As an expert in the field of chess, I can provide a comprehensive understanding of the rules and strategies involved in the game. Chess is a game of strategy and tactics where each piece has its unique movement and capturing abilities. The king, despite being the most important piece on the board, has one of the most limited movements. However, it is crucial to understand the king's capturing abilities to play the game effectively.

In chess, the king is a central piece and represents the player's main objective: to checkmate the opponent's king. The king can move one square in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. This limited movement is both a strength and a weakness. It is a strength because the king's survival is paramount, and a weakness because it cannot move far to escape threats or to attack.

When it comes to capturing, the king has the same one-square movement ability. This means that a king can take an opponent's piece that is directly adjacent to it, provided that doing so does not put the king in check. A king is said to be in check when it is under the immediate threat of being captured by one or more of the opponent's pieces. The king cannot capture a piece that would result in it being in check, as this would be an illegal move.

The reference to "a king move away and not defended by the opponent" is a bit misleading. In chess, a piece is only considered defended if there is at least one of the opponent's pieces that could legally capture it if it were to move. If a king can move to a square and capture an opponent's piece without being in check, and that piece is not defended by any other piece, then the king is allowed to take it.

It is also important to note that the king has a unique ability to participate in a special move called a castling. Castling is a move that involves the king and one of the rooks and is the only move in chess where two pieces move simultaneously. The purpose of castling is to help secure the king and connect the rooks. However, during castling, the king does not capture any pieces; it merely moves two squares towards the rook on the player's first move, and the rook moves to the square the king skipped over.

Another special ability of the king is the ability to deliver a checkmate. A checkmate occurs when the opponent's king is in check and there is no legal move available for the king to escape the threat of capture. This ends the game with the player delivering the checkmate declared the winner.

In summary, a king in chess can take an opponent's piece that is one square away from it, provided that the king is not in check after the move and the piece is not defended. The king's role is to be protected and to strategically position itself to potentially deliver a checkmate, which is the ultimate goal in a game of chess.

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Yes. Of course, kings may only move to squares where they are not in check; this means that a king is allowed to take a piece of the opponent that is a king move away and not defended by the opponent.Aug 5, 2002read more >>