Typical Staunton wood King piece used in a game of Chess (Fig. 1).  The King is by far the most important piece on the board. The object of a game of Chess is to checkmate the opponent’s King.

Staunton wood white Chess King piece

Fig. 1

The following graphic shows white and black Chess King figures (Fig. 2). These pieces are widely used in diagrams to illustrate games, positions, and Chess problems.

Chess King figures

Fig. 2

This diagram (Fig. 3) shows the position both Kings have at the beginning of the game. In the opening and part of the middlegame, the King will rarely play an active role in the development of an offensive or defensive plan.

Kings initial position

Fig. 3

The King can only move one square forward, backward, right, left, or to any direction diagonally (Fig. 4). Neither King can move into a position where he may be captured by an opposing piece.

King’s movement

Fig. 4

A King can capture any one of the opponent’s pieces which stand on an adjoining cell to what which he occupies, provided that the piece has been left unprotected. Fig. 5 shows the white King can capture the black Pawn and black King can capture the white Pawn. Both pieces are to be removed from the board and the Kings move into the squares previously occupied by the Pawns.

Kings cannot stand next to each other and should always be separated by one square in either direction. Fig. 6 shows with a red “X” the cells both Kings cannot move into. Kings are not allowed to capture or attack each other and cannot be removed from the board at any time during the game.

More about the King

Players should try to castle in the early stages of the game and seek safety on the edge of the board behind friendly Pawns.

In the endgame, the King emerges to play an active role becoming an offensive piece and also by assisting in the promotion of their remaining Pawns.

When a player’s King is threatened by an opponent’s piece, it is said to be in check, and the player must move it to remove the threat of capture.

If the King cannot escape capture on his next move, the King is said to be in checkmate and the game ends.

Kings and Rooks are  the only two pieces that make a double move in the Castling maneuver.

The numeric value of the King could be considered infinite since it is not meaningful to assign it a value relative to the other pieces, as it cannot be captured or exchanged.