A safe king

Step 1 of 6

Look first

There are no pawns left on the e-file. See which pieces are on this file.

One of your knights may not move now. Which square is it on?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a square from a list

Square a8, black rookb8, black knightc8, emptyd8, emptye8, black kingf8, black bishopg8, black knighth8, black rooka7, black pawnb7, black pawnc7, black pawnd7, emptye7, emptyf7, black pawng7, black pawnh7, black pawna6, emptyb6, emptyc6, emptyd6, emptye6, black queenf6, emptyg6, emptyh6, emptya5, emptyb5, emptyc5, emptyd5, emptye5, emptyf5, emptyg5, emptyh5, emptya4, emptyb4, emptyc4, emptyd4, white pawne4, emptyf4, emptyg4, emptyh4, emptya3, emptyb3, emptyc3, white knightd3, emptye3, emptyf3, emptyg3, emptyh3, emptya2, white pawnb2, white pawnc2, white pawnd2, emptye2, white knightf2, emptyg2, white pawnh2, white pawna1, white rookb1, emptyc1, white bishopd1, white queene1, white kingf1, emptyg1, emptyh1, white rook Mark or unmark

Position as a list

White

• King e1
• Queen d1
• Rook a1
• Rook h1
• Bishop c1
• Knight c3
• Knight e2
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn d4
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King e8
• Queen e6
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop f8
• Knight b8
• Knight g8
• Pawn a7
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Step 2 of 6

Decide

You already have two knights in play, while Black has only the queen. But your king is still on its starting square, e1.

Your king is on the e-file, facing the black queen. What is your plan now?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Position as a list

White

• King e1
• Queen d1
• Rook a1
• Rook h1
• Bishop c1
• Knight c3
• Knight e2
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn d4
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King e8
• Queen e6
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop f8
• Knight b8
• Knight g8
• Pawn a7
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Which plan fits?

Castle: the king goes to g1, the rook to f1 Attack the queen with d4–d5 Move the king to f2

Step 3 of 6

Try it

Bring your king to safety and your rook into play.

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move d5 – pawn from d4 to d5Na4 – knight from c3 to a4Nb5 – knight from c3 to b5Nd5 – knight from c3 to d5Ne4 – knight from c3 to e4Nb1 – knight from c3 to b1a3 – pawn from a2 to a3a4 – pawn from a2 to a4b3 – pawn from b2 to b3b4 – pawn from b2 to b4g3 – pawn from g2 to g3g4 – pawn from g2 to g4h3 – pawn from h2 to h3h4 – pawn from h2 to h4Rb1 – rook from a1 to b1Bd2 – bishop from c1 to d2Be3 – bishop from c1 to e3Bf4 – bishop from c1 to f4Bg5 – bishop from c1 to g5Bh6 – bishop from c1 to h6Qd2 – queen from d1 to d2Qd3 – queen from d1 to d3Kd2 – king from e1 to d2Kf2 – king from e1 to f2Kf1 – king from e1 to f1Rg1 – rook from h1 to g1Rf1 – rook from h1 to f1O-O – castles kingside Play move

Position as a list

White

• King e1
• Queen d1
• Rook a1
• Rook h1
• Bishop c1
• Knight c3
• Knight e2
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn d4
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King e8
• Queen e6
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop f8
• Knight b8
• Knight g8
• Pawn a7
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Step 4 of 6

Why does it work?

Before, the queen on e6 held your knight on e2 in place, because your king stood behind it.

After castling, the king is on g1 behind its pawns on g2 and h2. The rook on f1 already aims along the f-file at f7, and the knight on e2 is free to chase the queen.

After castling, Nimzowitsch counts the developed rook and the safe king as a tempo each.

Step 5 of 6

New position, same idea

A new position from a different opening. Castling with the rook on h8, here moving the king to g8, is called kingside castling. One of your own pieces is still in the way.

You are playing Black. Your knight on e4 is stuck in front of your king, and you cannot castle kingside yet. Which move changes both things?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

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hgfedcba

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move Rb8 – rook from a8 to b8Rc8 – rook from a8 to c8Qe7 – queen from d8 to e7Qf6 – queen from d8 to f6Qg5 – queen from d8 to g5Qh4 – queen from d8 to h4Qd7 – queen from d8 to d7Qd6 – queen from d8 to d6Qc8 – queen from d8 to c8Qb8 – queen from d8 to b8Ke7 – king from e8 to e7Kd7 – king from e8 to d7Be7 – bishop from f8 to e7Bd6 – bishop from f8 to d6Bc5 – bishop from f8 to c5Bb4 – bishop from f8 to b4Ba3 – bishop from f8 to a3Rg8 – rook from h8 to g8a6 – pawn from a7 to a6a5 – pawn from a7 to a5b6 – pawn from b7 to b6b5 – pawn from b7 to b5f6 – pawn from f7 to f6f5 – pawn from f7 to f5g6 – pawn from g7 to g6g5 – pawn from g7 to g5h6 – pawn from h7 to h6h5 – pawn from h7 to h5Nb8 – knight from c6 to b8Ne7 – knight from c6 to e7Ne5 – knight from c6 to e5Nxd4 – knight from c6 captures on d4Nb4 – knight from c6 to b4Na5 – knight from c6 to a5Bf5 – bishop from g4 to f5Be6 – bishop from g4 to e6Bd7 – bishop from g4 to d7Bc8 – bishop from g4 to c8Bh5 – bishop from g4 to h5Bh3 – bishop from g4 to h3Bxf3 – bishop from g4 captures on f3 Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d1
• Rook a1
• Rook e1
• Bishop c1
• Bishop d3
• Knight b1
• Knight f3
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn d4
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King e8
• Queen d8
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop f8
• Bishop g4
• Knight c6
• Knight e4
• Pawn a7
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn d5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Step 6 of 6

Nimzowitsch and today

Aaron Nimzowitsch: looking at the board differently