pieces.

1. The White King controls the diagonal square and the square between the White Knight and the Black King.

Knight and King Cause Checkmate

2. The White Bishop controls the square that the King is on.

3. The White Knight controls the last square available to the Black King.

To say it again: the White Bishop causes the check, and the positions of both the White King and the White Knight cause the Checkmate.

Summary:


A Queen with her King can Checkmate.
A single Rook can cause a Checkmate.
Two Bishops can force a Checkmate.
A Bishop and a Knight can Checkmate.

Further Important Information:


There are chess pieces that will never be able to checkmate.

A Bishop by itself, can not checkmate. The Bishop moves only on one color and the opponent King can always get away. All the hostile King has to do is occupy a space of a different color than the Bishop.

A Knight can not occupy every square that the opposite King can land on. The King can be safe if there is only one Knight. Remember too, that even if there are 2 Knights, they can not force a checkmate, the enemy King can always escape.



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CheckMate with Two Bishops

Bishops

We said in the previous blog "Rook checkmate", that the basic checkmate can only be accomplished  with the opponent King on the side rows. When the Queen or Rook chess pieces are Checkmating, it does not matter which square the King is located on.

But when you checkmate with two Bishops, the King has to be located in a corner of the chessboard. See the diagram.

Bishops Force Checkmate

This is a perfect Checkmate position with the Bishops forcing the checkmate. There is no way to get the King out of check. The White King and the White Bishops are controlling every square that the Black King could move to.

Remember, the Bishop chess piece only moves diagonally. Check out the diagram. One White Bishop has the Black King in check. If the Black King moves to one square, the other Bishop can capture him. If the Black King moves to the other square, the White King can capture him. There are only 3 moves for the Black King, and all 3 squares that he can move to are controlled by the White chess pieces. Review the King chess piece moves.

Results:

The Black King is Checkmated!
Game over!
The White Chess Pieces win!

Next:  Checkmate with a Bishop and Knight chess pieces.


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Chess - Rook Forces Checkmate

King, Queen, Bishop, Knight,
Rook, Pawn

We saw how the Queen forces checkmate in CheckMate - Definitely. Now let's see how the chess piece Rook, forces Checkmate.

White Queen Checkmating

In the diagram you will see a Rook checkmating the King. It is a foolproof position. Look closely to find out why this is so. If, in the first diagram, you replace the White Queen with the White Rook, there is no checkmate. The Black King can move easily away and avoid capture. This is because the Rook can only move vertically or horizontally. If the King moves to a square diagonal to the Rook, the Rook chess piece can not capture the opponent King.

Now we can find out why, in this next diagram, the Rook has the King in a strong checkmate position that the King can not get out of. It is truly Checkmate.

Black Rook Forces Checkmate

The Black Rook has the White King "in check." (Remember, "in check" is not the same as Checkmate.) The White chess pieces can not capture the Rook and no white chess piece can block the Rooks "in check" position. No chess piece interrupts the line of attack.

The White King can not move out of check. Anywhere the White King moves in the last row, he can not get out of the range of the Rook. The White King can not move to the second row, because the second row is controlled by the Black King. There are only 3 squares that the White King can move to in the second row, straight or diagonal. The White King can be captured in all three squares, which are the only moves that the White King can move to in the second row.

Whew! So here we have a definite position of checkmate:
Black won the chess game!


Explanation:
There are basic checkmates, and the vulnerable King (the one to get checkmated), must be forced to a side row.

With the opposite Queen and Rook positions, it does not matter which square the King is on, as long as it is in the side rows. It has to be an outermost row.

But we will see a different situation with the Bishop Checkmate!



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CheckMate - Definitely

When a King is in check, he is not necessarily in Checkmate.

Queen with the King

The previous posts have show checks that may lead to checkmate, but now we will discuss Checkmate. After studying the Queen piece moves, we can understand the following chess moves.

A Queen move can force Checkmate, and this is how:

 Look at this diagram closely. Why is this a checkmate position?
Review the Queen's capturing powers.

1. The White Queen is attacking Black King. This is a check.
2. No chess piece can capture the Queen.
3. No piece can block the attack.

Three conditions to look for before either side moves. Let's continue the play:
1. The King cannot flee from the attack.
2. Every square that the King tries to move to is in the range of capturing.

(In the case of this diagram, the Black King can not get out of the way of the White Queen or White King. If he attacks the White Queen, the White King will capture him. He cannot move to any square next to him because they are controlled by the opponent  chess pieces.)

In Summary:
Checkmate complete!
The chess game is over!
Black side lost! 


Explanation:
In chess, the King is never captured (unlike real war situations).
Checkmate just means that the King cannot move out of a capturing situation and that is what ends the game.

If the White King was not protecting his Queen, the Black King could have gotten away by capturing the White Queen. The White King was nearby and was actively participating in the check.

Next, we will see how the Rook forces checkmate.

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Chess Knight - Forking Checks

Chess Players

Forking Checks is not checkmate, but close to it. If the King is not able to get away from the move, then it goes into checkmate.

Knight attacks 2 pieces

A Knight attacks the King and another chess piece in one move. See what this looks like on the diagram here.

The Knight has many formidable powers, and this is one of his powers. When 2 chess pieces are caught "on the prongs of a Knight's forking check," the chess game is all but lost.

This is where critical thinking in chess comes into the play. Knowing this can happen, avoiding being put into this move and trying to use this move to your advantage can be a real challenge.

What would help you avoid this play? Being extremely aware of the Knights capable moves. Keep your eyes on the opponent Knights moves. Remember how the Knights capture and that there are 2 of them.

Try to use this play. Keep your eyes open for situations where you can use this play. It is extremely effective and is worth the concentrated effort.

What fun to surprise your opponent by either skillfully avoiding this chess puzzle, or by using it to your advantage.

Look at these other Chess Checks:
Chess Check
Discovered Check
Double Check

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Checkmate - Double Check

Any chess piece can attack

We're going basic here so we can catch the correct strategies at the beginning. If things are not clear, please feel free to comment.

We discussed the Discovered Check and how it could become so dangerous to the defender and we want to go into further detail here. The danger lies in the possibility of a double attack. The chess pieces move so differently, that many times a beginner will not catch on to what is happening until it happens. It may not be too late, but there are some ways to prevent this from happening if you look for it.

Your opponent may move a chess piece to get into position to attack an undefended chess piece and in moving will uncover a discovered check. There is how you get attacked from two different opponent chess pieces in one move. It can be difficult to get out of this situation, so it is best not to get into it.

If there is no time to defend, the check must be considered first. You must get the King out of check first since it will be the loss of the whole game if you do not. Not good.

The discovered check makes a very touchy situation. A double check is even worse. In this next diagram, we are putting a rook in between the Black King and the White Queen. The White Rook has moved into a position that reveals the White Queen giving check to the Black King.

The White Rook uncovered a discovered check by the Queen by moving to the left two squares. Now not only is the White Queen giving check, but the White Rook is also giving check. Can you see a way out? If not - you ARE in trouble!

Double Check

Here's some suggestions: Which one will work?
1. Position another chess piece in the middle of the attacks.
2. Capture one of the attacking chess pieces.
3. Move the King out of the path of the attack.

Answer:  We realize all the other chess pieces are not in position here and so at this time you can not tell which method will work. 

1. But usually your other chess pieces will not be able to get into position to prevent an attack unless you were watching for this discovered check move. 
2. If you capture one of the attacking chess pieces, that still leaves the other piece to attack. That will not work because you only have one move. 
3. The only answer to this puzzle is that you have to move the King out of check. If you can not do that then the game is lost.

This is only the third type of check:

• Checkmate
• Discovered Check
• Forked Check

Next we will cover the Forked Check.

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Chess Attacks - Discovered Check

A discovered check, or discovered attack can become your worst nightmare. You need to be aware of this kind of checkmate position. Plan your strategy early to avoid being stumped by this chess play.

Discovered check is a check that is revealed when one chess piece moves out of the way of another chess piece. The chess piece revealed is the one "in check." That means that your opponent's revealed chess piece can checkmate your King. Of course that is a good move for your opponent, and a better one if YOU use this chess tactic.

Wikipedia defines discovered check: "an attack revealed when one piece moves out of the way of another." A discovered check is also called an uncovered check. It can operate from different principles than a basic chess checkmate, as seen in the chess King moves.

1) White Knight Shielding White King

Let's see if we can explain this move with examples. Remember a check is effective when one chess piece moves into the right square, the right position to "give check." In our previous diagram in Chess Checkmate, the White King is shielded from a check from the Black Queen by the White Knight as shown in diagram 1.

In the next diagram, the check is stopped by the White Bishop capturing the Black Queen.

2) Check is stopped by White Bishop

There, of course, is not any danger from the Queen now because she is captured and is out of the game.

3) White Pawn Covers Queens Check

Now we can put the White Queen in a position for a discovered check in the third diagram. Queens are so good at checkmate due to their versatile moves. Make sure you develop a good strategy for the opponents Queen so she does not surprise you.

In the third diagram the pawn is right in between the White Queen on the lower left corner, and the Black King in the upper right area on the board. There is a diagonal line of attack that when the pawn moves, the Queen would be in position for the check.

When the White Pawn moves ahead one square, the Queen's position for an attack is revealed (the discovered check.) The Black King is open for an attack to be made on him by the chess Queen moves. 

Next we will find out what makes a discovered check so dangerous to the defense position. In this chess tactic, if he is not protected, the King will find himself in a checkmated position.

See also 3 other kinds of Checks:
Check
Double Check
Forked Check







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Chess Check

Marble Chess Board

Checkmate is another way of saying that a King is lost. A King that is checkmated will not be able to move anywhere without being captured. That means the game has ended. As long as a King can move, in basic chess, the chess game can continue. There are other issues involved as you learn more strategies. When a King plays chess without being captured, the game goes on.

Whenever a King chess piece is attacked, he is said to be "in check." Looking at the diagram below will show you that the Black's Queen is "giving check" to the White King. The Queen's capturing powers are dynamic. 

Black Queen giving check

Protecting the King is your most important job. Whenever he is "in check", or about to be checkmated and can not move, you need to move him and take measures to get him out of check. There are so many ways to do this, and it depends on what pieces you have on the board. But you can remember two things:

1. Move the King out of the range of the chess piece that is attacking him. 
2. Block the attack on your King with your other chess piece. There are different ways to do this. You can block the King by your chess piece and you can put one of your pieces in a position to attack the opponent and capture it before it moves to attack the King.

White King moving out of check

The White King moved closer to his own team in this case. Where the King moves would depend on where each of the opponents and his chess pieces are.

As you study opening moves, you will learn where to keep certain chess pieces in place for readiness to protect the King.

The diagram on the left shows the King moving out of check. See the diagram below for another method to prevent checkmate.

Bishop captures Black Queen

The second method of keeping away from a checkmate situation is to attack and capture the opponents piece that is giving the check.
The White Bishop captured the Black Queen and put an end to the check. See the diagram on the left.

This is why you need to learn to set up your chess pieces at the beginning of the chess game so that you can anticipate and be ready for any move for your King being checkmated.

Checkmate

Your most important job is to protect your King, but also to put yourself into the position of checkmating your opponent King.

Critical thinking strategy: Plan your moves ahead, keep remembering the different moves of the chess pieces while protecting your King and working toward checkmating the opponent King. Winning chess games depend on it.

Other Check Strategies:
Discovered Check
Double Check
Forked Check

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The Queen Chess Piece Moves

Gothic Style
King, Queen, Bishop, Knight,
Rook, Pawn

The Queen makes all the difference in the chess game. She makes all the moves that the King moves but is virtually unlimited in the distance she travels. The only way a Queen can be stopped in one direction is if there is another chess piece in her way. This is not checkers, so she can not jump any piece. It does not matter whether the chess piece is friendly or hostile. The Queen will graciously stop before a friendly chess piece but can capture a hostile piece in one move.

See how a Queen moves in the diagram below. Notice the white pawn will stop her move.

The Queen Moves Everywhere

The only way a Queen can be stopped is if there is a friendly or a hostile piece in her way. The Queen graciously stops in front of a friendly piece and can capture a hostile piece that is in her way. You need to be aware of this ability of the Queen and try to stay out of her range, or beat her in her game. 

A limitation: the Queen moves in only one direction at a time. She can not stop and turn direction in the same play. This is true with every chess piece. They can only move in one direction. In the above diagram, the Queen can go all the way to the edge of the board from the opposite end if it is to her advantage. She truly keeps the game moving with her versatile ability to move so far in one direction at a time. 

I like to think of the moves of a Queen as sweeping. Just make sure she does not sweep too many of the opponent pieces off the board!

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The Pawn Captures Uniquely

Marble Chess Board

The Chess Pawn's moves are only forward, never does it move backwards. Pawns can not move out of their straight forward line except to capture. All the other chess pieces capture the same way they move, but the Pawn is an exception.

The Pawn never moves backwards, but to capture it moves forward - diagonally. It can only move diagonally one square, but that is the only way it captures. It can not capture moving straight ahead. The Pawn is a sneaky chess piece and if you are not watching, it can catch you unawares. Pawns are known for winning chess games! 

Moving forward diagonally means moving to the right or to the left. It does not matter which way, the Pawn can only go one of those ways in a move though. It can not move forward and diagonally, it has to choose to do one or the other.

 The diagram on the left shows the Pawn before it captures. See how the White Pawn can capture Black Rook on the right side of the diagram.

On the left side of the diagram neither Pawn can capture the other because they are straight on. Neither of them can move anywhere.

In the center of the diagram, the Black Pawn can capture the White Queen.

Remember the Black Pawns are advancing "down" the diagram, and the White Pawns are moving "up" the diagram.

In capturing, the Pawn will remove the Rook from the game and place itself on the same square the Rook had been on. The Pawn has to be able to land on the same square as the Rook is on. A Pawn can not capture if it can not land on the square the opposing chess piece is on, in one move.

The second diagram shows all the positions of the chess pieces after the Pawns have captured.

Explaining how the Pawn moves ends this section explaining how each of the chessmen move and capture. This is basic and simply explained. We have explained how the chess board is set up. Next we will illustrate how to win a chessboard game.

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White pawn captures black rook

Black pawn captures white queen

Neither black or white pawn can move

The Chess Pawn's Special Role

King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn

The general rules for the Pawn moves should be simple, but they are not. In many ways they are more variable than even the Knight. I think that is why we saved this chess piece for the last.

The King piece moves are limited and is the most protected; The Queen piece moves aggressively and is the most functional; the Rook piece moves crosswise; the Bishop chess piece stays on the same color of squares and doesn't vary; the Knight chess piece has the most unique and unpredictable moves; but the Pawn has the most distinctive moves.

The Pawn moves in only one direction. They only move forward toward the other side. I look at them as the quiet offensive. I like the Pawn, I think, the best. I remember them as always moving up or forward toward the opposite side. Of course, the opponents pieces would look like they are moving down toward you as you are looking at the chessboard.

In the initial set up of the game all the pawns are place in the second horizontal row on their colors side. The white Pawns on the white side, the black Pawns on the black side. See the diagram at the bottom of the page for the correct chessboard set up.

The Pawns are in the front row and each Pawn has an initial first move decision to make. They can make this decision only once and then it is gone forever. This makes the Pawn a very complex chess piece. This is the decision that the Pawn has to make. This chess piece can either move ahead one square or to squares only on it's first move. After that first move, the Pawn can only move one square at a time in a forward direction always. It can never move backwards.

The Pawns in the Initial Set Up Position

Watch how the Pawn move in these two diagrams. The first diagram shows the Pawns in the initial beginning position at the start of the game.

They are in the second row on opposite sides at the start up of the game.

After the Pawns Have Moved

The White Pawns moved:

The right remained in its starting position.

The center advanced one square in its first move.

The left moved two squares in its first move.


The Black Pawns moved:

The right remained on its same square.

The center moved two squares in its first move.

The left opted to advance one square in its first move.


How would you know whether to move ahead one or two squares with the first move? How would you know which one to move ahead first? And how would you know which one needs to move one ahead and which ones need to move two ahead in their first moves?

To top it off, the way a Pawn captures, yes it can capture, is very unique. The one thing that all the chess pieces can do it capture. They just do it differently.

Initial Chessboard Set Up

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How Does the Chess Knight Capture?

King, Queen, Bishop,
Rook, Pawn

The Knight, in Chess, captures in exactly the same way he moves. Remember a Knight Chess Piece moves 3 squares on each of his moves. He either moves 2 squares up or down and 1 square to the right or left, or he moves 2 squares to the right or left and then moves 1 square up or down. 

How a Knight Captures

This diagram shows how he can move and capture and who he can capture. In this instance, he can capture any of the 3 pawns pictured.

Here is the white Knight and 3 black pawns. Which one will be to his advantage to capture will depend on the set up of all the rest of the chess pieces. Of course this will probably not ever happen in a real game, but for teaching purposes we can see that if any opposing chess piece is in any square that the Knight can reach he will capture them, take them out of the game, and replace himself on the square that the opposing chess piece had been on. 

The Knight can do something that no other chess piece can do. He can jump over friendly or hostile chess pieces located on the path he needs to take.

He cannot capture any piece that he jumps over, he has to land on the square that the hostile chess piece is on in order to capture it.

Of course, a Knight would not take his own teammate out by landing on his own friendly chess piece. A friendly chess piece is any white chess piece, if he is white or any black chess piece if he is black.

The landing square is also called the end-square. So to repeat, the Knight can only capture opposing or hostile chess pieces that are on his end-square, or the square he ends up on after he moves. 

If the Knights end-piece is a friendly chess piece, he cannot move to that square. 

Remember that in the initial chess board set up the Knights are placed between the Rooks and the Bishops. For a diagram see Chess in 30 Minutes.

Think about the ways that a Knight can work to win the game. Why is he so important? Why does he need to be protected and how can he best protect the King? Getting answers to these questions are your way of developing your unique chess strategies and winning game moves.

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The Knight Chess Piece is Exceptional

Marble Chess Board

Just as the Queens moves are extraordinary, the Knight's moves are exceptional. No other chess piece can move the way a Knight can move.

Remember a Queen moves only in one direction and is unlimited in her distance except by another chess piece being in her way. She can not jump over any chess piece and has to stop when a chess piece is in her way.

A Knight can move in 2 opposite directional patterns in one move. He is exceptional in that he can move in a way that no other chess piece can move in. He can be used in a marvelous way because of this characteristic.

To understand this concept I had to remember how a Knight is used in war. Remember the role of a Knight in the round table of Medieval Times and remember Robin Hood and all his men. I remember reading the story of William Wallace and was very impressed with his manly characteristics of chivalry.

Vertical movements

Horizontal movements

The Knight in chess always moves 3 squares. He has a pattern that no other chess piece has and he can potentially make 8 different moves from one square. He can use the entire board in a game.

Remember the Queen, the Rook, the Bishop and the King can only move in one direction within each move. The exceptional Knight always moves two directions in one move. He is the only chess piece that can do that.

Possible Moves a Knight May Move

Follow the possible moves a Knight may make from the diagram below. The "X" marks the places a Knight may end up after his move.  The "X's" form a diamond shape all around the Knight.

The Knight always moves 2 squares first, and then one square. The Knight's moves can be described in two different ways:

1. He can move 2 squares up or down and then one square right or left. 
2. Or he can move 2 squares right or left and then one square up or down. 

Remember this and note it: if the Knight starts out on a white square, he will end up on a black square. Of course, the reverse is true also. If the Knight starts out on a black square, he will end up on a white square. It makes an easy check to make sure the Knight moved correctly. 

King, Queen, Bishop, Knight,
Rook, Pawn

For more information refer to the initial way a chess board set up looks and learn how to play chess.

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