Can a Pawn Take a King? Legal Pawn Moves in Chess

A pawn attacks by taking pieces diagonally ahead of them. After you set up all the pieces of your chess set, the first line of both offense and defense is your row of pawns. Unless you use a knight, you’ll always make your first move with these modest chessmen. According to the rules of chess, a pawn can only move forward, regardless of whether it is advancing or attacking. The only time a pawn can move diagonally rather than in a straight line is when you’re attacking enemy pieces.

A caveat is a special move called “en passant.” Similar to castling, this only works in a very specific scenario. You must position your pawn close to a pawn that your opponent hasn’t even moved once. If your opponent moves this pawn two spots forward on its first move, but you could have captured it if it had only moved one space, you can capture their pawn by moving diagonally in front of it. This passed pawn is now a captured piece, hence the name “en passant” or “in passing”.

A pawn can’t outright kill or capture the opponent’s king in the same way it can with the opponent’s pieces in general. This is because no attacking pieces can outright capture or kill the king—they can only trap or checkmate it. This usually requires more than one piece, as the king can generally maneuver around or attack a single piece somewhat easily. Still, this isn’t always the case—versatile pieces like the queen might be able to box the king against the edge of the chessboard in a way that leads to a checkmate.

In a hypothetical endgame situation between just a king and a pawn alone, it’s impossible for the pawn to checkmate the king solo. The pawn needs a little extra help to checkmate the king, whether in the form of pawn promotion, additional pieces, or both of these factors working in conjunction.

Consider the following scenario: The only pieces left on the board are the black king, the white king, and a white pawn. Suppose the white king remains on white’s side of the board, so it can’t assist the pawn with checking the king. White serendipitously lines up the pawn, so it can put black’s king in check diagonally. As soon as the white pawn checks the black king, the king captures the pawn by advancing diagonally and removing it as a threat.

Pawns can still end a game of chess, although their odds might be slimmer than some of their counterparts. Here are three possible ways a pawn can end a match:

1. 1. By drawing a stalemate: Suppose you’ve reached the endgame and both you and your opponent have few options left to win. All you have is one pawn and a king, and your opponent only has their king as well. If their king moves to take your pawn, there’s no way to continue to play chess—since neither king can move into check and there are only kings left, the game is over. Still, you will be able to say you reached a stalemate—neither party wins—rather than conceding defeat.
2. 2. By pawn promotion: Beginners might not realize they can promote their pawns to more powerful pieces by reaching the other side of the chessboard. Checkmating with a promoted pawn is much easier than doing so with a pawn proper. Consider this scenario: A black pawn moves all the way to the white king’s side of the board when both players have just a few pieces left. The player swaps out the pawn for a captured piece like their queen. Since the queen moves further and in far more directions than the former pawn, it allows for a quicker, more versatile checkmate scenario.
3. 3. By working in tandem: When working with other pieces, a pawn in its natural form can checkmate the king. All you have to do is make sure the king’s only moves are into other forms of check to win the game. Orchestrate the pawn’s position in relation to the queen, the rook, or another piece to give the opponent’s king no means of escape. By doing so, your pawn can play an important role in checkmating the king and winning a game of chess.

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