The King

And here's the most important one — the king! He moves modestly: just one square, but in any direction — straight or diagonally. But remember the most important rule of chess: the whole game is played for the king. If your king gets checkmated, the game is lost, even if your army is twice as big. That's why you protect the king — and beginners often forget about him and charge into the attack without looking back.

Let's practise the royal step. Your king stands on e1 — step him one square forward, to e2. See how unhurried he is? But at the end of the game, when few pieces are left, the king marches out to fight himself and becomes very strong. That's for later though — for now, one careful little step.