♟️ Chess for Kids · Lesson 2 of 8
The rook and the bishop
Straight lines and diagonals.
The rook
The rook moves in straight lines — forward, back, left or right — as many squares as it likes, as long as nothing is in the way. It can’t jump over pieces.
The bishop
The bishop moves diagonally, as many squares as it likes. A bishop always stays on the same color it started on: each player has one light-squared and one dark-squared bishop.
Capturing
To capture, a piece moves to the square of an enemy piece by its normal move. The enemy piece is removed from the board. You can never capture your own pieces.
Mini-game: rook vs. pawns
- White: one rook. Black: 4 pawns on their starting squares
- Black’s pawns try to reach the other side
- White tries to capture them all
- Then switch sides
Tip
💡 Rooks love open files (columns with no pawns). Bishops love long open diagonals.
✏️ Practice: your turn
- Put a rook on d4 and count every square it can reach (14!)
- Put a bishop on d4 and count its squares
- Play the rook-vs-pawns mini-game 3 times
- Find a square where a rook and a bishop together control a lot
🧠 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