What happens when a pawn reaches the other side in chess?

It promotes. The pawn is immediately replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour, chosen by the player making the move. Promotion is compulsory, so the pawn cannot remain a pawn.

Can you have two queens in chess?

Yes. Promotion does not depend on which pieces have been captured, so a player who still has their original queen can promote a pawn to a second one. There is no limit on the number of queens a player may have.

Can a pawn promote to a king?

No. A pawn may only promote to a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Promoting to a king or staying a pawn are both illegal.

Why would you promote to a knight instead of a queen?

Because the knight moves in a way the queen cannot copy. Promoting to a knight can give check or fork two pieces immediately, which occasionally wins a game where a new queen would not. This is called underpromotion.

Chess Rules

Pawn Promotion

What happens when a pawn reaches the far side of the board.

Pawn promotion happens when a pawn reaches the far end of the board, the eighth rank for White or the first rank for Black. The pawn is immediately replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour, chosen by the player. Promotion is compulsory: the pawn cannot stay a pawn. It also does not depend on what has already been captured, so a player can have two or more queens at once.

After

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Pawns promote on reaching the far rank: White's pawns promote on rank 8, Black's on rank 1. Every pawn in the starting position is six moves away from promotion at minimum.

How promotion works

The promotion happens as part of the pawn's move, not as a separate turn. You move the pawn to the last rank and replace it at once with the piece you have chosen.

You are not limited by which of your pieces have been captured. A player who has never lost their queen can still promote a pawn to a second queen, and there is no limit on how many pieces of a kind you may end up with.

Underpromotion

Choosing anything other than a queen is called underpromotion. It is rare, because the queen is the strongest piece, but it is sometimes the only move that wins.

The knight is the usual reason, because it is the one piece whose movement a queen cannot copy. Promoting to a knight can deliver an immediate check or a fork that a new queen would not. Promoting to a rook or bishop is rarer still, and is usually done to avoid forcing stalemate.

Writing promotion in notation

Promotion is written as the pawn's move followed by an equals sign and the letter of the new piece. So e8=Q is a pawn moving to e8 and becoming a queen, and exd8=N is a pawn capturing on d8 and becoming a knight.

Frequently asked questions

What happens when a pawn reaches the other side in chess?: It promotes. The pawn is immediately replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour, chosen by the player making the move. Promotion is compulsory, so the pawn cannot remain a pawn.
Can you have two queens in chess?: Yes. Promotion does not depend on which pieces have been captured, so a player who still has their original queen can promote a pawn to a second one. There is no limit on the number of queens a player may have.
Can a pawn promote to a king?: No. A pawn may only promote to a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Promoting to a king or staying a pawn are both illegal.
Why would you promote to a knight instead of a queen?: Because the knight moves in a way the queen cannot copy. Promoting to a knight can give check or fork two pieces immediately, which occasionally wins a game where a new queen would not. This is called underpromotion.

More chess rules

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