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How the queen and king move

The strongest piece and the most important one.

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What a learner can do afterwards

  • Can explain How the queen and king move

The lesson

The queen is the strongest piece. She moves in straight lines like a rook and on diagonals like a bishop, as far as she can go.

The king moves one square at a time in any direction. He is slow, but he is the most important piece of all. If your king cannot get to safety, you lose the game.

Good to know

The queen puts the rook's moves and the bishop's moves together. That is why she is so strong.

Try it together

Place a queen in the middle of an empty board and trace every line she can travel. Then do the same with a king and count how few squares he reaches.

The queen moves like a rook and bishop together, while the king moves just one square but matters most.

Watch it

Where it sits

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.

How the queen and king move · Chess, ages 6 to 9 · LightMySky