Game Pigeon Chess Pawn Promotion

  

Pawns just take small steps, but there are eight of them. The particular way they move brings to a game of chess structure, strategic content and in the endgame a clear goal.

In chess you have the ability to promote a pawn into a queen, knight, rook, or bishop by getting it to the other end of the board. Promoting a pawn into a Queen is known as Queening; Promoting a pawn into anything else is known as underpromotion. Underpromotion can be effective in the case of a knight, as it can move in ways the queen cannot. Promotion in chess is a rule that requires a pawn that reaches the eighth rank to be replaced by the player's choice of a bishop, knight, rook, or queen of the same color. The piece chosen cannot be another king nor another pawn. The new piece replaces the pawn on its square on the same move. The choice of the new piece is not limited to pieces previously captured, thus promotion can result in. You need to move the pawn on the promoting square and replace it with a Queen or other chess piece of your choice. There was a chess tournament where the chess player left the pawn one square before the pawn promotion square and took another chess piece directly placing it into the promoting square ( in this case a Queen).


  • a pawn moves one square straight forward. It may not move backwards.
  • pawns take diagonally forwards to a neighbouring square and only that far. Because the pawn captures differently from its normal move it can be blocked.

As an exception a pawn can take two steps forward from the starting position. That speeds up the opening. In the opening we like to move pawns into the centre. One of the most popular opening variations begins with two pawns taking a double step and stopping each other from advancing.

A pawn which reaches the opponent's back rank could not go any further. So it is promoted to a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Usually the queen is chosen as it is the most valuable piece. This sudden gain in material makes the promotion of pawns an important tactical motif. In the endgame it becomes a focal point.

Game pigeon chess pawn promotion strategy

If a pawn takes a double step from its starting position and lands directly beside an opposing pawn, then on the next move only the latter may take the first pawn as though it had only advanced a single square. This unusual form of capture is known as the en passanr rule (taking 'on the way past')

Game Pigeon Chess Pawn Promotion Cards

In the final tutorial we see as a summary a sequence of all the possible pawn moves.


Move directly on the board to input a solution. Either click first on the start square and then on the target square. Or click on the piece, hold on to it, move it tot he target square and let go of it. The button ‘Left arrow’ takes back the move.

Game Pigeon Chess Pawn Promotional

The pawn is the piece with the most diverse ways of moving. Pawns only move forwards and if they reach the opponent's back rank they are promoted to another piece. If the square in front of a pawn is occupied it cannot move forward, because it only takes diagonally. So pawns can be blocked. Pawns bring strategic content into the game. Their promotion is a central winning motif.