Questions tagged [kings]
Questions relating to the King
68
questions
86
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7
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When is castling possible?
Is castling possible if any of the squares involved in the castling are under attack, or is this a problem only if the squares moved through by the king are under attack and not the ones moved through ...
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32
votes
6
answers
20k
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King or Queen-Which piece is which?
I recently bought a set of wooden chess pieces, which I liked for its simplicity.
I'm not sure, however, which one is supposed to be the king and which one is supposed to be the queen.
I would say ...
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29
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Was there ever a time when the goal in chess was to capture the king?
The modern rules of chess, except for the stalemating being a draw, are basically equivalent to a game in which the goal is just to capture the king, not checkmate him. It's plausible that in the ...
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9
answers
13k
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When is castling needed?
I am a rookie in chess. I can't understand why castling is needed.
In what scenarios is castling useful?
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21
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4
answers
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Why is it a good idea to fianchetto above the castled King? If I do that, should I make sure to leave the Bishop there for a while to guard the hole?
I understand why fianchettoing can be helpful, even deadly to an opponent, but should it really be done on the side which the King castles into? I realize that the King's Indian Defense/Attack ...
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20
votes
5
answers
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With only the King left, how can you get a draw?
Let's say I have only the King left.
I've read several rules and posts of people saying there is a limit to the number of moves your opponent has to check mate you in, but there are some ...
- 1,183
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votes
9
answers
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Why is the king powerless and the queen powerful?
Historically, real kings were powerful (Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte etc.) and women were powerless. The game of chess began in Asia, some say, and the women were definitely powerless there....
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19
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5
answers
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How do you checkmate with a rook?
How do you checkmate with a Rook and King versus King? Is there a good and fast method? Can you explain it in a good way? Thanks!
- 6,610
14
votes
4
answers
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Is it technically a checkmate if the king is not in check, but all moves will result in check?
In other words, after white's move, black king is not in check. It is now black's move, but any move that black could make results in check. Is this a checkmate? Is there a chess term for this ...
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14
votes
3
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With only a king left, how many moves remaining until a draw?
I am a beginner in chess. If I have only a king left, how many moves does my opponent have to mate me?
13
votes
5
answers
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Can the king capture his attacker?
Can the king get out of check by capturing his attacker? For example, if the queen comes right in front of the king, can the king capture the queen, or must another piece capture the queen?
- 147
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2
answers
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What happens after two kings stay on the board?
A lot of times my sibling and I have played chess and have ended up with just two kings. We have never known what would happen next. Two kings on the board would somehow result in an infinite game, as ...
- 221
12
votes
2
answers
1k
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What is Indian Castling exactly?
Western castling doesn’t exist in historical Indian Chess (Chaturanga). Instead, in some versions, there is a cool move whereby each king can once in the game make a knight's move.
I read that it is ...
- 9,458
11
votes
3
answers
5k
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I'm new to chess-what should be done here to win the game?
[FEN "8/8/8/8/3k1KB1/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
I am new to chess and have no clue as to how to win this game. Which moves can be done with what is on the board in order to win? Could anyone explain?...
- 135
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Series of illegal moves in check
This question falls under FIDE rules (USCF answers/comments welcome).
If I make an illegal move leaving myself and my opponent in check, hit the clock and my opponent misses it and then continues play ...
- 221
10
votes
6
answers
5k
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Can the King be attacked by a pinned piece? [duplicate]
A computer chess game does not permit moving the white King to d2 presumably because it's attacked by the black Knight which I suspect is correct, but the Knight can't actually attack that square ...
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10
votes
2
answers
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How do you castle in one smooth motion?
One time I saw GM Gawain Jones playing a blitz game where he castled by placing one hand on his King and Rook. With a quick twist, the pieces were in the castled position. It happened so quickly, I ...
- 202
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Developing the king before developing most of your pieces
I saw this opening for the first time and was amazed by the position of the white king.
[FEN "?"]
[startply "21"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. g4 Bd7 6. h5 e6 7. f4 c5 ...
- 7,725
9
votes
3
answers
3k
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Could two kings force checkmate against a lone king?
I was looking at minimal combinations of material needed to force checkmate (K+R, Q+B, R+N+N, etc). You end up with a sort of threshold of how much material is needed, and that sort of assigns a ...
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9
votes
3
answers
1k
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Chess variant where king is captured
While trying to teach my 4 year oldson the rules of chess, I found it difficult to explain the rules of check, checkmate and stalemate. Having already explained the moves of each piece and how ...
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8
votes
6
answers
2k
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At what playing strength level should one be able to mate with King Bishop and Knight vs King?
As in title above, at what playing strength level should one be able to mate with King, Bishop and Knight vs King without much effort (with reasonable time left for the game)?
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8
votes
4
answers
504
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Checkless Chess
Is there any material difference between chess the way it is now versus doing away with check and checkmate and defining victory as simply capturing the opponent's King, assuming an available King ...
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8
votes
3
answers
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How do you checkmate with a queen?
How do you checkmate with a King and Queen versus King?
Is there a method that is faster than other methods in terms of moves?
Is there a foolproof method if you are in time trouble?
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7
votes
5
answers
4k
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What are key squares and critical squares?
What is the best definition of key squares in king and pawn vs king endgame theory? Please provide graphics if possible. Is there a difference between "key squares" and "critical ...
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7
votes
2
answers
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When to move/centralize king?
[fen "8/3k1ppp/2p2n2/r2p4/p2Pp3/4P3/PP2BPPP/4K2R w - - 0 1 "]
At this position Stockfish has recommended Kd2, and noticing how the black bishops are off the board the king seems safer centralizing ...
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7
votes
2
answers
990
views
Why was this stalemate?
I'm new to chess and I don't have much knowledge. But I was playing a game as Black, and I was up by a lot of material and played Nxc4 to capture White's last bishop. The game ended in a stalemate, ...
- 173
6
votes
5
answers
5k
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Is endangering the king a good strategy in some positions?
According to Wikipedia, "any chess piece except the king may be sacrificed". However, I am wondering,if in some rare situations, whether endangering the king can also be a good strategy. ...
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6
votes
3
answers
1k
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How to improve king safety
I really wish to improve my chess skills a bit, albeit I am pretty sure that I do not want to become a grandmaster.
One of my problem is my king's safety. Chess is very different from some other ...
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6
votes
1
answer
660
views
With regards to the safety of the king when castling kingside
Basically, I want to keep my king safe after a kingside castle.
I want to avoid this:
8/8/8/8/8/8/5PPP/2r3K1 w - - 0 1
The configuration is such that none of my pieces can access the f1 square. I ...
5
votes
1
answer
247
views
Is it possible to reach King vs King by moving each piece at most twice?
I'm interested in short games that reach a King vs King endgame. Sam Lloyd reached King vs King after only 17 moves. This has since been improved to 16.5 moves. (See this and that.) One can show that ...
- 151
5
votes
1
answer
173
views
Using a check-preventing piece to protect the checkmating piece
Let's say that a piece is protecting my king from check, i.e. blocked or pinned. For example, my rook is in the way of my opponent's queen in checking my king. Can I checkmate their king with another ...
4
votes
3
answers
743
views
Pawn giving checkmate
My computer checkmated me with a pawn move.
I could have taken that pawn en passant but I wasn't given a chance to do that.
Was that a fault of my computer, or is there a rule stating that a pawn ...
- 57
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is this an illegal chess move?
Can the White king move to g2 to checkmate?
8/8/8/8/4Q3/7k/5K2/8 w - - 0 1
1. Kg2
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4
votes
1
answer
399
views
Weakness in the Stonewall setup?
In the following setup of Stonewall Attack:
[FEN ""]
1. c3 null 2. d4 null 3. e3 null 4. f4 null 5. Bd3
Wouldn't that make the king vulnerable to diagonal attacks from a bishop or a queen?
If yes, ...
- 43
4
votes
1
answer
371
views
History of convention for king & queen placement
As stated in this question, the convention that the player with the lighter-coloured pieces makes the first move was not established until fairly late in the 19th century.
Before then, what convention ...
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4
votes
1
answer
465
views
Endgames with long king marches
I am doing a study that focuses on endgames which involve well-timed king marches, namely endgames in which the winning idea lies mainly in king positioning rather than the coordination of minor ...
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4
votes
1
answer
314
views
Is this endgame a draw (hacked - TestViking)?
In my recent online blitz video, I got the following endgame with the black pieces. With white to move, the game went as follows
[White "hacked"]
[Black "TestViking"]
[FEN "8/3k2p1/1p1P1pP1/p1p5/...
- 6,610
3
votes
6
answers
120k
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Can two Kings stand next to each other?
My white King is separated from the Black King by one square (between) which is protected by my white rook. I moved my white King next to the black King putting him in check (from the square ...
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3
votes
3
answers
331
views
Is this the quickest way to clearing the board to two kings? [duplicate]
Is 21 moves the least needed to get board down to 2 kings?
[FEN ""]
1. e4 d5 exd5 Qxd5 Qh5 Qxa2 Qxh7 Qxa1 Qxh8 Qxb1 Qxg8 Qxb2 Qxg7 Qxc2 Qxf8 Kd7 Qxf7 Qxc1 Ke2 Qxd2 Kf3 Qxf2 Ke4 Qxf1 Qxe7 Kc6 Qxc7 ...
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3
votes
5
answers
353
views
When can king and pawn win against another king and pawn?
Assume such a situation: Both players (Black and White) only have two pieces, that is a King and a Pawn. They have the liberty of placing them according to their wishes on the first row of their side ...
- 139
2
votes
3
answers
2k
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Is castling a king move or a rook move?
Most computer chess games consider castling to be a king move. You click on the king and it shows an option to castle.
What do the FIDE's rules say about this though? Is castling a king move, a rook ...
- 627
2
votes
2
answers
268
views
Only being able to move and not capture while in check
I was playing chess with my Dad, and he was shocked when I made a capture while check. He said that when he learned to play, that, when you are in check, you cannot capture with the king or any other ...
2
votes
3
answers
360
views
What do you do when you put your king in check and you don’t realise?
I moved my king as I wanted it to be in a safer location and after I did my turn my opponent realised that I put my king in check by accident and as the rules state you cannot put your king in check ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
991
views
Moving into check?
I will try to be specific. I was playing a game, and the only piece my opponent could move was their king. It was taking forever for me to checkmate the king. I had a queen, two rooks, and a few pawns,...
- 31
2
votes
4
answers
25k
views
King facing king on same line or column
Just returned to chess after 40 years (yes I know). I have a memory of being taught that the kings could not face each other on the same line or column. Chess Titans computer game doesn't seem to ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
224
views
Checkmate with 3 bishops vs 1 bishop
I know that you can mate with two bishops, but I do not know whether it is possible if White has 3 bishops, and Black has 1 bishop. Is there a general method? If so, is it possible for White to ...
user24344
2
votes
0
answers
100
views
I don't understand why this scenario is checkmate. The black rook cannot move, as it's protecting black king. Can someone explain? See photo [duplicate]
So in this scenario the White Queen put the black king in check, which was then blocked by the black rook. So, how is it that the black queen moving to the position of F1 is considered checkmate? The ...
1
vote
2
answers
148
views
Endgame theory question
Let us look at an endgame where White has 8 pawns, and Black has the e/d-pawn missing. How can White win this endgame if both sides play perfectly? I am having a little trouble.
user24344
1
vote
1
answer
477
views
The King's ability to promote a piece
If the King makes it to the eighth rank and then back to the first rank, can he promote a piece like a pawn can when it reaches the eighth rank?
- 27
1
vote
2
answers
150
views
Is this king in checkmate?
Consider this chess board set up:
Is the black king allowed to move to B4 or D4? The knight on C6 would put their white king in check if it moves.
I haven't really read any rules about this so ...
- 51