Castling
Learn about the special king and rook move
Castling is a special move that involves the king and a rook:
- King moves two squares toward a rook
- Rook jumps over the king to the square next to it
- Can only castle if:
- Neither piece has moved before
- No pieces are between them
- King is not in check
- King does not pass through or end in check
En Passant
Learn about the special pawn capture
En passant is a special pawn capture:
- Can only occur immediately after a pawn moves two squares forward
- Opponent's pawn can capture as if it had moved only one square
- Must be done on the very next move or the opportunity is lost
- Only applies to pawns
Pawn Promotion
Learn about promoting pawns to more powerful pieces
When a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board:
- Must be promoted to another piece (queen, rook, bishop, or knight)
- Cannot remain a pawn or be promoted to a king
- Most players choose to promote to a queen
- Promotion is immediate and mandatory
- Can result in having multiple queens on the board