Learn how Bishops move and capture in chess.
Starting Position of Bishops
This is the starting position for Bishops:
Each side has two Bishops. One Bishop moves along the light coloured squares (the white squares) and the other Bishop moves along the dark coloured squares (the black squares).
How Bishops Move
The Bishop can move any number of squares diagonally, forwards or backwards. Like the Rook, it can move forward or backward, but in only one direction at a time.
The diagram below shows all the possible squares to which the white Bishop in d5 may move:
This Bishop could go to h1, or g2, or f3, or e4, or e6, or f7 etc etc.
Like the Rook, it may not jump a white or black piece. In this example, the Bishop cannot move to b7 or a8, as its path it’s blocked by a white Rook:
How Bishops Capture
Like the Rooks, the Bishops capture a piece simply landing on their square. In this example, the white Bishop can capture the black Rook in f7:
To capture the Rook, the Bishop simply moves to the Rook’s square:
Image credits: Bishop’s view by Little Sadie
