Auto-queen

When a pawn reaches the last rank, it must promote to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. With auto-queen enabled, the platform immediately chooses a queen and does not display a piece selector. The promotion rule is unchanged; the interface simply makes one legal choice on the player's behalf.

The setting saves an interaction and can be valuable when only seconds remain. It also reduces the risk of losing time while searching for the correct button in the playing zone, the part of the platform where the board is displayed and moves are entered.

The drawback is that a queen is not always the best promotion. Choosing a rook, bishop, or knight is called underpromotion and may be needed to avoid stalemate, a draw that occurs when the side to move is not in check but has no legal move, give a particular check, or solve a tactic. Some platforms provide a temporary override for auto-queen; the exact method depends on settings and device.

Auto-queen does not correct the choice after it has been played. If automatic promotion produces an unwanted move, it normally counts as a valid action rather than a mouse slip that the platform must reverse. Check the setting before a fast game.