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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