♟️ Chess for Kids · Lesson 3 of 8
The queen, the king and the knight
The strongest piece, the most important piece and the piece that jumps.
The queen
The queen moves like a rook and a bishop together: straight or diagonal, as far as she likes. She is the strongest piece — protect her and don’t bring her out too early.
The king
The king moves one square in any direction. He is the most important piece: if he is trapped (checkmate), the game is over. The king can never move onto a square where he could be captured.
The knight
The knight moves in an L: two squares in one direction and then one square to the side (or one and then two). It is the only piece that can jump over others. A knight always lands on a different color than it started on.
Mini-game: knight’s tour
- Put a knight on a1
- Try to reach h8 in as few moves as possible (6 moves!)
- Put coins on random squares and collect them all with the knight
Tip
💡 “Knights on the rim are dim”: a knight on the edge reaches only 2–4 squares, in the center 8.
✏️ Practice: your turn
- Put a queen on d4 and count her squares (27!)
- Walk a king from e1 to e8 one square at a time
- Play knight’s tour: a1 to h8
- Collect 5 coins with a knight
🧠 Quick quiz
Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.
0 of 4 correct
All lessons in Chess for Kids
- 🏁 1. The board and the setupFiles, ranks, and where each piece stands
- 🏰 2. The rook and the bishopStraight lines and diagonals
- 👑 3. The queen, the king and the knightThe strongest piece, the most important piece and the piece that jumps
- ♙ 4. The pawnDouble step, diagonal capture, promotion and en passant
- 🏆 5. Check, checkmate and stalemateHow you win, and when it’s a draw
- 🏯 6. CastlingThe move that hides the king
- 🚀 7. The opening and trapsCenter, development, a safe king, and avoiding Scholar’s Mate
- ⚔️ 8. Tactics: forks and pinsPiece values, forks, pins, and how to keep improving