can a pawn promote to a bishop of same color - Chess Forums (2024)

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can a pawn promote to a bishop of same color - Chess Forums (1)

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Somebodysson

Nov 7, 2013

#1

this came up in a forum conversation, and I simply don't know the answer. Say I have a light square bishop and I promote a pawn on a light square. Can I promote to a bishop and have two light square bishops? I realize that I could just as easily promote to a queen, and not face this dilemma, but I guess there could be a situation where promoting to Q could produce an immediate stalemate draw, where promoting to bishop would not. Is it legal to have two bishops of same color, one which was attained by pawn promotion?

Some people may laugh at my question, but you're not born knowing these answers, and you have to learn them somewhere. I looked it up on google search and have not found the answer there.

waffllemaster

Nov 7, 2013

#2

Yes, it's legal.

The thing to remember is you're not replacing lost pieces. You're literally promoting the pawn. It's still the pawn (kind of) but it can move like any other piece you want (other than a king).

So you can also have 2 queens (up to 9!) Bishops of the same color, etc.

Somebodysson

Nov 7, 2013

#3

thank you scholar.

kpdoc

Jan 14, 2016

#4

can you promote to a pawn?

EscherehcsE

Jan 14, 2016

#5

kpdoc wrote:

can you promote to a pawn?

Well, that would be a nonpromotion. But no, you can't nonpromote. Once the pawn reaches the 8th rank, promotion is mandatory, not optional.

nichster

Jan 14, 2016

#6

yes, why did you think that you can't?

Ciak

Jan 14, 2016

#7

Lawof chess (Fide)

3.7.e

When a player, having the move, plays a pawn to the rank furthest from its starting position, he must exchange that pawn as part of the same move for a new queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour on the intended square of arrival.

This is called the square of ‘promotion’. The player's choice is not restricted to pieces that have been captured previously. This exchange of a pawn for another piece is called promotion, and the effect of the new piece is immediate.

Caronag

Mar 24, 2016

#8

Yes you can't change the place of promotion. So if your pawn arrives on a8, the only avaible bishop is white, regardless of the color of your remaining bishop (if any), because a8 is a white square. If you arrive on b8, your new bishop has to be black, even if you already have a black bishop and no white bishop, because the square is black.

In a sense, the only way to choose the color of a bishop from promotion is to move a different pawn to the last rank.

tornado81

Mar 24, 2016

#9

This wasn't a stupid question to me. I'll remember this now in case any of my students ever ask.

Oct 19, 2016

#10

this question just came up in our club. thank you for th info. two bishops can be on the same color.

Pulpofeira

Oct 19, 2016

#11

Yes, I once heard there's a problem by Smyslov based on this, unfortunately I can't find it.

jsaepuru

Oct 20, 2016

#12

Caronag wrote:

In a sense, the only way to choose the color of a bishop from promotion is to move a different pawn to the last rank.

Or the same pawn to a different promotion square. Because a pawn may have a choice between moving and capturing.

Strangemover

Oct 20, 2016

#13

More the question is there a position where promoting to a bishop is the best move? This one from a 960 game was unnecessary but it looked cool to have 3 bishops for a move.

lofina_eidel_ismail

Oct 20, 2016

#14

this was an interesting thought on promotion.....didn't occur to think about the color of the square

Ziggy_Zugzwang

Oct 20, 2016

#15

Not a problem:

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can a pawn promote to a bishop of same color - Chess Forums (2024)

FAQs

Can a pawn promote to a bishop of same color - Chess Forums? ›

yes, why did you think that you can't? When a player, having the move, plays a pawn to the rank furthest from its starting position, he must exchange that pawn as part of the same move for a new queen, rook

rook
The rook (/rʊk/; ♖, ♜) is a piece in the game of chess. It may move any number of squares horizontally or vertically without jumping, and it may capture an enemy piece on its path; additionally, it may participate in castling.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Rook_(chess)
, bishop
bishop
The bishop is considered a minor piece (like a knight) and is worth three points. It is considerably more valuable than a pawn (which is worth one point), equally valuable as a knight (also three points), but less valuable than a rook (five points) or a queen (nine points).
https://www.chess.com › terms › chess-bishop
or knight
knight
The knight (♘, ♞) is a piece in the game of chess, represented by a horse's head and neck.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Knight_(chess)
of the same colour on the intended square of arrival. This is called the square of 'promotion'.

Can a pawn promote to a bishop of the same color? ›

In chess, promotion is the replacement of a pawn with a new piece when the pawn is moved to its last rank . The player replaces the pawn immediately with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color . The new piece does not have to be a previously captured piece.

Can a pawn get a bishop? ›

A pawn can promote to a queen, a rook, a bishop, or a knight. Naturally, a pawn promotes to a piece of the same color – so a white pawn promotes to a white queen, white rook, white bishop, or white knight, and a black pawn promotes to a black queen, black rook, black bishop, or black knight.

Is pawn promotion a real rule? ›

Pawn promotion occurs when a pawn reaches the farthest rank from its original square—the eighth rank for White and first rank for Black. When this happens, the player can replace the pawn for a queen, a rook, a bishop, or a knight.

Can a pawn turn into a queen if you already have a queen? ›

You may already be wondering if you have to hold off promoting a pawn to a queen if you've still already got your queen on the board with which you started. And I think you're going to like the answer to the question. No, you don't. You can promote a pawn to a queen, and have more than one queen on the board!

Can bishop be in the same color? ›

About half of the endings with a bishop and two pawns versus a bishop on the opposite color are drawn. (By contrast, over 90% are won if the bishops are on the same color.)

What is the FIDE rule for pawn promotion? ›

3.3 When a player, having the move, plays a pawn to the rank furthest from its starting position, he/she must exchange that pawn as part of the same move for a new queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour on the intended square of arrival. This is called the square of 'promotion'.

Why can't my pawn take bishop? ›

The pawn may capture either the rook or the knight, but not the bishop, which blocks the pawn from moving directly forward.

Is the bishop pair worth a pawn? ›

The bishop pair is worth 7.5 pawns – half a pawn more than the individual values of its constituent bishops combined. (Although it would be a very theoretical situation, there is no such bonus for a pair of same-coloured bishops.

Can a knight jump over a pawn? ›

Knights are the only piece that can jump over other pieces. However, they do not capture any pieces that they jump over. At the start of a chess game, the knights can jump out immediately over his own pawns, like in the diagram above.

What is the weird pawn capture rule? ›

In chess, en passant (French: [ɑ̃ pasɑ̃], lit. "in passing") describes the capture by a pawn of an enemy pawn on the same rank and an adjacent file that has just made an initial two-square advance. The capturing pawn moves to the square that the enemy pawn passed over, as if the enemy pawn had advanced only one square.

What is the two pawn rule? ›

It's a little known rule, but rather than moving one pawn two spaces, you can move two pawns one space each if you so desire. But only on the first move. A kind of sharing moves.

Can a pawn take a queen backwards? ›

A pawn cannot move backwards, period. It cannot move backwards, it cannot capture backwards, and even if it could, that would be a ridiculously fringe application as your own pieces are usually the ones on your 1st rank (which is where the pawn would capture another piece, according to the rule you've asked about).

Are you allowed two queens in chess? ›

In conclusion, you can have two queens on the board in chess, but only through pawn promotion. According to the FIDE rules, each player starts the game with only one queen on the board, and if a player already has a queen on the board, they can still promote another pawn to a queen.

Can a king check a king? ›

Under the standard rules of chess, a player may not make any move that places or leaves their king in check. A player may move the king, capture the threatening piece, or block the check with another piece. A king cannot itself directly check the opposing king, since this would place the first king in check as well.

Is it possible to checkmate with two bishops of the same color? ›

If you are left with two bishops of same colour and your opponent has lost all his pieces, then it will be a draw due to insufficient material. (If your opponent has some pieces left, then he can self-trap and help you to deliver checkmate.) Yes it is possible to get such a position in reality.

What is the rule of pawn in chess? ›

Pawns move one square forward and cannot move back. A pawn may advance two squares on its first move. Pawns can only capture one square diagonally ahead.

Can a bishop change colors? ›

As a consequence of its diagonal movement, each bishop always remains on one square color. Due to this, it is common to refer to a bishop as a light-squared or dark-squared bishop.

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