A king in Chess can move one square in any direction. Its power grows as the game progresses toward the endgame. However, can a king kill a king in chess?
The King is the most important piece in Chess; the commander of the entire army. Therefore, it must be protected from checks and must avoid being checkmated, as checkmating the King implies the end of the game.
Can A King Kill A King In Chess?
If you are to capture an opponent’s King with your King, your King will have to be in check first from the opponent’s king who is in capturing range, then you capture the opponent’s King immediately after their king checks you. You’ve probably realized now that this makes no sense because playing a game of Chess like this will be breaking some chess rules.
Capturing an opponent’s King would be an illegal move since your King would be strolling into a check, and when your King is on a check, you must immediately move it out of Check or guard it on your next move. So, as you can see, you’ll have to move twice, which is not allowed in the rules of Chess.
Let us assume the rule allows you to play twice, and then you capture an opponent’s King. Again, this is an illegal move because the King is not to be captured—not by the opponent’s King or any other piece according to the rules of Chess. Kings can only be checked or checkmated by other pieces and not the kings themselves.
In a situation where only the kings are left on the chessboard, then it’s a DRAW!
What Does It Mean When Your King Is On Check?
Putting the King in Check signifies that the King is in danger of being captured on the opponent’s next move. But of course, your opponent can not actually “capture” the King. This is because the rule of chess demands you to protect your King after a check. A chess game ends immediately the King is checkmated or trapped. Therefore, neither you nor your opponent can capture kings in Chess.
- A check occurs when the King is in danger but still has ways to get out of the attack.
- But checkmate is a position in which the King is in threat and has no legal ways to get out of it.
READ ALSO: CAN YOU CASTLE AFTER BEING CHECKED
The King In Chess
As its name indicates, the King is the most significant piece in Chess. It is an old and basic chess piece that dates back to the game’s inception.
Ivory and bone-carved king pieces from antiquity, known as the “Shah” in Persian and Arabic, have been recovered and are considered to be at least two thousand years old!
With the translation and assimilation of the game into European culture for, at least, the last thousand years, the centrality of the King has persisted until the present day.
With both the white and black chess pieces having equivalent forces, the game typically hinges on the inevitable capture as the decisive act that determines a winner. From the opening moves, both kings are under continual threat of capture, with the other chessmen moved offensively or defensively about their King.
It is extremely rare for a king to be moved, on its own, in the opening or middlegame. It usually becomes a fighter during the endgame stage of a game of Chess. If a king is at risk of imminent capture, it is said to be in CHECK. In this circumstance, the player’s next move must be to remove the threat from their King, either by moving the King or capturing the opponent piece that causes the threat.
When a king is in Check but has no means of escaping the piece that threatens capture, checkmate has occurred, with immediate forfeiture of the game. Apart from being on the run, a king may move offensively against enemy pieces and promote remaining pawns by defending them. The power and potential are markedly limited, especially when compared to the queen, rook, or castle. A king can move one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Kings are also involved in the special move of castling. This exceptional move enables a king to move two squares toward a rook that has remained in the first rank (row) while the rook simultaneously moves into the square crossed by the King.
Conclusion
Firstly, Kings do not “kill”. Chessmen do not do this; they are significantly less bloodthirsty than you believe! Instead, they capture. A king, like other pieces, can capture an opponent’s piece if it is not putting itself in Check or revealing an attack.
So, rather than asking, “Can a king kill a king in chess?”, the question should be rephrased as “Can a king capture a king?”
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