Our Featured Variant : Try the Chinese game of Xiangqi, one of the most popular and enduring Chess variants in the world.

Rules of Chess: Queen FAQ

This webpage gives the answers to some frequently asked questions about the official rules of chess regarding Queen. For the full rules of chess, see another webpage.

Can the queen move like a knight?

No.

Is it possible to have more than one queen?

Indeed. When a pawn reaches the last row, it promotes, e.g., it can promote to a queen, even when the player already has a queen. So, in theory, a player could have nine queens (when all his pawns promote), but this is very unlikely. However, I've seen several games played in the youth chess club where some players had three queens.

Is there a webpage that explains the moves of the queen?

Yes. See www.chessvariants.com/piececlopedia.dir/queen.html

Can a queen jump over another piece?

No. Queens cannot jump. So, in the diagram below, the white queen can move to one of the marked squares, or take one of the black rooks.

Are you required to say `check', or `en garde', or something similar, when you attack the queen?

No. Nowadays, this is not done. It has been a habit in the UK in the 19th century, but if you would do it now, people will think you are weird...

Can queens castle?

No. Castling can only be done with rooks and kings.

Written by Hans Bodlaender

WWW page created: October 11, 2002.

For author and/or inventor information on this item see: this item's information page.
Created on: October 11, 2002. Last modified on: November 18, 2002.