Can Pawn Kill King In Chess

Are you confused about whether a king can kill in chess or not? Then don't worry, because in this article I'm going to explain case-by-case, when a king can kill a chess piece and when a king can't kill a chess piece along with other related questions. Let's start!

Believe it or not, a pawn can checkmate or kill a King, especially when the player made many mistakes, and the King is forced to move towards the opponent's side. When that happens, many chess pieces can check the King, and one of them is your Pawn. Can a pawn kill a king A pawn can NOT kill or capture a king because it illegal to do so. Pawns may only give check to a king. However, pawns can capture any other piece like the knight, rook, queen, bishop and other enemy pawns. A pawnless chess endgame is a chess endgame in which only a few pieces remain and none of them is a pawn.The basic checkmates are types of pawnless endgames. Endgames without pawns do not occur very often in practice except for the basic checkmates of king and queen versus king, king and rook versus king, and queen versus rook (Hooper 1970:4).Other cases that occur occasionally are (1) a rook.

So, can a king kill in chess? Yes, a king can kill any attacking chess piece such as queen, knight, rook, bishop, or pawn, even in check. However, if the attacking chess piece is supported by another enemy piece, then the king can't kill because that would put the king in check which is illegal.

Remember that one king can never check or attack another king directly. This is because as soon it tries to approach next to another king, it gets into check which is not allowed.

Hence one king can't capture or kill another king. Read my detailed article about can a king kill a king in chess to know more.

Ahead I'm going to clarify all of your doubts along with the proper illustration, but before that let's discuss how the king moves in chess (in brief).

Using Pawns In Chess

How Does The King Move In Chess?

A king moves only one square in any direction provided that square is vacant and not controlled by another chess piece.

Here's a video by Howcast that will help you to understand how the king moves in chess and all other related concepts.

Can The King Kill If In Check?

A king can kill if in check as long as doing that doesn't put it in check again. Here's an illustration that shows two cases of when a king can kill in check and when a king can't kill in check.

Case – 1: When A King Can Kill In Check

As you can see in the image black king is in check and attacked by the white queen. So what would you do if you had the black chess piece?

Obviously, get your king out of check, right? Now there are three ways to get the king out of check.

1. By moving the king into a safe square
2. By placing any chess piece between the king and the attacking chess piece (here the white queen)
3. By killing the attacking chess piece

Particularly, here we are discussing the third case, to kill the attacking chess piece. But is it possible? Before answering that, I want you to remember one rule from now onwards and that is:

One can't leave one's own king in check neither expose it to check

So any move you make that goes against this rule will be considered illegal and will be not allowed to make.

Now, I ask you can the black king kill or capture the white queen? The answer is yes because there is no threat in doing that, right?

Let's discuss another case.

Also Read: Can You Double Kill In Chess? (Explained)

Case – 2: When A King Can't Kill In Check

(See the image that I showed you earlier and come back again) So as you can see in case – 2 also the black king is attacked by the white queen.

But one thing if you noticed is that this time white rook is supporting the white queen. So can the king kill in this case?

The answer is no. This is because as soon as the black king will capture the white queen it will get exposed to check by the white rook.

Read Related: Can A King Kill To Get Out Of Check? (Explained)

And as I told you earlier, you can't make any move that puts your king into check. Hence the king can't kill in check in this case.

What Happens If You Move Your King Into Check?

It is considered an illegal move to move one's own king into check. In casual games, nothing happens and you can just take back your move. But in professional games, after making two illegal moves you lose provided the opponent has sufficient chess pieces to checkmate your king.

If the opponent cannot checkmate by any series of legal moves, then the game is drawn. As per the standard FIDE rules, after making the first illegal move the player's opponent is allotted two minutes extra time. While for the second illegal move the player loses the game.

An illegal move is any move that doesn't follow the standard rules of chess. You can read more about it in my article: Illegal Moves In Chess: Everything You Need Know (With Examples)

Can You Move Yourself Into Checkmate?

You can't move into check or checkmate because that violates the standard chess rules. However, you can make a move that allows your opponent to check or checkmate you.

Whether you put your king in check or checkmate intentionally or accidentally, it is considered an illegal move.

Read More: What Happens If You Accidentally Put Yourself In Checkmate?

Conclusion

In short, you can remember like this: Any move that puts your king into check is not allowed. Recall this statement every time you make a move to prevent making mistakes.

So that's it! Hope you found this post helpful. Now below I have shared the answers to some of the related frequently asked questions which you can read to clear your doubts. Till then Thanks, and Good Luck!

Wait! Do you want to play chess but don't have a good chess set? Then check out my recommendations on the Top 7 Best Chess Sets For Beginners (With Buying Guide)

Related Questions:

Can king kill anyone in chess?

Yes, a king can kill anyone in chess as long as doing that doesn't put the king in check. As per the standard rules, it is illegal to make a move that puts your king in check.

Can the king attack in check?

Yes, a king can attack in check but only if doing that helps the king to get out of check. Out of the three ways of getting the king out of check, one of them is to counter-attack the attacking chess piece.

Can the king defend himself in chess?

Yes, a king can defend himself from attack and there are three ways for doing it. First, moving the king to a safer square. Second, blocking the attack by putting a piece between the king and attacking chess piece and third is to counter-attack the enemy piece.

Can the king kill diagonally in chess?

Yes, a king can kill diagonally as well in any direction up to one adjacent square. However, if killing a piece puts the king in check, then it is not allowed.

Can a king kill a pawn in chess?

Yes, a king can kill a pawn in chess as long as doing that doesn't put the king in check. As per the standard rules, it is illegal to make a move that puts your king in check.

Can king kill a queen in chess?

Can Pawns Kill Kings In Chess

Yes, a king can kill a queen as long as that doesn't put it in check. You can read my article Can A King Capture A Queen In Chess to know more.

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Author Profile

Hi! I'm Pritam and I'm a huge chess enthusiast! I know the actual problems that chess players face. I created this site to make chess easy to understand for newcomers, and also to help players of all levels of ability to improve their chess playing skills. Read more about me here.

Also Check Out My Recent Posts!

• Which Chess Piece Can Move Diagonally? (Explained)
• 27 Funny Chess Quotes That Will Make You Smile!
• Can You Kill To Get Out Of Check? Case-By-Case Explained
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In chess, a king has the power to move one square in any direction. Its power increases when the game reaches closer to the endgame. It can kill any chess piece but with some limitations, especially when you want to kill your opponent's king.

So, can a king kill a king in chess? A king cannot kill a king in chess because a king can't be killed or captured but can only be checked or checkmated. A king can't check or checkmate another king directly because that would put the first king in check which is illegal. However, a king can checkmate another king indirectly.

This can be done by either castling or moving the king away from the way of the attacking chess piece. All these concepts are explained ahead in more detail. So if you are interested to know, scroll down!

What do you mean by putting your king into check?

In simple words, putting the king into check means the king is in threat of being captured on the opponent's next move.

As per the standard rules of chess, you cannot put your king into check intentionally.

A king can get into check in various ways and there are actually three ways the king can respond to get out of check.

1. Capturing the attacking chess piece.
2. Putting a chess piece between the attacking piece and the king in threat.
3. Moving the king to a safe square.

See Related: Can A King Kill A Queen In Chess?

Why is it illegal to checkmate a king directly with your king?

When you try to capture the opponent's king directly, you are actually moving the king to its adjacent square, and by doing this you are intentionally moving your king into check. Hence this is considered an illegal move.

Let's understand this concept of king vs king in chess with an example.

Here as you can see the red spot mark in the image highlights the square controlled by both kings. Now if suppose the white king tries to jump on the red spot square in order to checkmate the opponent's king, I ask you will it be a legal or illegal move?

Yes, it will be an illegal move for white to do this because then it will be in check. And we already know that you cannot move your king into check.

Thus, it is illegal to checkmate the opponent's king directly with your king.

Also See: Can A Pawn Check A King? (How? A Beginner's Guide)

How to checkmate the king in a legal way?

The legal way to checkmate the opponent's king with your king is ‘checkmating indirectly with your king'. Here are the two ways:

1. King checkmating another king by castling

Checkmating the opponent's king by castling is very rare and I guess you came to know this for the first time, right? Anyways, this is possible, although occurs very rarely.

Here's a famous game played between Paul Morphy and his opponent where he checkmated the opponent's king by castling. Let's understand this game pointwise.

• It is white's turn to move.
• White's king is on e1, the rook on h1, the white king is not in check and there are no chess pieces in between the king and the rook.
• All the conditions for castling are fulfilled. Thus, white can castle.
• Now black's king is on c1.
• White's queen is on e2 and controls the c2, d2 squares.
• So, as soon as the white castles the rook comes on e1 square and thus gets checkmated.

Read Related: Can You Castle Out Of Check? (Explained With Rules)

This way you can checkmate your opponent's king. But as you have noticed, you are actually checkmating the opponent's king in an indirect way. Now let's see the other method.

2. Checkmating a king by moving your king away from the way of the attacking piece

Another legit way of checkmating the opponent's king is by moving away from the way of your attacking chess piece. Here's the position of a game and let's understand this as well, pointwise.

• It is white's turn to move.
• The white king is on d4, the queen on d2, the knight on g6, the bishop on f7, the rook on f8.
• Black's king is on d6 square.
• If you carefully notice, all the surrounding squares of the black king are controlled by white's chess pieces.
• But this is not a stalemate condition because at this point black still has a move left that is to d7 square.
• Now, since it is the white's turn, the white decides to move the king to c4 square and that move proves to be very lethal for black.
• White's queen is now directly attacking the black's king plus, all the other chess pieces of white are assisting the queen.
• So as you can see, after the white king move on d4 square, the black king gets checkmated.

Thus in this way you can checkmate the opponent's king with your king by just moving away from the way of the attacking chess piece. Although this method is also indirect.

Now after discussing everything, let's see a real life incident when a player tries to capture the opponent's king by mistake.

Also Read: Why Is The King So Weak In Chess?

Incident when grandmaster by mistake tried to capture a king in chess directly

We generally think that grandmasters are highly superior and they rarely make any mistake, right?

But this is not the case. They are also humans. They also make mistakes. In the following game (GM Vidit Gujrathi vs GM Hikaru Nakamura), Vidit was playing all fine but then during the endgame, he made a mistake. He tried to capture the king of Nakamura which was totally illegal move.

In simple words, putting the king into check means the king is in threat of being captured on the opponent's next move.

As per the standard rules of chess, you cannot put your king into check intentionally.

A king can get into check in various ways and there are actually three ways the king can respond to get out of check.

1. Capturing the attacking chess piece.
2. Putting a chess piece between the attacking piece and the king in threat.
3. Moving the king to a safe square.

See Related: Can A King Kill A Queen In Chess?

Why is it illegal to checkmate a king directly with your king?

When you try to capture the opponent's king directly, you are actually moving the king to its adjacent square, and by doing this you are intentionally moving your king into check. Hence this is considered an illegal move.

Let's understand this concept of king vs king in chess with an example.

Here as you can see the red spot mark in the image highlights the square controlled by both kings. Now if suppose the white king tries to jump on the red spot square in order to checkmate the opponent's king, I ask you will it be a legal or illegal move?

Yes, it will be an illegal move for white to do this because then it will be in check. And we already know that you cannot move your king into check.

Thus, it is illegal to checkmate the opponent's king directly with your king.

Also See: Can A Pawn Check A King? (How? A Beginner's Guide)

How to checkmate the king in a legal way?

The legal way to checkmate the opponent's king with your king is ‘checkmating indirectly with your king'. Here are the two ways:

1. King checkmating another king by castling

Checkmating the opponent's king by castling is very rare and I guess you came to know this for the first time, right? Anyways, this is possible, although occurs very rarely.

Here's a famous game played between Paul Morphy and his opponent where he checkmated the opponent's king by castling. Let's understand this game pointwise.

• It is white's turn to move.
• White's king is on e1, the rook on h1, the white king is not in check and there are no chess pieces in between the king and the rook.
• All the conditions for castling are fulfilled. Thus, white can castle.
• Now black's king is on c1.
• White's queen is on e2 and controls the c2, d2 squares.
• So, as soon as the white castles the rook comes on e1 square and thus gets checkmated.

Read Related: Can You Castle Out Of Check? (Explained With Rules)

This way you can checkmate your opponent's king. But as you have noticed, you are actually checkmating the opponent's king in an indirect way. Now let's see the other method.

2. Checkmating a king by moving your king away from the way of the attacking piece

Another legit way of checkmating the opponent's king is by moving away from the way of your attacking chess piece. Here's the position of a game and let's understand this as well, pointwise.

• It is white's turn to move.
• The white king is on d4, the queen on d2, the knight on g6, the bishop on f7, the rook on f8.
• Black's king is on d6 square.
• If you carefully notice, all the surrounding squares of the black king are controlled by white's chess pieces.
• But this is not a stalemate condition because at this point black still has a move left that is to d7 square.
• Now, since it is the white's turn, the white decides to move the king to c4 square and that move proves to be very lethal for black.
• White's queen is now directly attacking the black's king plus, all the other chess pieces of white are assisting the queen.
• So as you can see, after the white king move on d4 square, the black king gets checkmated.

Thus in this way you can checkmate the opponent's king with your king by just moving away from the way of the attacking chess piece. Although this method is also indirect.

Now after discussing everything, let's see a real life incident when a player tries to capture the opponent's king by mistake.

Also Read: Why Is The King So Weak In Chess?

Incident when grandmaster by mistake tried to capture a king in chess directly

We generally think that grandmasters are highly superior and they rarely make any mistake, right?

But this is not the case. They are also humans. They also make mistakes. In the following game (GM Vidit Gujrathi vs GM Hikaru Nakamura), Vidit was playing all fine but then during the endgame, he made a mistake. He tried to capture the king of Nakamura which was totally illegal move.

Nakamura immediately noticed this and asked the arbiter for help. Then after that, the game was set up again as usual.

Here's a video of this game by ChessBase India.

Chess Rules for King

A king can move vertically, horizontally as well as diagonally in any direction but only upto one step in a single turn.

A player is not allowed to make a move that puts the king in check or exposes the king to check.

Read Related: Can The Kill In Chess? (Explained Case-By-Case)

The ultimate goal of a player is to attack the opponent's king in such a way that there are no legal moves left for that king and this condition is known as checkmate.

The player who checkmates the opponent's king wins the game while the player getting checkmated loses the game.

The game immediately ends whenever there is a checkmate.

If a player's king in not under attack but still there no legal moves left for that player to make then this condition is known as stalemate.

You can read more about it in my article: Stalemate Vs Checkmate: helpful Guide for Beginners!

So these are some of the basic chess rules for the king. Also, there are some rules you need to know other than these ones which you can check out in my detailed article on important checkmate rules.

Conclusion

What Can Pawns Do In Chess

In a nutshell, you cannot check or checkmate another king if that puts you in check. Rest, you can check or checkmate the opponent's king with your king.

Every move you make in chess is governed by certain rules and regulations. If you violate any of those rules then definitely, your move is considered an illegal move.

Read Related: What Happens When Only The King Is Left?

But, if you follow all the rules and regulations then you don't have to worry about anything. Now below are some related frequently asked questions which you should read to clarify the concepts more easily.

FAQs

Can a king check a king?

A king can't check a king because that will put the first king in check and as per the standard rules of chess, it is illegal to move your king into check intentionally. However, there are indirect ways to do this, by castling or moving your king away from the way of the attacking chess piece.

Can a king kill backwards in chess?

Can Pawn Kill King In Chess Game

A king can kill a chess piece up to one step in any direction as long as that doesn't put the king in check. However, a king can't kill another king because a king can only be checked or checkmated but not killed or captured.

What happens if you kill the king in chess?

You cannot kill a king but you can check or checkmate it. So after you checkmate your opponent's king, you win the game.

Can a king attack in chess?

Can Pawn Kill King In Chess Machine

Yes, a king can attack in chess as long as that doing that doesn't put the king in check. For example, if the opponent piece to be attacked is supported by another opponent piece then the king can't attack it because doing that the king would be in check which is illegal.

Who can kill king in chess?

Except for another king, all the chess pieces can kill the king as long as it is legal to do so. One king can't kill another king because a king can only be checked or checkmated but not killed or captured.

Can a king take a king in chess?

No, a king can't take a king in chess because whenever a king tries to approach near another king, the first king gets into check which is illegal. As per the standard rules it is not allowed to make a move that puts the king in check.

Can a king stand next to a king in chess?

No, a king can't stand next to a king in chess because as soon as a king tries to approach another king, the first king also gets into check which is illegal. As per the standard rules, it is not allowed to move the king in check.

Can 2 kings face each other in chess?

Yes, two kings can face each other in chess but with a vacant square in between them, and this position is known as opposition. Two kings can't stand next to each other because for doing that the first king also gets into check which is illegal.

Can a king put a king in checkmate?

Yes, a king can put a king in checkmate but only indirectly by either castling or moving the king away from the way of the attacking chess piece. A king can't check or checkmate another king directly because that would also put the first king in check which is illegal.

Can you checkmate with a king?

Yes, you can checkmate with a king as long as your king is not in check, or by doing so it doesn't get into check. However, you also require the support of other chess pieces as you can't checkmate with just a king.

Final Words

That's it! Hope you liked reading this article. Please do share if I was able to solve all your all doubts. Thanks.

And, if you are looking for some awesome chess products then don't forget to check out my chess recommendations page.

Want To Read More? Also Check Out!

(From Amazon)

Author Profile

Hi! I'm Pritam and I'm a huge chess enthusiast! I know the actual problems that chess players face. I created this site to make chess easy to understand for newcomers, and also to help players of all levels of ability to improve their chess playing skills. Read more about me here.

Also Check Out My Recent Posts!

• Which Chess Piece Can Move Diagonally? (Explained)
• 27 Funny Chess Quotes That Will Make You Smile!
• Can You Kill To Get Out Of Check? Case-By-Case Explained
• Difference Between Mistake And Blunder In Chess (Explained)