King
The king moves one square in any direction or castles, may never be left in check or moved into check, and is never captured, because the game ends when it is checkmated.
A king has three jobs. First, it must stay safe: the Laws say a player may never leave their own king under attack or expose it to attack, so every move you consider is limited by what it does to your king. Second, it moves slowly, one step to any adjoining square, with one special case, castling, in which the king travels two squares towards a rook and the rook jumps to the square the king crossed. Third, it ends the game. A king in check must be saved at once, and a king with no legal escape is checkmated, so a trapped king decides everything else on the board. The Laws also forbid capturing the king, which is why play stops at mate and never reaches a capture. One consequence is that the two kings can never stand on neighboring squares, since each would attack the other's square. Its role changes with the phase of the game. Early on it hides behind pawns, usually after castling. Once most pieces are traded it leaves cover and fights as a piece of its own, heading for the center and escorting pawns. In English notation it is K, and it starts on e1 for White and e8 for Black. Before any move, count which squares around your king are safe.
Also worth reading is Queenside castling. Queenside castling is a move in which the king steps two squares toward the a-file rook and that rook jumps over to the square the king crossed, written 0-0-0 or O-O-O in notation.
A neighboring idea is Kingside castling. Kingside castling is a move in which the king steps two squares toward the h-file rook and that rook jumps to the square the king crossed, written 0-0 or O-O in notation.
Knowing "King" is the easy part; what to practice next depends on your rating, and the improvement plans by rating band list the habits worth building at each level.
Related terms
Check is the state of a king that stands attacked by one or more opposing pieces; the player whose king it is must end the attack with the very next move, because no legal move may leave one's own king attacked.
Checkmate, or mate, ends a chess game at once: the king of the side to move is under attack, and none of that side's legal moves can remove the attack, so the player who delivered it wins.
Castling is a special king move that shelters the king and activates a rook in one turn: the king goes two squares toward an unmoved rook, which then jumps to the king's other side.
Opposition is a standoff between the two kings on one file or rank with a single empty square between them; whoever does not have to move holds it, because the other king must give up ground.
Chess pieces are the sixteen units each side starts with: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns; in everyday speech, though, piece usually means everything except the pawns.
Stalemate is a draw that occurs when the side on move has no legal move at all while its king is not attacked, so the game ends on the spot with half a point to each player.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
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Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Sources
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 3.8, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 3.9, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 1.4.1, read Oct 21, 2026.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.