What Is Pawn Promotion in Chess? Explained for Kids

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Pawn promotion is what happens when a pawn reaches the far side of the board: it is swapped for a queen, a rook, a bishop or a knight of the same colour. It is the reason the humble pawn can become the strongest piece on the board.

The rules of promotion

• A pawn that reaches the last row (the eighth row for White, the first for Black) must be promoted. It cannot stay a pawn.
• You choose a queen, rook, bishop or knight. You cannot choose a king or another pawn.
• Promotion happens as part of the same move, and the new piece can give check straight away.
• It does not matter what is still on the board. You can have two queens, or even three. At home, an upside-down rook often stands in for the second queen; in a tournament, stop the clock and ask the arbiter for a real one.

Which piece should you choose?

Almost always a queen, the strongest piece. Choosing something else is called under-promotion, and it is used in two situations:

• a knight can give a check or a fork that a queen cannot, because of its L-shaped move;
• a rook or bishop can avoid stalemate in an endgame where a queen would leave the opponent with no legal move.

Why promotion matters

In the endgame, when few pieces are left, the game is often decided by who promotes a pawn first. That is why strong players protect their pawns and push them forward when the way is clear.

For parents

The pawn game, with only eight pawns each, is all about promotion: the first player to reach the other side wins. Play it a few times and your child will start planning promotions in real games too.