How the queen and king move
The queen goes anywhere in a line; the king takes one step.
The idea
The queen moves any distance in a line; the king moves one square.
- The queen moves along ranks, files and diagonals, as far as she likes.
- She captures the way she moves, here the pawn on her diagonal.
- The king moves just one square, but in any direction.
In a game: Before your king moves, check that no enemy piece attacks the square.
The lesson
The queen is the strongest piece. She moves like a rook and a bishop together: any distance along a rank, a file or a diagonal, but not over other pieces.
Find the move
Take the pawn on g7 with the queen.
A hint
The pawn is on the queen’s diagonal.
Show the answer
1. Qxg7
The queen went along the diagonal d4, e5, f6, g7. She captures just as she moves.
The king moves one square in any direction: forwards, backwards, sideways or diagonally. It is the piece you must never lose, but it can capture too.
Find the move
The king captures just as it moves, one square at a time. Take the pawn on e4 with the king.
A hint
The pawn is on the square just to the right of your king.
Show the answer
1. Kxe4
The king took the pawn. A king may capture any piece that nothing protects.
A king may never move to a square an enemy piece attacks. The black rook on h5 attacks the whole fifth rank, so the white king cannot go to c5, d5 or e5. The marked squares are the ones it may use.
A question
Black to move. The white king is on e6. Which square is the black king not allowed to go to?
Show the answer
e7.
Right. e7 is next to the white king, so it is attacked. Two kings can never stand next to each other.