Chess rules
Pawn Promotion in Chess: The Rules Explained
Pawn promotion is the rule that a pawn reaching the far rank must be replaced, as part of the same move, by a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. It cannot stay a pawn or become a king.
Example
1. e8=N+ Kg6 2. Nxc7
Promoting to a queen would let Black hold the position with checks. Promoting to a knight gives check and attacks the queen on c7 at the same time. After the king moves, White takes the queen and wins.
What the rules say
Under the FIDE Laws of Chess, when a pawn reaches the rank furthest from its starting position, it must be exchanged as part of the same move for a new queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. The choice is not limited to pieces that have been captured, so you can have two or more queens.
The new piece works at once. It can give check or even checkmate on the move it appears. A pawn can also promote by capturing onto the last rank.
Underpromotion
Promoting to anything other than a queen is called underpromotion. A queen is almost always the best choice, but there are two common exceptions.
The first is a knight promotion that gives check or forks pieces, because a knight attacks squares a queen cannot. The second is promoting to a rook or bishop to avoid stalemate, when a new queen would leave the opponent with no legal move.
Over the board
In a tournament game, the move is complete when the new piece is placed on the promotion square. If the piece you want is not at hand, you may stop the clock and ask the arbiter for one.
Do not leave the pawn on the last rank and press the clock. Under the FIDE Laws that counts as an illegal move, and the pawn is replaced by a queen.
Common questions
Can a pawn promote to a king?
No. A pawn can promote only to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of its own color.
Can you have two queens in chess?
Yes. You can promote to a queen even if your original queen is still on the board, so having two or more queens is legal.
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