King walk

In chess, a king walk, also known as a king march, steel king, or wandering king (Dutch: wandelkoning, literally "wanderking"), is a maneuver where the king travels a large distance to a different part of the board in the middlegame or opening. During a king walk, the king may travel along its own side of the board (from kingside to queenside, or vice versa) to reach a safer position. Alternatively, it may travel up the board, often involved in a mating attack against the opposing king.^[2]

Short vs. Timman, final position

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Position after 34.Kg5. Short had marched his castled king up the board, and now 35.Kh6 (if 34...Kh7, then 35.Qxg6+ Kh8 36.Qh6+ Kg8 37.Kf6) followed by Qg7# cannot be stopped.^[1]

Activating the king before the endgame is a highly unusual occurrence; before the endgame, the safety of the king is considered paramount, and players are recommended to keep it out of harm's way.^[3][4] In contrast, Wilhelm Steinitz, often known as the father of modern chess, was renowned for his maxim that "the king is a fighting piece".^[5][6] Dutch chess historian and author Tim Krabbé has documented over one hundred such games.^[2]

Because of the rarity of such tactics, those that reap rewards for the attacking player often have brilliancy prizes bestowed upon them.^[7][8] Perhaps the most famous in recent history,^[9] where Nigel Short defeated Jan Timman in Tilburg in 1991, was voted as one of the hundred greatest chess games in a list compiled by master Graham Burgess, and grandmasters John Nunn and John Emms.^[10]

Example games

• Short vs. Timman, Tilburg 1991. Alekhine Defense: Modern, Alburt Variation (B04), 1–0.^[11] Short ties up Timman's pieces and his king can advance.
• Alekhine vs. Yates, London 1922. Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line (D64), 1–0.^[12] Alekhine conjures up an attack in the endgame, and his king joins the fray.

See also

• Chess tactics
• King hunt – where the king is involuntarily chased up the board by the opponent and often checkmated