How the King Moves in Chess
In the eighth stage, your child learns how the king moves, the most important piece of all: how it moves, attacks and captures, why it can’t step onto an attacked square, and what it means for a piece to be defended. The stage is made up of short videos, explanations and 85 exercises on an interactive board.
What’s in this stage
- How the king moves in chess — 12 exercises
- How the king attacks pieces — 6 exercises
- How the king captures — 10 exercises
- How the king responds to check — 12 exercises
- What it means to defend a piece — 19 exercises
- Attacking several pieces at once with the king — 8 exercises
- Test yourself: exercises on everything you’ve learned — 18 exercises
Total: 85 exercises
How the king moves in chess
The king moves in every direction, like the queen, but only one square, to a neighboring square (the exception is castling, a special move together with a rook). The key difference: the king can’t step onto a square attacked by an opponent’s piece or pawn. That’s why the two kings can never stand next to each other. The king is the most important piece: the goal of the game is checkmate, attacking the opponent’s king so that it has no escape.
How the king attacks pieces
The king can attack only a piece on a neighboring square, and only from a square that isn’t attacked. That’s why the king can’t attack a queen or the other king, can approach a rook only diagonally, and can approach a bishop only along a file or rank.
How the king captures
The king captures the same way it moves: it takes an opponent’s piece on a neighboring square, as long as no other opponent’s piece attacks that square. If several such pieces can be captured, it’s usually best to take the most valuable one.
How the king responds to check
When an opponent’s piece attacks the king, that’s called check. The king can’t be left in check. One way to deal with it is for the king to capture the attacking piece, if that piece is right next to the king and nothing defends it. Check is covered in detail in the next stage.
What it means to defend a piece
A piece is defended if the square it stands on is attacked by another piece of the same color. The king can’t capture a defended piece, because it would be stepping onto an attacked square. Any piece or pawn can be a defender, even the side’s own king.
Attacking several pieces at once with the king
The king can also attack several of the opponent’s pieces at once by stepping next to them.
Test yourself: exercises on everything you’ve learned
A mix of exercises on every topic in this stage. In the next stage: check.