The rule: when can a king take a queen?
The king captures exactly like it moves: one square in any direction (FIDE Laws, Article 3.8.1), landing on the enemy piece’s square and removing it (Article 3.1.1). Three things must be true for the king to take a queen:
- The queen is on a neighbouring square.
Forwards, backwards, sideways or diagonally. A queen two squares away is out of reach.
- No enemy piece defends that square.
If any enemy piece could capture on that square, the king would be in check after taking, and “no piece can be moved that will either expose the king of the same colour to check or leave that king in check” (Article 3.9.2). The enemy king counts as a defender too.
- It is your move.
Obvious, but it matters in puzzles: read the side to move first.
Useful fact: an enemy queen on a square next to your king is always giving check, because the queen attacks every neighbouring square. So if the queen is undefended, taking it is usually the best, and sometimes the only, way out of check.
Can the king take it? Test yourself on 8 positions
In every position it is White’s move. Decide whether the white king may capture the highlighted piece, then check your answer. Show defenders frames every black piece that protects the square.
The answer key was generated with chess.js: a position counts as “yes” only if the capture is in chess.js’s list of legal moves, and the build stops if that ever disagrees with the adjacent-and-undefended rule.
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Position 1 of 8
A queen with no defender
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e2?
Show the answer
Yes. Nothing defends e2: no black piece attacks that square. The king takes the queen with Kxe2, and that capture is also the way out of check.
chess.js: defenders of e2: none. White’s legal king moves: Kxe2. FEN
4k3/8/8/8/8/8/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 2 of 8
The queen is protected by a knight
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e2?
Show the answer
No. The knight on c3 attacks e2, so after Kxe2 the white king would be in check. That makes the capture illegal. Every other square is covered by the queen, so this is checkmate.
chess.js: defenders of e2: c3. White’s legal king moves: none (checkmate). FEN
4k3/8/8/8/8/2n5/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 3 of 8
The queen is protected by its own king
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e2?
Show the answer
No. The black king on e3 guards e2. Taking the queen would put the two kings next to each other, which is never legal (see can a king take a king?). This is the standard king-and-queen checkmate.
chess.js: defenders of e2: e3. White’s legal king moves: none (checkmate). FEN
8/8/8/8/8/4k3/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 4 of 8
The queen is two squares away
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e3?
Show the answer
No. The queen on e3 gives check down the e-file, but it is two squares away. A king captures only on a neighbouring square, so it cannot take. White escapes with Kd1 or Kf1.
chess.js: defenders of e3: none. White’s legal king moves: Kd1, Kf1. FEN
4k3/8/8/8/8/4q3/8/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 5 of 8
A rook stands behind the queen
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e2?
Show the answer
No. The rook on e8 sees all the way down the open e-file to e2, so the queen is protected. Kxe2 is illegal and the position is checkmate.
chess.js: defenders of e2: e8. White’s legal king moves: none (checkmate). FEN
4r2k/8/8/8/8/8/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 6 of 8
The same rook, but the file is blocked
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e2?
Show the answer
Yes. Now White’s own pawn on e4 stands between the rook and the queen. The rook no longer reaches e2, so the queen is unprotected and Kxe2 is legal.
chess.js: defenders of e2: none. White’s legal king moves: Kxe2. FEN
4r2k/8/8/8/4P3/8/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 7 of 8
The defender is pinned
White to move · in check
Can the white king capture the piece on e2?
Show the answer
No. The bishop on d3 is pinned: it cannot move, because the white rook on h3 would then attack the black king. But a pinned piece still gives check (FIDE Article 3.9.1), so it still protects e2. Kxe2 is illegal, and this is checkmate.
chess.js: defenders of e2: d3. White’s legal king moves: none (checkmate). FEN
8/8/8/8/8/k2b3R/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 -
Position 8 of 8
Not a queen, and no check
White to move
Can the white king capture the piece on f2?
Show the answer
Yes. The king can capture any enemy piece except the king, and it does not need to be in check to do it. The knight on f2 is undefended, so Kxf2 is legal.
chess.js: defenders of f2: none. White’s legal king moves: Kxf2, Kg2, Kh2, Kf1. FEN
4k3/8/8/8/8/8/5n2/6K1 w - - 0 1
How to tell if a queen is defended
Before taking with the king, look at the target square and ask, piece by piece: could any enemy piece capture there next move?
- Pawns defend the two squares diagonally in front of them.
- Knights defend the squares an L-shape away, jumping over anything in between.
- Bishops, rooks and queens defend along their lines, but only up to the first piece in the way.
- The enemy king defends every square next to it.
Two cases catch people out. A line-piece defender can be blocked, and then it defends nothing:
Take the e4 pawn away and the rook defends e2. Now it is mate. Open in the analysis board
The rook on e8 would defend e2, but White’s pawn on e4 is in the way. Open in the analysis board
And a pinned defender still defends. Article 3.9.1 says a king is in check when attacked “even if such pieces are constrained from moving”. A pinned piece cannot move, but it can still give check, so the king may not step onto a square it covers.
The bishop on d3 is pinned against its own king by the rook on h3, yet it still protects the queen. Open in the analysis board
Why the pin doesn’t help
If White played Kxe2, the white king would stand on a square attacked by the bishop on d3, so White would have moved into check. It does not matter that the bishop itself is not allowed to move: Article 3.9.1 counts its attack anyway. Kxe2 is illegal, and with no other way out of check, White is mated.
What the king can capture
The queen rule is the general rule. The king may capture any enemy piece except the king (pawn, knight, bishop, rook or queen) if it stands on a neighbouring square and is undefended.
| Question | Answer | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Can the king capture? | Yes, one square in any direction | Art. 3.8.1, 3.1.1 |
| Can it take a defended piece? | No | Art. 3.9.2 |
| Does it need to be in check? | No, it can capture any time | Art. 3.8.1 |
| Can it take its own pieces? | No piece can | Art. 3.1 |
| Can it capture en passant? | No, pawns only | Art. 3.7.3.1 |
| Can it take the enemy king? | Never; kings can’t touch | Art. 1.4.1, 3.9.2 |
In the endgame this matters a lot. With fewer pieces left, the king becomes a fighting piece that attacks pawns and loose pieces. The king and pawn endgame lesson shows it in action.
Taking the queen to get out of check
When you are in check you have three options: move the king, block the check, or capture the checking piece (Article 3.9.2 rules out everything else). A queen next to your king cannot be blocked, so it comes down to moving or capturing.
If the queen is undefended and you can take it, you have usually just won the game: you are a queen up. If it is defended and your king has no safe square, it is checkmate. This is how the classic king and queen checkmate ends: the queen goes right next to the enemy king, protected by its own king. Practise it in the king and queen checkmate lesson, and watch out for stalemate on the way.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| “The king can never take the queen.” | It can, if the queen is next to it and undefended. |
| “The king can take anything next to it.” | Only undefended pieces. Taking a defended piece puts your king in check. |
| “The defender is pinned, so the piece is free.” | A pinned piece still gives check (Art. 3.9.1), so it still defends. |
| Forgetting that the enemy king defends | The enemy king guards every square around it. |
| Missing a blocked defender | A rook, bishop or queen behind a piece defends nothing past that piece. |
King and queen capture FAQ
Can a king take a queen in chess?
Yes, if the queen is on a square next to the king and no enemy piece defends that square. If the queen is defended, taking it would put the king in check, so the capture is illegal.
Can the king take a protected queen?
No. A king may never capture a protected piece, because the defender would then attack the king (FIDE Laws, Article 3.9.2). This is exactly how a queen next to the king delivers checkmate.
Can the king capture in chess?
Yes. The king captures the same way it moves, one square in any direction, by moving onto the enemy piece’s square and removing it (Articles 3.1.1 and 3.8.1).
Can the king take any piece?
It can take any enemy pawn, knight, bishop, rook or queen on a neighbouring square, provided the piece is undefended. It can never take the enemy king or one of its own pieces.
Can the king attack in chess?
Yes. A king attacks every square next to it, and in the endgame it is often an attacking piece, chasing pawns and supporting its own. It just cannot attack the enemy king.
Can the king capture backwards or diagonally?
Yes. The king can capture in all eight directions, forwards, backwards, sideways and diagonally, as long as the square is next to it.
Does the king have to be in check to capture?
No. The king may capture an undefended piece next to it at any time, check or no check.
Can a king capture a piece defended by a pinned piece?
No. A pinned piece cannot move, but it still attacks the squares it normally would (Article 3.9.1). So it still protects the piece, and the king cannot take it.
Can a king capture en passant?
No. En passant is a pawn-only capture (Article 3.7.3.1).
Can a king take the other king?
Never. The kings can never stand next to each other, so the capture can never arise. See can a king take a king?
How we checked this
Every position on this page is a FEN loaded into chess.js 1.4.0. For each trainer position we listed the black pieces attacking the target square with chess.js and generated White’s legal moves; the answer is “yes” only when the king capture is among those legal moves, and the build stops if that ever disagrees with the adjacent-and-undefended rule. The claim that an adjacent queen always gives check was tested on all 420 king-and-queen neighbour placements. No engine evaluations are used on this page.
Show all positions with chess.js results
| Position | FEN | Target | Defenders | King capture | White is in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A queen with no defender | 4k3/8/8/8/8/8/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e2 | none | Legal | Check |
| The queen is protected by a knight | 4k3/8/8/8/8/2n5/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e2 | c3 | Illegal | Checkmate |
| The queen is protected by its own king | 8/8/8/8/8/4k3/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e2 | e3 | Illegal | Checkmate |
| The queen is two squares away | 4k3/8/8/8/8/4q3/8/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e3 | none | Illegal | Check |
| A rook stands behind the queen | 4r2k/8/8/8/8/8/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e2 | e8 | Illegal | Checkmate |
| The same rook, but the file is blocked | 4r2k/8/8/8/4P3/8/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e2 | none | Legal | Check |
| The defender is pinned | 8/8/8/8/8/k2b3R/4q3/4K3 w - - 0 1 | e2 | d3 | Illegal | Checkmate |
| Not a queen, and no check | 4k3/8/8/8/8/8/5n2/6K1 w - - 0 1 | f2 | none | Legal | No check |
Sources
- FIDE Laws of Chess, approved 7 August 2022, in force from 1 January 2023: Articles 3.1 and 3.1.1 (captures), 3.1.2 (attack), 3.7.3.1 (en passant), 3.8.1 (king moves), 3.9.1 (check, including by pinned pieces), 3.9.2 (no moving into check) and 1.4.1. Checked 10 November 2026.