How Chess Pieces Move: A Simple Guide for Beginners

Gulshan Kumar
Gulshan Kumar
|

7 min read

|

Last updated: Dec 16, 2025

How Chess Pieces Move: A Simple Guide for Beginners

How Chess Pieces Move is the first question every beginner asks when they wish to learn how to play chess, and in our guide, we will surely instruct every minute detail about chess, through which you can totally understand the concept and foundation of it.

The guide will have all the chess pieces' moves sorted out and will show the guide how to learn better.

FAQs

  • Each chess piece has unique movement rules to learn first. King moves one square in any direction, queen any distance in lines or diagonals, rooks straight horizontally or vertically, bishops diagonally, knights in an L-shape jumping over pieces, and pawns forward one or two squares from the start.

  • The queen can reach the most squares on an empty board. It combines rook and bishop powers to move any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally if unblocked.

  • The queen is the strongest due to its vast range and versatility. It controls more board space than any other piece, making it worth about nine pawns in trades.

  • Pawns advance straight forward one square, or two squares only on their first move. They capture diagonally forward one square to either side.

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How Chess Pieces Move: Simple Rules for Every Piece