The King is the most important piece in the game, It’s the key to both winning and losing. The objective of the game is to “trap” the King; Checkmate. The King has the ability to Castle and moves much like a Pawn and Queen combined – 1 space at a time in any direction.
The images below will show not only how the King moves, but will additionally show why it can’t move to certain spots in this demonstration. Solid red arrows will represent where the King can move, along with how many spaces. The Purple colored lines and arrows will represent the black pieces move capabilities and why the king has to move in the way it does.
In the image above, the Black Pawn is challenging the King, in which the King is in Check. The King can’t capture the Pawn to get out of Check since the Black Queen is protecting the Pawn from getting captured by the King, forcing the King to move 1 space forward, 1 space left, or 1 space right.
In the image above, another Black Pawn puts the White King in Check, in which the King may capture this Pawn getting out of Check. There is nothing protecting the Black Pawn from being captured, while the other pawn is being protected by a Queen.
Seeing how the King moves in this way gives a better interpretation about how the King must be moved carefully, making sure it’s not threatened. The King can only capture pieces that are within the 1 space range, as well as the extra condition that the piece isn’t being protected by another piece. The King cannot move into an opposing pieces capture range during a turn, and would be marked as an Illegal Move, and if the King is in Check, and can’t make a move to get out of Check, it is Checkmate. If the King is the final piece and is cornered, unable to move without going into check, but is also not in check, then it is a Stalemate. If there is insufficient pieces to capture a King on either side, it is a Draw.
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