How To Set Up A Chess Board

How do you set up the king and queen on a chessboard?

The Chessboard consists of 64 light and dark squares, while each player starts the game with a light (normally white) square on the bottom-right corner in from of them. The White player places their pieces on the rows (called “Files”) in front of them that are marked by letters ranging from a to h from left to right.

The columns (called “Ranks”) are marked by numbers ranging from 1 to 8 from bottom to top. – ♔ ♕ The King and Queen “The King and Queen stand in the middle because they are the most significant pieces in the game! The King is the most important and the Queen is the most powerful. Both the King and the Queen want to stand on their own color, but the King is a gentleman and he invites the Queen to stand on her own color”.

The White Queen stands on the Center-White Square with the White King next to her on the Center-Black square, while the Black King and Queen do the opposite across from them so that the King and Queen on each side are facing the other player’s King and Queen.

♖Rooks “The Rooks are the guardians of the Kingdom! When the enemy tries to attack, they fire their arrows! That’s why the Rooks stand at the corners: so that between them they have a view of the entire area”. The two Rooks stand on the very bottom corners of the board. ♗Bishops “All the pieces wanted the honor of standing next to the King and Queen, so the King announced there would be a competition—a race! Whichever piece was quickest would win, because the King and Queen needed the best messengers to deliver packages all over the kingdom.

Do you know who won? The Bishops!” The two Bishops stand guard on either side of the King and Queen. ♘Knights “The Knights are the cleverest pieces in the kingdom. They know how to jump over pieces, so they jumped over everyone else and took their place next to the Bishops.” The Two Knights then stand on the remaining side of each of the Bishops.

♙Pawns “The Pawns might be small, but they are a powerful team! Why do you think they stand on the second Rank? So they can protect their parents: the King and Queen, and so the King and Queen can always see them.
The Pawns aren’t allowed to move backwards, because they aren’t ready to make such decisions.

But let’s see what happens when they grow up and get big!” All eight of the Pawns cover every square on the second row (File) on the board in front of each player. The second level in the bonus Space World level of our App you can learn about the placement of the pieces and quiz yourself on your ability to set them up correctly in the fastest way possible.

How is a normal chess board arranged?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A chessboard is a gameboard used to play chess, It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During play, the board is oriented such that each player’s near-right corner square is a light square.

The columns of a chessboard are known as files, the rows are known as ranks, and the lines of adjoining same-coloured squares (each running from one edge of the board to an adjacent edge) are known as diagonals, Each square of the board is named using algebraic, descriptive, or numeric chess notation ; algebraic notation is the FIDE standard.

In algebraic notation, using White’s perspective, files are labeled a through h from left to right, and ranks are labeled 1 through 8 from bottom to top; each square is identified by the file and rank which it occupies. The a- through d-files comprise the queenside, while the e- through h-files comprise the kingside,

Where should the king be placed in chess?

Where to Put the King on the Chessboard. On a standard chessboard, the king always begins on the e-file, on the opposite side of the board from the opposing king. White begins on e1, black on e8. (You’ll notice that the king also begins on a square opposite its own color.)

Is the Queen on the left or right?

Initial setup –

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8		8
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Starting position Chess is played on a chessboard, a square board divided into a grid of 64 squares (eight-by-eight) of alternating color (similar to the board used in draughts ). Regardless of the actual colors of the board, the lighter-colored squares are called “light” or “white”, and the darker-colored squares are called “dark” or “black”.

Piece	King	Queen	Rook	Bishop	Knight	Pawn
Number of pieces	1	1	2	2	2	8
Symbols

At the beginning of the game, the pieces are arranged as shown in the diagram: for each side one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns, The pieces are placed, one per square, as follows:

Rooks are placed on the outside corners, right and left edge.
Knights are placed immediately inside of the rooks.
Bishops are placed immediately inside of the knights.
The queen is placed on the central square of the same color of that of the piece: white queen on the white square and black queen on the black square.
The king takes the vacant spot next to the queen.
Pawns are placed one square in front of all of the other pieces.

Popular mnemonics used to remember the setup are “queen on her own color” and “white on right”. The latter refers to setting up the board so that the square closest to each player’s right is white.

What side is the queen on?

According to standard FIDE chess rules, the queen begins on the first rank, next to the king. The white queen begins on d1 (a white square), the black queen on d8 (a black square). A good way to remember is that the queen always begins on her own color, unlike the king, who begins on the opposite-colored square.

Can you have 2 queens in chess?

Rules – When a pawn is promoted, it is removed from the board, and the new piece is placed on the square of promotion. A piece may be promoted to regardless of whether it has been captured. Consequently, a player might have two or more queens, or three or more rooks, bishops, or knights.

Does the chess board position matter?

I don’t know what category this question should be in. Move it to the right category if necessary. Does anyone know why there must be a white square on the right. Besides that the rank and file labeling would be incorrect if the chessboard is setup with a black square on far right. Does it really affect the game that much and how. thank you for your comments. i know that setting is spelled wrong in the title. Is there anyway to correct it? (corrected) It doesn’t affect the game. It’s just that the rules state that that is the way you place a chess board. To prevent confusion. Many analyzers refer to “weak/strong light/dark squares”, or a “phalanx of dark pawns”, etc. If the board is flipped 90 degrees, the dark squares become light, and the light become dark, and the message can get confused. Another problem with setting up your chessboards with the dark square on the bottom left stems from the queens on colour maxim.

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If somebody is relying on the maxim, and has the dark square in the left, the king would end up on d1 and the queen on e1. Then imagine somebody else tries to play this game again but with the light square on the right. They will play some moves just fine, but the game will stop making sense halfway through, and they will probably figure out the notation is screwed up after 5-10 moves.

It’s just a convention to prevent confusion. The sum of the effects of the two rules, “white on right and queen on color,” could be stated, “At the beginning of the game, the White King is to the right of the White Queen (from the White player’s perspective), and the Black King is to the left of the Black Queen (from the Black player’s perspective).” The main purposes of this are (1) it makes it possible to use a chessboard to play through a game that you have the move list from (it standardizes whether a King or Queen starts on d1, for example), and (2) eliminates the common beginner mistake of placing the Black Queen opposite the White King, and the Black King opposite the White Queen (this makes a major tactical difference even early in the opening; can you imagine trying to play the Scandinavian Defense with one side having switched King/Queen placement?). I personally don’t think it is that important! It’s because the queens would have to be on different squares, which would screw up every opening ever conceived. It’s just the standard. There’s nothing more to it. This question seems more philosophical than anything, and is a bit like asking, “why does ‘A’ come before ‘B’ in the English alphabet?” Simply put, there has to be a standard or else chaos ensues. Someone decided that ‘white on right’ is the standard, and that’s that.

Since it is now the standard, if we don’t stick to it, there is mass confusion, as other posters have alluded to.
Interestingly, if the corner square were a dark square, and the maxim were instead ‘king on color’, each player’s bishops would be reversed.
Dark-squared bishop would be next to the White king and light-squared bishop would be next to the White queen, etc.

Not sure whether that would matter much and don’t have the energy to devote to thinking about it right now, but suffice to say that the ‘white on right’ standard is what we use. It’s the rule. End of story. Additionally if Queen on own color is not followed through with white on right, then you would have the case where even playing with the white side would actually bring you the black side set up. I would think it would interfere tactically speaking. Moreover the set up allows for a standard in setting up the board, so if anyone wishes to play blind chess then they would have everything in place. I think we just need a uniform way to set up the board is all. Can you think of a clever rhyme for something rhyming with left ? Besides, I have to agree that the queen on it’s own color to start is fitting. However, I have seen a variant of chess where the king and queen as switched for each game. The king starting on it’s own color makes sense also, to me atleast. does this get the dead thread revival award? Just for you, because of your inquisition. The queen goes on its own colour so it is important to have a white square on the right so the queen is on the right side. If you have it set up with the dark square on the right corner you could easily rectify the strategy by having the black pieces move first then everything would be ok and strategically correct. DrSpudnik wrote: does this get the dead thread revival award? It’s getting there. Not to keep this zombie thread going, but if you reversed the squares and kept queens on the same color, all openings and game play would be the same, but just a mirror image of what we would normally play. Of course to keep the notation the same you’d have to reverse the letters on the board so that a1 becomes h1. Wow this is a fun thread, I’ll have to metion it in the ” Silly Rules ” thread that I have on the go. I have a wooden board made by Battat which is numbered the wrong way. It is risen! Once more with fillings!

Can a king check a king?

Overview –

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8		8
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Black must address the check from the bishop despite the pin against the white king.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8		8
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

White has been checkmated. The king cannot escape check and White has lost the game.

A check is the result of a move that places the opposing king under an immediate threat of capture by one (or occasionally two) of the player’s pieces. Making a move that checks is sometimes called “giving check”. Even if a piece is pinned against the player’s own king, it may still give check.

For example, in the diagrammed position, White has just played Be4+, simultaneously giving check and blocking the check from Black’s rook.
Black must now address the check; the fact that the bishop cannot legally move is irrelevant.
If the king is in check and the checked player has no legal move to get out of check, the king is checkmated and the player loses.

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.

Can a king take a queen?

Capturing A Queen With A King: Wrapping Up – So, we’ve learned that the king is allowed to capture other pieces, including your enemy’s queen! So we’ve found the answer to our question: Yes, a king can capture a queen in chess! But while the king can attack and capture other pieces like pawns, bishops, rooks, and knights, he can’t directly attack the queen.

What is the safest position for king in chess?

Avoid moving the pawns in front of your king – It’s obvious that the king can’t stay in the centre once the central pawns have moved out to fight for the centre. The safest position for the king is behind an undisturbed line of pawns. Once you have castled, you should keep the pawns in front of your king unmoved for as long as possible.

Sometimes you need to move a pawn to avoid a back rank checkmate, and sometimes it can be tempting to move your pawns to attack an enemy piece, but remember pawns cannot go backwards and once you have weakened your king’s fortress, it will remain weakened for the rest of the game.
A loose pawn formation around the king is an invitation for your opponent to attack there.

Even if you don’t move the pawns in front of your king, your opponent may be able to force them aside with an exchange, as in the following example:

What is the 20 40 40 rule in chess?

What is the 20 40 40 rule in chess? – The 20-40-40 rule in chess is a rule for players rated below 2000 that states 20% of your study should be dedicated to openings, 40% to the middlegame, and 40% to the endgame.

What is the 3 position rule in chess?

References –

^ Article 14K.2 in “US CHESS FEDERATION’S OFFICIAL RULES OF CHESS 7TH EDITION” (PDF), The United States Chess Federation, Retrieved 12 July 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b c d “FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2018”, FIDE, Retrieved 2 July 2020,
^ Rules 9.2.1 and 9.2.2 in FIDE Laws of Chess
^ Rule 9.5.3 in FIDE Laws of Chess
^ Rule 11.5 and 12.6 in FIDE Laws of Chess
^ Rule 9.1.2.3 in FIDE Laws of Chess
^ “Spassky vs. Fischer, 17th game, 1972”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ “Fischer vs. Spassky, 18th game, 1972”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ “Fischer vs. Petrosian, 1971”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ Different sources give different moves near the end. Plisetsky & Voronkov and Kasparov give 32.Re5 33.Qh5 Rd5. ChessGames.com and Chess Life (11/1971 and 12/1971) give 32.Re5 33.Qd3 Rd5. The December 1971 Chess Life also discusses how the intermediate moves were different, and that Petrosian seemed unaware that he was going to allow a three-fold repetition.
^ ( Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005 :283–84)
^ ( Kasparov 2004 :422–23)
^ ( Byrne 1971 :682)
^ “Capablanca vs. Lasker, 1921”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ ( Kasparov 2003 :266–67)
^ “Alekhine vs.Lasker, 1914”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-02,
^ ( Hooper & Whyld 1992, p.335. repetition of position )
^ “Lasker vs. Alekhine, 1914”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ “St. Petersburg (1914)”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-09-07,
^ ( Bott & Morrison 1966 :14)
^ Jump up to: a b Fischer, Johannes (14 April 2020). “USSR vs. Rest of the World, 1970: Lajos Portisch comments”, Chessbase. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020, Retrieved 15 September 2020,
^ “Lajos Portisch comments on the controversy surrounding his draw against Viktor Kortschnoi in their fourth and last game.” per ChessBase article
^ “Lajos Portisch vs. Viktor Korchnoi (1970)”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-09-16,
^ “22. Bf1 White steers for a repetition and a draw. Modern engines evaluate the position as clearly better for White.” per ChessBase article
^ ( Brady 1973 :163)
^ “Kasparov vs. Deep Blue, 1997”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ ( Hsu 2002 :251–52)
^ Jump up to: a b Saltamara, Efstathia (September 2018). “FIDE Arbiter’s Magazine” (PDF), FIDE,p.8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2019, Retrieved 26 August 2020,
^ The PGN of the game is contained in the following FIDE rating page “PGN Chess Game First Saturday GM May 2018 (HUN)”, FIDE, Retrieved 3 August 2020,
^ “Ponomariov vs. Adams, 2005”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ ( Friedel 2005 )
^ “Karpov vs. Miles, 1986”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ “Fischer vs. Spassky, 20th game, 1972”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ ( Gligorić 1972 :119)
^ ( Alexander 1972 :137–38)
^ Alexander says that it appears that the arbiter approved the draw but Gligorić says that Spassky signed the scoresheet before the arbiter could rule on the claim.
^ ( McCrary 2004 )
^ ( Brace 1977 :236)
^ “AUTHORISED EDITION OF THE OFFICIAL CODE COMPILED BY THE FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DES ECHECS” (PDF), CCA – Chess Arbiters’ Association Britain, Retrieved 9 July 2020, By recurrence of position when the same position occurs three times in the game, and the same person is Player on each occasion, and if such Player claim the draw before the position is altered by further play, otherwise no claim can be sustained.
^ Jump up to: a b c “Laws historic”, CCA – Chess Arbiters’ Association Britain, Retrieved 9 July 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b c “CCA Britain”, CCA – Chess Arbiters’ Association Britain, Retrieved 9 July 2020,
^ Par 15.C in FIDE Laws of Chess 1928 from “1931 – 1st FIDE Laws (BCF version)” on the Laws historic page of the CCA Britain.
^ “Fide Laws of Chess 1975, translation” (PDF), CCA – Chess Arbiters’ Association Britain, Retrieved 9 July 2020, The position is considered the same if pieces of the same kind and colour occupy the same squares and if the possible moves of all the pieces are the same.
^ Article 12.3 in Fide Laws of Chess 1975 from “1975” of the Laws historic page of the CCAB
^ “Laws of Chess 1985” (PDF), CCA – Chess Arbiters’ Association Britain, Retrieved 9 July 2020, The position is considered the same if pieces of the same kind and colour occupy the same squares and if the possible moves of all the pieces are the same, including the right to castle or to take a pawn en passant.
^ Article 10.5 (b) in Fide Laws of Chess 1985 from “1985” of the Laws historic page of the CCAB
^ ( Harkness 1967 :49)
^ “Pillsbury vs. Burn, 1898”, Chessgames.com, Retrieved 2020-07-03,
^ ( Giddins 2012 :166–67)

What is the most important piece in chess?

A Queen in Any Other Language (Published 2022) The history of how the queen became the most powerful piece in chess.

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Image Credit. June Oh The queen is known as the most powerful piece on the chess board, so the prospect of sacrificing it invokes an unparalleled excitement among chess enthusiasts. There is something inherently satisfying about giving up the strongest piece on the board in order to checkmate the enemy king.

I hope that this week’s puzzles served as a worthy reminder that all of us — beginners and grandmasters alike — can unite around an appreciation of the unique, almost otherworldly beauty of the royal game. Imagine, for a moment, a scenario in which the queen is the weakest piece on the board. The queen hobbles along, one square at a time, from one corner of the board to another.

In this scenario, the chess board is controlled by the rooks, and the best players sacrifice their queens for strategic or tactical gain without a second thought. I, for one, would be crestfallen. Gone would be the most beautiful sacrifices! The most powerful attacks would be diminished! If the movement of the queen were even slightly limited, the game of chess would change beyond recognition.

The scenario I just laid out was the reality for an entire millennium.
Around the start of the seventh century, the game we now call chess started to emerge in Persian and Indian literature.
In India, the game was called chaturanga (“four members”), which, as historian Marilyn Yalom wrote in her 2004 book, “Birth of the Chess Queen,” denotes the “four parts of the Indian army: chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry.” Meanwhile, the Persians “took from the Indians the essentials of the game — the six different figures, the board with 64 squares — and rebaptized the pieces with Persian names.” A great number of non-English words for chess, such as the Russian shakhmaty, derive from shah, the Persian word for king.

In place of the queen, the Persians had farzin, a male figure whose name roughly translates to counselor. As H.J.R. Murray pointed out in his 1913 book, “A History of Chess,” the farzin’s physical proximity to the shah ultimately engendered the drawing of an equivalence between the farzin and the wazir (or vizier), a powerful figure who served as the shah’s most trusted adviser.

The counselor had been promoted, but its movement remained terribly constrained: one square diagonally in any direction. To Europeans, the vizier was a culturally alien figure. According to Ms. Yalom, the first European to rebaptize the vizier into a queen (regina) was a German-speaking monk who penned a Latin poem entitled “Verses on Chess” in the 990s.

The monk described the layout of the board and the movement of the pieces, but the newly minted queen retained the limited movement of the vizier. This remained the status quo, with minimal deviation, across Europe for several centuries thereafter. Each culture adopted its own spin on the rules, but the movement of the queen remained commonplace across all iterations and offshoots of the game.

The metamorphosis happened some time between 1470 and 1480.
The first evidence of the queen’s newfound power, Ms.
Yalom argued, could be found in a Catalan poem that featured a game between two Spaniards named Castellvi and Vinyoles.
It was a fitting illustration of the queen’s marvelous transformation, for Castellvi used his queen to destroy his opponent’s entire army and to deliver a checkmate on the 21st move.

Chess historians, including Yalom, agree that the likeliest explanation for this metamorphosis involves “the high esteem enjoyed by Queen Isabella,” whose reign began in 1474. The transformation might have been catalyzed in part by earlier influential European figures, but Isabella doubtless galvanized it.

Even the word that Spanish chess authors used to refer to the queen changed from an Arabic-derived term to dama, which, as Ms. Yalom wrote, “would have at least three circles of meaning in late 15th-century Spain: ‘lady’ as indicating a superior social status, ‘lady’ in a religious sense as in ‘Our Lady,’ and ‘lady’ as referring to the Spanish queen, Isabella of Castille.” Though Isabella’s reign was temporary, there would be no going back.

More than five centuries have passed since Isabella’s reign, and it appears that humanity has finally settled on the version of chess we wish to play. To me, the idea that a single pawn can decide the outcome of the game, as well as the notion that each pawn contains within itself the seeds of metamorphosis, contributes greatly to the beauty of the game.

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: A Queen in Any Other Language (Published 2022)

What is the weakest piece in chess?

The pawn is the lowest-value piece on the chessboard, and there are eight pawns per player.

Can a pawn take a queen?

Yes, a pawn can capture the queen. This can happen if it has already captured one of the opponent’s men. The pawn then has a special move where it can go one square diagonally. Was this answer helpful?

What are the illegal moves in chess?

When one of the players plays a move that violates the rules of chess, followed by pressing the clock and starting his opponent’s time, he has committed an illegal move, Novice players should learn how to avoid making illegal moves, and how to react when their opponent makes an illegal move.

Usually, by making three illegal moves, the player will lose the game. At least in school competitions, this is the case. The organizers may want to enforce more strict or more relaxed rules. For example, in FIDE rated competitions, the second illegal moves will be the one that ends the game. This is understandable because FIDE rated competitions are intended for more experienced and knowledgeable players.

Here are some examples of illegal moves: – Moving the King on a square that is attacked by opponent’s pieces. – Not protecting the King that was attacked by opponent’s piece. For example, leaving the King in check. – Moving a piece in a way that the piece is not allowed to move. On the photo above, the black Bishop on b4 is attacking the white King on e1. The player with the white pieces should have defended the King. Instead, she made a move that left black’s King “in a check” (under attack) and thus she made an “Illegal move”.

Why does the Queen always face left?

Coinage Head Machin was asked to contribute because of his earlier work on coinage. He initially took his portrait for the coin and flipped the design so the Queen faced left.

Do kings face each other in chess?

Can you tell me if there is such a rule as king’s facing in chess (where both kings are in line with each other)? Is this illegal? – Kings may face each other. What is not allowed for kings is to be at adjacent positions. Moving a king next to another king would move it into check, which would be illegal. It is legal for kings to face each other on the same rank. It is legal for kings to face each other on the same file. It is illegal for kings to be adjacent to each other. Confusion may have arisen from a rule of Xiangqi – Chinese Chess, In that game, there is indeed a rule that forbids kings from facing each other on the same file with nothing in between them.

Are kings opposite in chess?

Rules of chess – starting position When setting up the board it is important to get the squares for king and queen right. There is a simple rule: White queen on a white square, black queen on a black square, The king stands next to its queen. Kings are opposite each other; so are queens.


The symbols for the pieces
	the king
	the queen
	the rook
	the bishop
	the knight
	the pawn

img class=’aligncenter wp-image-189362 size-full’ src=’https://columbusblueberry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/lysaebisavuhuru.jpg’ alt=’How To Set Up A Chess Board’ /> Move directly on the board to input a solution. Either click first on the start square and then on the target square. Or click on the piece, hold on to it, move it tot he target square and let go of it. The button ‘Left arrow’ takes back the move.

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Start again

OK, that is a small step. But if you simply click on the rook and hold it you will see all the squares to which it can go. Move it to a square in the c-file. You cannot go wrong, only legal moves are accepted. And now the bishop too. Don’t worry, you can’t go wrong. Simply click and hold and see the squares it can go to. Before you position the pieces, you must place the board in the correct position. Ensure that you have a white square in the right-hand corner – this applies whether you are playing with White or Black. : Rules of chess – starting position

How do you set up the king on a chess board?

Proper King Position – The king is the tallest chess piece, That should make identifying the king an easy enough job. The correct position of the king is directly next to the queen, in the middle square of the back row. So the white king should be placed on a dark square, while the black king should be placed on a light square.

Does the king start on his own color?

Placement and movement –

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8		8
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Initial placement of the kings

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8		8
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Possible movements of an unhindered king

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8		8
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

The king’s movement may be hindered by other pieces. Black’s king cannot move to squares under attack by the white bishop, knight, rook, queen, or pawn; White’s king cannot move to squares under attack by the black queen.

The white king starts on e1, on the first rank to the right of the queen from White’s perspective. The black king starts on e8, directly across from the white king. Each king starts on a square opposite its own color. A king can move one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally unless the square is already occupied by a friendly piece or the move would place the king in check.