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♟️ Pawn Promotion – The Ultimate Transformation
The pawn is the humblest piece on the board, but it holds a secret potential. If a pawn manages to march all the way to the other side of the board (the 8th rank), it is immediately transformed into a more powerful piece. This special rule is called Promotion.
👑 Queening: The Standard Choice
When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board, it must be exchanged for a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight of the same color. It cannot stay as a pawn, and it cannot become a King.
In 97% of games, players choose to promote to a Queen because it is the most powerful piece. This is often called "Queening."
"Although it is more usual for a pawn to be promoted to a queen, it may be promoted to a rook, a bishop, or a knight. If there is not a spare queen, a rook turned upside down (or any other suitable object) is used to represent a queen. Promotion is done by removing the pawn and placing the chosen piece on the promotion square."
Animation: A pawn advancing to d8 and becoming a Queen.
🦄 Underpromotion: Why Choose Less Power?
Choosing a piece other than a Queen is called Underpromotion. Why would anyone want a weaker piece? Usually, there are two reasons: to deliver a specific tactical checkmate (using a Knight) or to avoid a stalemate (using a Rook).
1. The Knight Fork
Promoting to a Queen here would be okay, but promoting to a Knight wins faster by checking the King and forking the Queen!
White plays e8=N+!
📝 Notation
In chess notation, promotion is written by adding an equals sign and the letter of the new piece.
- ✅ e8=Q (Pawn to e8, becomes Queen)
- ✅ a1=N (Pawn to a1, becomes Knight)
- ✅ h8=R (Pawn to h8, becomes Rook)