Worksheet: Kings, Knights, and Pawns
Topic: basics | Level: 1
Kings step one square, knights hop in an L-shape, and pawns march forward with their own special rules.
Why This Matters
- Kings are precious: they step only one square and cannot walk into an attacked square.
- Knights move in an L-shape and are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces.
- Pawns move forward, capture diagonally, may move two squares on their first move, and can promote when they reach the end.
Practice Tasks
- Draw a knight's L-shape and write two squares it could jump to from b1.
- What is the biggest safety rule for kings?
- Write the special pawn rules: first move, captures, and promotion.
Board Evolution (One Step per Board)
Step 0: Starting Position
Practice Positions
Find each move on paper, then check the Answer Key at the end.
Practice 1
Knights can jump. Hop the knight from b1 to c3 over the pawn wall.
Practice 2
Kings move one square at a time. Step the king from e1 to e2.
Practice 3
Push the white pawn two squares from e2 to e4.
Practice 4
The pawn cannot capture straight ahead on e5, but it can capture diagonally forward. Take the black knight on d5.
Practice 5
Push the pawn to the last rank and promote it to a queen.
Mini-Game
Try legal king, knight, and pawn moves only. Notice that the knight can hop, kings step one square, and pawns only march forward.
Answer Key
- From b1, a knight could jump to a3, c3, or d2 if those squares are legal in the position.
- A king moves only one square and may never move into check.
- A pawn moves forward, can move two squares only on its first move, captures diagonally, and promotes when it reaches the last rank.
Practice Position Solutions
- Practice 1: Nc3 — A knight does not need a clear path. It jumps straight to its L-shaped landing square.
- Practice 2: Ke2 — Kings may move one square in any direction, but never two squares in one move.
- Practice 3: e4 — A pawn may move two squares only on its very first move.
- Practice 4: exd5 — Pawns move forward, but captures are different: a pawn takes one square diagonally forward onto an enemy piece.
- Practice 5: d8=Q+ — When a pawn reaches the farthest rank, it promotes. Most of the time, a new queen is the best choice.