Why a king can’t take a king
A king captures the same way it moves: one square in any direction (FIDE Laws, Article 3.8.1). So to take the enemy king, your king would need to be standing right next to it. The rules make that position impossible to reach.
Here is the chain of reasoning, using two rules from the FIDE Laws of Chess:
- A king attacks every square around it.
A piece “attacks” a square if it could capture there (Article 3.1.2). For a king, that is all eight neighbouring squares.
- You may never move into check.
“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).
- So neither king can step next to the other.
Every square touching the enemy king is attacked by it. Moving your king there would put it in check, so the move is illegal, and the capture that would have to follow can never happen.
The rule works both ways, which is why the kings keep their distance. Think of each king as surrounded by a ring of eight squares that the other king may not enter. When the kings face each other with one square between them, their rings overlap, and the overlapping squares are off limits to both.
Kings on d4 and f6 share one neighbouring square, e5. Neither king may step there. Every other square around d4 is fine. Open in the analysis board
How close can the kings get?
The closest legal distance is one empty square between them: e4 and e6 on a file, e4 and g4 on a rank, or d4 and f6 on a diagonal. On a diagonal the kings share just one forbidden square; face to face they share three.
That standoff has a name. When kings face each other with one square between them and it is your opponent’s turn, you “have the opposition”: their king has to give way. It decides many king and pawn endgames.
Try it: the king sandbox
Put the two kings anywhere and see which king moves are legal. Squares next to the other king are crossed out. Play a few king moves and you will find there is no way to bring them together.
King to moveNext to the other king: illegalLegal move
Tap a square on the board to move the selected king there, or choose squares below.
The sandbox uses one rule: a king may step to any neighbouring square that does not touch the other king. Before publishing we compared that rule with chess.js on all 3,612 legal two-king placements, with each side to move (7,224 positions). They agreed every time.
Can any piece take the king?
No. Not a queen, not a pawn, not a king. In chess the king is never captured. Article 1.4.1 of the FIDE Laws says plainly that “capturing” the opponent’s king is not allowed.
When a piece attacks the king, that is check (Article 3.9.1), and the player in check must get out of it on their next move: move the king, block the attack, or capture the attacking piece. If none of that is possible, the position is checkmate and the game is over immediately (Article 5.1.1). There is no further move in which the king could be taken.
After 1.Ra8# the rook attacks g8 and Black has no legal move. The game ends here. The king is never taken off the board. Open in the analysis board
“Kill the king” is not how chess is won
Beginners often say “take the king” or “kill the king”, and some casual games are played that way. Under the actual rules you win by checkmate, the moment the king is trapped, one move before any capture could happen.
That is also why a king can never take a queen that is protected: capturing it would leave the king attacked. An unprotected queen next to the king is a different story.
Can you put yourself in check?
No. This is the rule underneath everything on this page. A move is only legal if your own king is not in check afterwards (Articles 3.9.2 and 3.10.1).
That covers two situations beginners mix up:
- Walking the king into an attacked square. Stepping next to the enemy king is one example; stepping onto a square covered by an enemy rook or bishop is another.
- Moving a pinned piece. If a piece is the only thing standing between your king and an enemy attacker, it may not move off that line, even though it looks free.
The knight on d2 is pinned: if it moved, the bishop on b4 would attack the white king. So the knight has no legal move at all, and White’s only legal moves are the four king moves shown. Open in the analysis board
Check the king first
Before every move, ask: after this move, is my king attacked? If yes, the move is illegal. Online sites simply will not let you play it. Over the board, you have to catch it yourself.
For every piece’s movement rules in one place, see how chess pieces move.
Can a king give check?
Not by itself. A king can only attack the squares next to it, and it can never stand there. But a king move can still produce check in two ways.
The white king blocks its own rook. Kb3+, Kb4+ or Kb5+ uncovers the rook on the a-file and checks the black king on a8. The king moves, the rook gives the check. Open in the analysis board
Here O-O+ is legal: after castling the rook lands on f1 and checks the black king on f8. Castling counts as a king move (FIDE Article 3.8.2), but the check comes from the rook. Open in the analysis board
In both cases another piece gives the check. If you want to see how castling works in full, read how to castle in chess.
What if someone moves next to the other king anyway?
The move does not count. Online, the site will refuse it. Over the board, it is an illegal move.
- In a FIDE-rated game, the position from just before the illegal move is put back and play continues (Article 7.5.1). For the first completed illegal move the arbiter gives the opponent two extra minutes; a second one by the same player loses the game, unless the opponent cannot possibly checkmate, in which case it is a draw (Article 7.5.5).
- In casual play, some players “take the king” to point out that their opponent left it in check. That is a house custom, not part of the Laws of Chess.
Either way, nobody ever wins by capturing a king.
Common mistakes
| Belief | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| “A king can take the other king if it is unprotected.” | The other king always protects itself: every square next to it is attacked. Kings can never be adjacent. |
| “You win when you take the king.” | You win by checkmate. The king is never removed from the board. |
| “My opponent left their king in check, so I can take it.” | Their move was illegal. It is taken back and corrected (Article 7.5). |
| “Kings can stand diagonally next to each other.” | No. Diagonal neighbours count too; there must be a square between them. |
| “If my king has nowhere safe to go, I can just move it into check.” | No. If your king is in check with no legal move, it is checkmate. If it is not in check and you have no legal move at all, it is stalemate, a draw. |
King capture FAQ
Can a king take a king in chess?
No. A king can never capture the other king. To capture it, it would first have to stand next to it, and moving next to the enemy king is always illegal because that square is attacked by the enemy king (FIDE Laws, Article 3.9.2).
Can kings touch in chess?
No. The two kings can never stand on neighbouring squares, including diagonally. In a legal game there is always at least one square between them.
How close can two kings get?
With exactly one square between them, for example kings on e4 and e6, on e4 and g4, or on d4 and f6. Any closer and the player who moved would be in check.
Can a queen take the king?
No piece ever captures a king. When a queen attacks the king, that is check, and the opponent must deal with it. If they cannot, it is checkmate and the game ends before any capture.
Can a pawn take a king?
No. A pawn attacking the king gives check like any other piece. The rules make capturing the king impossible (FIDE Laws, Article 1.4.1); checkmate ends the game first.
Can you put yourself in check in chess?
No. Any move that puts or leaves your own king in check is illegal, including stepping your king next to the other king or moving a pinned piece (Article 3.9.2).
Can a king check another king?
Not by itself, because it would have to be adjacent. A king move can uncover a check from your own rook, bishop or queen (a discovered check), and castling can give check with the rook.
What happens if a player moves their king next to the other king?
The move is illegal. Online it cannot be played. Over the board the position before the illegal move is restored and the arbiter applies the illegal-move penalty in Article 7.5.
Why can’t you capture the king in chess?
Because the goal is checkmate, not capture. Article 1.4.1 says capturing the opponent’s king is not allowed: the game ends at checkmate, the moment the king is attacked and has no legal way out.
How we checked this
Every diagram is drawn from a FEN, and every claim about it (side to move, legal moves, check, checkmate) comes from chess.js 1.4.0, the rules library used across Chess Move Finder’s tools. The page build stops if any stated fact disagrees with chess.js. The sandbox rule was tested against chess.js on every legal placement of two lone kings, with both sides to move. No engine evaluations are used on this page. Paste any FEN below into the analysis board to check it yourself.
Show all positions with chess.js results
| Position | FEN | To move | Legal moves | In check | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings facing (hero) | 8/8/4k3/8/4K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1 | White | 5 | No | Play continues |
| Kings on a diagonal | 8/8/5k2/8/3K4/8/8/8 w - - 0 1 | White | 7 | No | Play continues |
| Back-rank mate, before 1.Ra8# | 6k1/5ppp/8/8/8/8/8/R5K1 w - - 0 1 | White | 17 | No | Play continues |
| After 1.Ra8# | R5k1/5ppp/8/8/8/8/8/6K1 b - - 1 1 | Black | 0 | Yes | Checkmate |
| Pinned knight | 4k3/8/8/8/1b6/8/3N4/4K3 w - - 0 1 | White | 4 | No | Play continues |
| Discovered check by the king | k7/8/8/8/K7/8/8/R7 w - - 0 1 | White | 14 | No | Play continues |
| Castling with check, before O-O | 5k2/8/8/8/8/8/8/4K2R w K - 0 1 | White | 15 | No | Play continues |
Sources
- FIDE Laws of Chess, approved 7 August 2022, in force from 1 January 2023: Articles 1.4.1 (capturing the king is not allowed), 3.1.2 (attack), 3.8.1–3.8.2 (king moves, castling), 3.9.1–3.9.2 (check; no moving into check), 3.10.1 (legal move), 5.1.1 (checkmate) and 7.5 (illegal moves). Checked 10 November 2026.