Chess what is castling your king

The white king is in check from the black bishop on b4, and you are not allowed to castle to get out of the check. White would first have to block the check with a move such as pawn to c3 to make castling possible on the next turn.

White is not allowed to castle through the bishop's "check" on f1. The black bishop on a6 is attacking the f1-square next to the white king. To castle, the white king would have to cross over this square which is not allowed. In this position, White can castle kingside or queenside. Black can only castle kingside since there is still a black knight on b8.

Quick tip: When you castle, the king will always go to the same color square that he started the game on. White will always move the king two squares to a dark square, and Black will move the king two squares to a light square.

Castling is a great way to protect your king and bring a rook toward the center of the board! Castle your way to victory today on Chess. See this article for a video and more info! How do I Castle? Watch this free lesson on castling, or read on below: Castling is the only time in chess that two pieces can move at once, and the only time a piece other than the knight can move over another piece.

Here are the rules for castling: Your king can not have moved- Once your king moves, you can no longer castle, even if you move the king back to the starting square. Once you are out of check, then you can castle. Slightly more complicated but you also cannot Castle if your King would move through a Check position in doing so. So if you have to move your King through a square that an opposition piece could take in order to Castle, then you are not allowed to Castle.

If the King or Rook you wish to Castle with has been moved. This is an important one. See the diagram below for an illustration of this:. You can castle on the kingside also known as short castling or the queenside also known as long castling , but the king and the rook on the side you want to castle must both be on their starting square, and the squares between them must all be empty. If you have moved your king, you cannot castle, even if you move him back to his starting square. The same goes for the rooks.

To castle, you first move your king two squares towards the rook. Then you jump the rook to the square on the other side of the king. It's the only time in a game of chess that a piece other than the knight is allowed to jump, and the only time that you are allowed to move two pieces at once. Always move the king first and the rook second, or move both at once. Don't move the rook first. Use the arrows on the board below to see castling in action.