Promoted piece

A promoted piece appears when a pawn reaches the rank farthest from its starting square. As part of that same move, the pawn must be removed and replaced by a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. The new piece takes effect immediately.

The choice is not limited by pieces that were captured earlier. A player may therefore have two queens, three rooks, or another combination that did not exist at the start. Choosing a queen is common because of its mobility, but it is not compulsory; choosing another piece is called underpromotion.

After the exchange, there is no longer a pawn on that square. The new piece moves and captures under the ordinary rules for its type. A promoted queen, rook, or bishop is a sliding piece, while a promoted knight can jump. Under the over-the-board procedure, the choice becomes final when the new piece touches the promotion square.

The resulting piece should not be confused with the promotion rank, which is the entire row on which promotion can occur.