Editing Chess strategy (section)

==== King ====
{{Main|King (chess)|l1=King}}
During the middlegame, the king is often best protected in a corner behind its pawns. Such a position for either of the players is often achieved by [[castling]] by that player. If the rooks and queen leave the first rank (commonly called that player's ''back rank''), however, an enemy rook or queen can checkmate the king by invading the first rank, commonly called a [[back-rank checkmate]]. Moving one of the pawns in front of the king (making a [[luft]]) can allow it an escape square, but may weaken the king's overall safety otherwise. One must therefore wisely balance between these trade-offs.

Castling is often thought to help protect the king and often "connects" the player's two rooks together so the two rooks may protect each other. This can reduce a threat of a back-rank [[Skewer (chess)|skewer]] in which the king can be skewered with capture of a rook behind it.

The king can become a strong piece in the endgame. With reduced material, a quick checkmate becomes less of a concern, and moving the king towards the center of the board gives it more opportunities to make threats and actively influence play.