king
chess
Quick Summary
Position of chess pieces at the beginning of a game
Position of chess pieces at the beginning of a game. The pieces are placed on the two ranks closest to the player. In the closest rank, pieces are arranged from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook. In front of that rank, each square has a pawn.
In chess, the king is the most important piece. Each player starts with one king, which moves one square in any direction. The objective of the game is to capture the opponent's king. This is achieved by putting the king in a position where it is under attack (in check) and cannot avoid capture on the next move, a situation known as checkmate. A game can also end in a draw through stalemate, where a player has no legal moves but is not in check.123
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