It’s important that we understand how the chess pieces move across the board if we wish to make any progress in chess. One beginner question asked frequently is “Which chess piece can move diagonally?”
While the Bishops are known to move diagonally any number of squares in a straight line, many other pieces in the royal family also has the ability to move diagonally. For example, the King can move one square diagonally, the Queen can move diagonally any number of squares and the the pawns can capture a piece diagonally. The only pieces that cannot move diagonally are the Rooks and the Knights.
A picture says a thousand words. Therefore, let’s draw up a graphical representation of how the pieces move diagonally.
How The Bishop Moves Diagonally
The Bishops stand next to the King and the Queen (one on each side). At the start of a chess game, the Bishops cannot move because they are hindered by their own pawns. Once the central pawns move forward, the Bishops are activated and can move diagonally in a straight line. It’s therefore ideal to open as much lines for our Bishops if we want to use them as much in the game.
How The Queen Moves Diagonally
The Queen has the ability to not only move diagonally like the Bishop, but can also move vertically and horizontally. This is why the queen is the most powerful chess piece on the board. She simply can control a lot of squares on the board than any other piece.
How The King Moves Diagonally
The King can only move one square at a time in any direction. This means it has the ability to move diagonally, vertically and horizontally.
How Do The Pawns Move Diagonally
The pawn moves forward one square at a time and 2 squares forward on its fist move. The pawn will always only capture another piece by moving diagonally except if you utilize the “en passant”.
For more information on how all the chess pieces move click here
