Glossary · Chess
Promotion
A pawn that reaches the last rank is replaced, on the same move, by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its colour.
Promotion is part of the move that brings the pawn to the last rank, and that move can also deliver check or capture. The side chooses the piece, and choosing anything other than a queen is an underpromotion. The reference counts a promotion as a gain in its own right, because it changes the value of a unit in one move.
edition v3.0 · 2026slug promotionFR Promotion
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