King safety
King safety is the degree to which a king is protected from attack, as determined by its pawn cover, the defenders nearby, the open lines pointing at it and how quickly the opponent can bring attackers to the area.
A king that is easy to attack makes every other advantage harder to use. King safety is an everyday evaluation factor, not just an attacker's concern: before you launch a plan or accept a position, check where each king stands.
The main ingredients are simple. Is the king castled, or stuck in the center? Do pawns still stand in front of it? Are there defenders such as a knight on f6 or a bishop near the king? And which files and diagonals point at it? An open h-file against a castled king, or an opened center against an uncastled one, can be enough to decide the game.
Be careful with moves that weaken the king: advancing the pawns in front of it, trading off its defenders, or giving up the bishop that guards the dark or light squares nearby. Each of these may be fine, but each should be a conscious decision.
In the endgame the question flips, since a king that stays tucked away is passive and an active king is a strong piece. The principle is the same: judge the king by how much danger it faces.
Before moving a pawn on the wing where your king lives, ask which squares that pawn will stop guarding.
It sits close to Pawn shield. A pawn shield is the group of pawns standing directly in front of a castled king, typically on the f, g and h files or the a, b and c files, that blocks enemy lines and covers the squares ahead of the king.
A neighboring idea is King in the center. A king in the center is a king that has not yet castled and still stands on its starting file, where it is most exposed when lines open and the opponent's pieces become active.
Where "King safety" fits your own play is easier to judge with a coach reading your games; the first lesson is a paid one-on-one review that ends in a written plan.
Related terms
A pawn shield is the group of pawns standing directly in front of a castled king, typically on the f, g and h files or the a, b and c files, that blocks enemy lines and covers the squares ahead of the king.
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.
A king in the center is a king that has not yet castled and still stands on its starting file, where it is most exposed when lines open and the opponent's pieces become active.
A mating attack is a sustained assault on the enemy king, usually built from several pieces and often with sacrifices, whose aim is checkmate rather than winning material.
A pawn storm is the advance of several pawns together toward the enemy king, usually after the kings have castled on opposite wings, intended to pry open files and diagonals for a direct attack.
A weak square, also called a hole, is a square that a player's own pawns can no longer guard, so an enemy piece can settle there without being challenged by a pawn.
King activity describes how freely a king can take part in the endgame, by centralizing, attacking enemy pawns and supporting its own, and the more active king frequently decides otherwise equal positions.
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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A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.