Promotion (chess)

The player replaces the pawn immediately with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color.

Under FIDE rules, a player may stop the clocks and summon the arbiter to provide a piece for promotion.

Philidor did not like the possibility of having two queens; in all editions of his book (1749 to 1790), he stated that a promotion could only be to a piece previously captured.

[18] However, Howard Staunton wrote in The Chess-Player's Handbook, originally published in 1847, that Carl Jaenisch said that the restricted promotion rule was still in force in northern Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, and Germany.

[17] For instance, an 1836 Norwegian game-book by Peter Tidemand Malling clearly states "Queen, Rook, or any other officer that has been lost",[19] and this wording was used as late as 1862 for the third and final reprint.

[22] Steinitz wrote, "We approve of the decision of the London Chess Congress, of 1862, although the 'dummy' pawn rule was denounced by some authorities.

[24] Other amusing problems have been created involving promotion to a white or black king, which Law XIII also appears to allow.

Howard Staunton vigorously opposed the 1862 rule when it was proposed, but the tournament committee passed it by a large majority of votes.

Code had been very generally rejected by British amateurs, and emphatically condemned by the leading authorities of America, Germany, and France.

[note 3][27] The ability to promote is often the critical factor in endgames and thus is an important consideration in opening and middlegame strategy.

As a result, it is often beneficial to place a pawn in enemy territory; even if it does not control any important squares, it may still be useful, as it forces the opponent to ensure that it is not promoted.

[28] A passed pawn is highly valuable in the endgame, where few enemy pieces remain to prevent it from being promoted.

[31] The British grandmaster Joe Gallagher used the same tactical pattern a half-move earlier in Terentiev–Gallagher, Liechtenstein Open 1990: And now White could have resigned, since if 9.Rxa2, ...c2 promotes the c-pawn.

[38][37] Very few games have been played with six queens; two examples are Emil Szalanczy–Nguyen Thi Mai (2009) and David Antón Guijarro–Alejandro Franco Alonso (2011).

[41] The 2017 Canadian Chess Championship, played under FIDE rules, was controversially decided by an incorrectly executed promotion.

At the end of the regular tournament, Bator Sambuev and Nikolay Noritsyn, both former champions, were tied for first place and were required to decide the title by playoff.

For example, a study by Jan Rusinek sees White promoting to knight, bishop and rook in order to induce stalemate.

For example, a knight promotion is a standard defensive technique in a rook versus pawn endgame;[48] a 2006 game between Gata Kamsky and Étienne Bacrot shows such a case.

In the actual game, mistakes were made in the rook versus knight endgame, and White won on move 103.

(there are other winning moves, such as 79.Kc5) 79...Kb8 80.Kb6 and Black resigned, since White cannot be stopped from promoting a third pawn, this time to a queen.

In the diagrammed position from the game Short–Daly, 2006 Irish Chess Championship,[52] a promotion to queen would allow stalemate: 70...b1=Q??

Promotion to a queen or rook would pin the bishop, leaving Black with no legal moves, resulting in a stalemate; promotion to knight may appear to threaten checkmate via 2.Nb6#, but Black moves their bishop next turn, so there is no mate, and White cannot make any further progress.

: since the c7-rook is now pinned, Black must either lose it with a theoretical draw or play 6...Rxc8 which, with a bishop on b8 rather than a queen or rook, is stalemate.

In the diagrammed position from a 1972 game between Aron Reshko and Oleg Kaminsky, promotion to a queen or rook would allow 61...Qf7+!

In 1932, a long game[59] between Milan Vidmar and Géza Maróczy had reached an opposite-colored bishops endgame and been a theoretical draw for many moves.

In general, the following apply:[60] Due to the first guideline, a pawn on a longer board has to move further to be promoted.

Most regional games of the chess family (with the notable exception of janggi) include promotion, though the rule varies.

When a pawn reaches its sixth rank, it is promoted to a Met (Makruk's queen), a piece that may move one square diagonally.

In most variants, the player's promotion zone is bounded by the position of the opponent's pawns at the start of the game.

Also unlike standard shogi, a forward-moving piece in these variants may be left unpromoted at the far end of the board, unable to move.