Each of the four armies fields the same six kinds of piece: a King, a Queen, a Bishop, a Knight, a Rook, and a rank of Pawns. Movement is close to ordinary chess, with a single striking exception. On top of how they move, every piece answers to an Egyptian god-form and to a court card of the tarot, which is where a game turns into a reading.
How each piece moves
| Piece | Movement | Note |
|---|---|---|
| King | One square in any direction. | His capture, not his checkmate, decides the game. |
| Queen | Leaps exactly two squares in any of the eight directions, jumping anything between. | A leaper, not a slider. The piece beginners misjudge. |
| Bishop | Any distance on the diagonals. | As in chess. |
| Knight | The L-shaped leap of two and one. | As in chess. |
| Rook | Any distance on ranks and files. | As in chess, sometimes called the Castle. |
| Pawn | Forward one, capturing on the forward diagonals, promoting at the far edge. | Each army's Pawns advance toward that army's edge. |
The Queen deserves a second look. Because she jumps to the second square and ignores what stands between, she is dangerous on a packed opening board and keeps her reach when a slider would be blocked. Get a feel for her leap in a solo game before you count on her in a live one.
Promotion and the privileged Pawn
A Pawn that reaches its far edge is promoted, but the timing is its own. A Pawn can wait on the promotion edge until its army loses its first Pawn, and an army worn down to its last Pawn is granted a privileged promotion, a real choice of which piece to become. Landing a Pawn on an empty throne turns it into the piece that throne belonged to. These small rules reward players who plan several moves ahead.
God-forms and tarot courts
In the Golden Dawn's design the pieces are not blank tokens. Each carries an Egyptian god-form and a rank in the tarot courts, tied to the element of its army. The King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, and Rook correspond in turn to the court and ace ranks of the suit that matches their element, so a Fire piece speaks through the Wands, a Water piece through the Cups, and so on. When a piece captures or is captured on a meaningful square, its court card and the square's sign are read together. The divination page explains how those readings are built.
Move a piece yourself
Reading about the Queen's leap is one thing. Making it is faster. Start a free game and try each piece.
Play NowRead the full rules, or go back to what Enochian chess is.