Pawn Promotion in Chess: How a Pawn Becomes a Queen

Pawn promotion happens when a pawn reaches the last row on the other side of the board: row 8 for White, row 1 for Black. In the same move, the pawn must be changed into a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its own colour. It cannot stay a pawn and it cannot become a king. Most of the time players choose a queen, because she is the strongest piece.

Promotion is one of the most exciting moments for a young player. The smallest piece on the board walks all the way across and turns into the most powerful one. Let us see exactly how it works.

How pawn promotion works, step by step

1. Move your pawn to the last row. It can get there by moving straight forward, or by capturing diagonally onto the last row.
2. Remove the pawn from the board.
3. Put the new piece you chose on that same square.
4. Your move is now finished, and it is your opponent's turn.

The new piece works straight away. If your new queen gives check, the opponent must answer the check on their very next move. On most apps, a small menu pops up and you tap the piece you want.

Can you have two queens?

Yes. You can promote to a queen even if your first queen is still on the board. In theory you could have up to nine queens. A real chess set has only one queen of each colour, so at home or in a school tournament people often use an upside-down rook to stand for the second queen. Under FIDE rules, though, an upside-down rook is still just a rook. If a spare queen is not nearby, stop the clock and ask the arbiter for one.

Why would anyone choose a rook, bishop or knight?

Choosing anything other than a queen is called underpromotion. It is rare, but there are two good reasons for it.

• To avoid stalemate. Sometimes a new queen would leave the opponent with no legal moves while not in check. That is stalemate, and the game would be a draw. A rook may win where a queen would draw.
• To give a knight check. A queen cannot move like a knight. Sometimes a knight is the only piece that gives check or wins something right away.

Both a queen and a rook give checkmate here, because the black king is trapped behind its own pawns, just like in a back rank checkmate. A bishop or knight on a8 does nothing to the king. This is why a queen is the safe choice almost every time.

How to get a pawn to promote

A pawn on its way to promotion needs help. A pawn with no enemy pawns in front of it or on the files next to it is called a passed pawn. Passed pawns are very valuable, especially when most pieces have been traded. Here are three simple ideas:

• Escort it with your king. In the endgame the king is a strong fighter and can walk next to the pawn to protect it. Read more in king and pawn endgame basics.
• Push it when it is safe. Count how many moves your pawn needs and how many the enemy king needs to catch it.
• Stop the opponent's pawns early. Put a piece in front of an enemy passed pawn to block it before it gets close.

Puzzle: the smart promotion

Promoting to a knight gives check and attacks the black queen at the same time. This double attack is called a fork. After the king moves, the knight takes the queen, and White is left with an easily winning endgame. A new queen would leave queen against queen, and Black's queen could start giving check after check. The knight wins the game far more simply.