Questions tagged [pawn-promotion]

Questions related to techniques for promoting pawns, or the promotion itself.

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Is it possible to make stockfish promote only to a queen and nothing else?

Is there a way to limit stockfish to promote pawns only to a queen? I'm using python chess library and a stockfish engine. I'm making an engine play itself and then use its moves to control the ...
Konraddo's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
124 views

Promote a piece to queen by moving back aside of king?

As I was trying out different chess applications I received a hint from the Lucas Chess virtual tutor, showing me I had a better option: Move piece C2 to C1. When I did that, the piece promoted to ...
Gaston's user avatar
  • 111
5 votes
1 answer
213 views

Running out of time mid promotion to checkmate. Who wins?

In a casual blitz game I had with my friend, my last move was to promote a pawn, to ladder mate my opponent (there was already a rook on the 7th). I moved the pawn, but while I was reaching for the ...
Zock77's user avatar
  • 153
-1 votes
1 answer
218 views

Is there ever a reason to promote to a bishop? If so, what is it? [duplicate]

Is there ever a reason to promote to a bishop? If so, what is it? I understand why one would promote to a queen, rook, or knight. I won't go into why here, see other questions. But why would one ever ...
Starship - On Strike's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
5k views

Positions where pawn promotion to queen is worse than to other piece

I'm looking for games from famous grandmasters, in which pawn promotion to a rook, a bishop, or a knight is a better move than queen promotion. I tried to Google some, but I couldn't find anything.
Ginger Bread's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
227 views

How often do strong players (FM or above) miss under promotions?

In the April 2022 Reykjavik Open two players missed winning under promotions. In the first Hjartson probably saw that the forcing line starting with Qf7 would lead to stalemate after the queen ...
Brian Towers's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
211 views

Why does stockfish make these strange recommendations?

The FEN is: r2qk1r1/ppp2p1p/2n1bn1Q/4p1B1/8/2P4P/PP1NpKP1/R5NR b kq - 0 1 Clearly black is winning because the white bishop can be captured (with a discovery available if white recaptures). However, ...
wim's user avatar
  • 542
22 votes
1 answer
4k views

Why underpromote? Hjartarson vs Andersen

Chess.com - Praggnanandhaa wins 2022 Reykjavik Open: he missed a unique underpromotion to a bishop as the only move to win the position Why does a Queen promotion not win him the game?
James's user avatar
  • 339
3 votes
2 answers
456 views

Why is it a draw after check from pawn promotion?

I've been playing against Stockfish, and sometimes I promote a pawn to a piece that immediately puts the opposing king (the only piece on the board) into check, but the computer says at that point ...
AndrWeisR's user avatar
  • 141
0 votes
1 answer
221 views

Did white make an illegal move here?

Black legally moves a pawn to the 8th rank, intended to promote it to a queen without specifying what piece this pawn should be promoted to. White immediately captured the pawn with his piece (as it ...
Zuriel's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Chess problem where white mates on move 5 by underpromoting to a knight

The problem White must start with 1. e4. On move 5, white must underpromote to a knight for checkmate. IM Miodrag Perunovic told me recently that he sent this problem to Garry Kasparov for his ...
NoseKnowsAll's user avatar
  • 5,713
0 votes
1 answer
149 views

In promoting a pawn, if the pawn can be taken immediately on promotion, can I promote another piece, eg. Turn a rook upside down already on the board

Does a promoted piece have to go on the square the pawn has moved on or can I promote by turning my rook upside down on its existing square
Anthony walsh's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

Strategy to win with a king and queen against a king and pawn about to promote?

I've been doing puzzles on a site and like to continue practicing against the computer. In many of the puzzles I end up with a situation like this where I was able to promote my black pawn to a queen ...
Jason Goemaat's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
548 views

In chess.com analysis, why is a rook promotion better than a queen promotion?

I was analyzing a game on chess.com and it showed me that, in the below scenario, it is better to promote to a rook instead of promoting to a queen. It also shows that it has a mate in 6 with the ...
Tim Chermin's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
229 views

A certain game with a knight promotion checkmate

I once remember (this happened 2-3 years ago) one of my friends showing me a game that was about 20 moves long. It was maybe a little longer, but it definitely ended in the middle game. It ended with ...
fartgeek's user avatar
  • 605
8 votes
7 answers
2k views

Position where promotion to bishop is the unique best move?

Let me define the problem clearly so as to avoid confusion. I am trying to find a position where: The unique best move is a promotion move. Said move needs to be promotion to a bishop. Not a queen, ...
cyqsimon's user avatar
  • 183
2 votes
1 answer
66 views

Finding a piece to promote a pawn [duplicate]

There is only one queen of each color is a chess set. When a pawn gets promoted, say to a queen, where does that queen come from?
Bert's user avatar
  • 21
8 votes
1 answer
536 views

Which collections of pieces are legal?

Call a collection of (white and black) chess pieces legal if it occurs in the position of a legal chess game. For example, KQRRBBNNPPPPPPPPkqrrbbnnpppppppp is the collection at the beginning of the ...
A. Rex's user avatar
  • 780
15 votes
2 answers
4k views

How does one promote a third queen in an over-the-board game?

Most chess sets come with only one spare queen, and according to the video in the question Is holding the opponent's captured pieces legal or allowed?, one cannot use an upside-down rook because ...
Akavall's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is holding the opponent's captured pieces legal or allowed?

There was a controversial finish in a Canadian championship, where an opponent [un]knowingly held the queen of the other player. The [victimised] player wanted to promote his pawn to queen, but couldn'...
iammilind's user avatar
  • 638
1 vote
1 answer
504 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?
Susan Graves's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
323 views

What are the percentage rates for each promotion type?

I could not find the database which has this, but I would like to know what percentage of promoted pawns ends up being a queen, rook, bishop, or knight
timosenko1's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why does this puzzle offer f8=R as better than f8=Q?

Here's a chess puzzle that gave a confusing response. https://chesspuzzle.net/Puzzle/52112 [FEN "5R2/1p6/p4Ppk/3r4/7p/1P6/P7/1K6 w - - 0 1"] 1. Rh8+ Kg5 2. f7 Rf5 3. f8=R If you play f8=Q ...
Hymns For Disco's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
460 views

World championship games where underpromotion was necessary

I have been frequenting tactics puzzles and a few books over the past year. I come across these underpromotion puzzles frequently, however, I never find them in real games. Has there ever been a ...
user avatar
21 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is there a "touch-promote" rule?

When a pawn is moved to the promotion square, can one change one's mind about what piece to promote to? Say I: Push a pawn to the promotion square Remove it Grab an additional queen (do not yet place ...
B.Swan's user avatar
  • 3,469
2 votes
5 answers
1k views

Is one move considered as objectively better than another if they both lead to the same result?

Here is an example [FEN "8/3k2PB/q7/8/4K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] One might intuitively say g8=Q is a much better move than g8=R. However, since they both lead to a draw, should we not conclude ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 8,819
6 votes
3 answers
729 views

Can't a pawn capture onto the last rank to promote?

I do not play chess much. Recently a friend reached out to play some online games. We ran into an odd situation that I cannot find a rule on. His White pawn was at g2 and my Rook was still at h1. He ...
Rockwell Rice's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
5k views

Does a loophole still exist in the defintion of castling?

Castling on the e-file with a promoted rook, an idea immortalized by Tim Krabbe and Max Pam, is no longer legal since FIDE amended the wording to state that castling is an actionn on the first/eigth ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
175 views

Maximum number of quiet moves in a position

The question of how many captures a position can have has been asked in the past: Maximum number of captures in a position Without captures, and without promotion, which I define as “quiet” moves, ...
konsolas's user avatar
  • 3,166
2 votes
2 answers
174 views

Human analysis for a KRBNNPP against KRRN ending?

This line of play leads to this position: [White "White"] [Black "Black to move"] [FEN "8/rp4p1/1N1nkb2/3n4/6R1/1R6/8/2K5 b - - 1 38"] StockFish 10+ assures me that Black has a big advantage, but I ...
user21820's user avatar
  • 2,779
-2 votes
1 answer
281 views

Looking for practical rulesets for when king promotion is allowed

One consistent feature of chess over the centuries is that each side has had one king only. The rules of promotion had to be tightened up to prevent promotion to a second king. However, if promotion ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
21 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is the origin, or a early appearance, of this famous chess tale?

There is a story I have found across the Internet of an endgame between two players, usually named as Capablanca versus an extraterrestrial of some sort. According to the Spanish chess Wikipedia, the ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
3k views

Understanding Carlsen's resignation in the rook and pawn endgame vs MVL

Why did Carlsen resign in the position shown below? (blitz game played in the London Chess Classic GCT Finals) Can't white help the pawn queen after Ke3 and Kd3 then Kd4? I must be missing something. ...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why does Lichess mark this move as "?!"?

I was looking at this game on Lichess, where it says "Checkmate is now unavoidable. Best move was Kc4." As far as I can tell, checkmate was already unavoidable, including after Kc4. Namely, Black can ...
user21820's user avatar
  • 2,779
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

FIDE rules when opponent accidentally promotes to your Queen

This happened to someone else recently in a time scramble during an OTB game. His opponent promoted a pawn and placed a Queen of the wrong color on the board. He was corrected by the player and the ...
Jeroen's user avatar
  • 398
2 votes
1 answer
233 views

Games with two knight promotions in them

Games with two knight promotions are extremely rare, but a few have existed. In an article of his, Tim Krabbe stated that, about the game Zurakhov - Koblentz, "This is one in only 5 games with two ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is the maximum number of promoted pawns ever achieved in a competitive game?

In theory, a player could advance all eight of their pawns to the end of the board, promoting them all. In my own experience, games with more than two promotions on one side have been vanishingly rare,...
Robert Columbia's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
332 views

Knight promotion percentages

Knight promotion is the second most common promotion. Most of the time it is to give an otherwise undeliverable check. But it doesn’t always come with check. Statistically speaking, what percentage of ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
293 views

List of numerous possible reasons to promote to a knight

While this asks for a reason/any reason in general, I wish to make a list of numerous posssible unique reasons. I already have an exhaustive list of my own. Are there any more possible reasons out ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
492 views

If a pawn promotes to a checking piece while also revealing a check, it is a double check?

I'm writing a chess engine just for fun, and during the validation of movement generation, I found some positions in Perft Results that differ from what my engine is producing. As an example, take ...
Welyab Paula's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
7k views

If a pawn is promoted to queen beside the king is the king instantly in check?

If a pawn is promoted to queen adjacent to the enemy king, is the king instantly in check?
Carson's user avatar
  • 61
-4 votes
1 answer
205 views

Has promotion with double check ever happened in a professional game?

Promotion is common in many games, and is sometimes comes with check. But something I have never seen in a game is a promotion that comes with double check like this example illustrates. [FEN "8/...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Touching a captured queen -- must I promote to it?

Playing a friendly game against my son (but with Touch-and-Move in force), I was going to promote a pawn to a queen, so I fished out my queen from among the captured pieces, and placed it on the ...
TonyK's user avatar
  • 905
5 votes
4 answers
748 views

Can a pawn that performed an en passant capture promote at all?

So let's say I capture en passant with a pawn. Using the same pawn, I get to the 8th rank. Can I promote that pawn into anything else? I've heard of this restriction in various ways. Some say it can ...
Imsoconfused's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
2k views

What happens if I push a pawn to the 8th rank and press the clock before promoting? [duplicate]

What happens if I push a pawn to the 8th rank and press the clock before converting it to another piece? Does it make a difference if it's Blitz or not?
Pedro A's user avatar
  • 1,089
12 votes
5 answers
2k views

Is it unsportsmanlike to underpromote to improve my chances?

Is it unsportsmanlike to underpromote a pawn to improve my chances? Sometimes I reach a won endgame where underpromoting my pawn will result in a slower but easier final checkmate. Old example, ...
Joshua's user avatar
  • 314
12 votes
3 answers
1k views

How likely is it that a non-orthodox promotion is optimal?

Underpromotion is an interesting aspect of chess, but there are other possibilities that aren't allowed under modern rules. One is the so called "dummy pawn" as this question discusses: When (if ever)...
anotherguy's user avatar
69 votes
2 answers
16k views

When (if ever) was it a rule that pawn promotion was optional?

I'm reading a very old chess book ("The Chess Pocket Manual" by G.H.D. Gossip, copyright 1894), and I find this passage in it's section on "The Laws of Chess": When a Pawn has reached the eighth ...
patbarron's user avatar
  • 3,599
26 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why underpromote in this KNNP-KR endgame?

In the position below, I'm promoting my pawn. The app says promoting to a Queen is incorrect, but a Rook is correct? In this setup it doesn't make sense. [FEN "8/1P6/3N4/8/8/3k4/r7/4KN2 w - - 0 1"] ...
Frank's user avatar
  • 269
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Can a pawn move to the last row diagonally without a capture?

Playing the "Champion" J2ME chess, I noticed that the bot (black) made the move "Pg2-h1=Q." Is this a bug or just a rarely known rule like en passant and castling?
bodqhrohro's user avatar