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How the Pieces Move -- Castling

This special move is the only instance in which a player may move more than one piece in a single turn; it is also the only move in which the king may move more than one square. Click here to open an interactive example board in a new window. Use the VCR buttons to see white castle kingside (a.k.a., “castling short”), and black castle queenside (a.k.a., “castling long”). Simply close or minimize the new window to return to this page.

As you can see, castling involves the king and one of his rooks “jumping over each other.” Specifically:

1) The king always moves two squares when castling, whether castling long or short.

2) The rook “jumps over” the king and lands on the adjacent square on the other side of the king.

3) Castling may only occur if the king and the relevant rook have not been previously moved during the game (not even if they are moved right back to their original squares).

4) The king cannot currently be in check; you may not castle out of check.

5) The king cannot castle into check (just as the king may never move into check).

6) The king cannot move through a square which is “in check.”

7) Conditions 4, 5, and 6 do NOT apply to the rook (e.g., the rook may move “through check,” as it were).

Observe the following diagrams, each with a caption indicating whether or not castling is legal, and why or why not:

White cannot castle because his king is in check. Black cannot castle because he would end up in check.

White cannot castle because his king would move through check. Black can castle because his king would not move through or into check (it does not matter that the black rook must move through a square "in check" by the white bishop).