Pawn Promotion: How to Promote a Pawn in Chess

Pawn promotion is a chess move that allows a player to promote, or replace, a pawn with a more powerful piece of the same color when it reaches the last rank, or numbered row, on the chessboard. According to the official rules of both the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and US Chess Federation (USCF), players can immediately replace a promoted pawn with the player’s choice of queen, bishop, knight, or rook.

Players can also promote a pawn to a more powerful piece in play on the board, so it’s possible to have a second queen or more (up to nine queens). Once pawn promotion takes place, the opposing player must move unless they are in checkmate. Pawn promotion can be a crucial move in an endgame scenario where only a few pieces are left on the chessboard.

Pawn promotion allows a player to promote their pawn with one of four possible pieces. Here are the two types of pawn promotion:

• Queening: When a white or black pawn reaches its promotion square, players can exchange it for a queen, the most powerful piece in a chess game, of their respective color. This type of promotion is known as “queening the pawn” or “queening.”
• Underpromotion: Players can also exchange promoted pawns for a knight, bishop, or rook. Underpromotion can be useful in specific game scenarios when promoting a queen can cause a draw because of a stalemate, which occurs when a player cannot make a legal move during their turn, and their king is not in check.

Players promote pawns using the same method for both queening and underpromotion. However, there are variables and specific rules that apply to formal chess games.

• Advance your pawn. A player advances their pawn to the promotion square in the farthest rank from their original square: This is the eighth rank for white pawns, while for black pawns, it’s the first rank. Players may then exchange their pawn for a queen, knight, bishop, or rook.
• Take your new piece. Players take the piece of their choice from the captured pieces held by their opponent. If that piece is not available in formal or tournament play, players can ask the judge or tournament official to stop the clock and retrieve the requested piece. The promotional decision is not final until the promoted piece is played in the promotional square. Players cannot promote a king or pawn.
• Avoid these common mistakes. There are many illegal moves or decisions related to pawn promotion. These include using a pawn on its side as a substitute for a queen or an upside-down rook; promoting a pawn in the seventh rank; promoting the pawn without removing the pawn from the chessboard in formal play; and queening a pawn in a scenario that will cause a stalemate or draw. These are common blunders that even grandmasters make on occasion, but in most or all cases, they are illegal moves in all forms of play, from casual games to tournament competitions.

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