What is Kingside castling in chess?
Castling toward the h-file, also written O-O, moving the king to g1 (or g8).
Kingside castling is the more common form because it requires fewer pieces to be moved first. The king lands on g1 for White (g8 for Black) with the rook moving to f1 (f8).
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- Queenside castlingCastling toward the a-file, also written O-O-O, moving the king to c1 (or c8).
- Promotion (queening)A pawn reaching the far rank becomes any piece, almost always a queen.
- UnderpromotionPromoting a pawn to a rook, bishop, or knight instead of a queen.
- StalemateA draw where the player to move has no legal move and isn't in check.
- CheckA direct attack on the king that must be dealt with immediately.
- CheckmateThe king is in check and has no legal way to escape - the game is over.