In chess, which of the following may only move forward to the unoccupied square immediately in front of it?

Correct — A. The pawn is the piece that advances to the empty square directly ahead of it and can never move backwards, so option (a) is what the stem describes.

Two riders complete the rule. From its starting square a pawn may advance two squares instead of one, and it captures diagonally rather than straight ahead.

That second rider is why a piece standing directly in front of a pawn blocks it completely: the pawn can neither pass it nor take it.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  The Queen — The queen moves any number of squares along a rank, a file or a diagonal, and moves backwards as freely as forwards.
• (c)
  The Bishop — The bishop moves only along diagonals, in either direction, so it never fits a rule about the square immediately in front.
• (d)
  The Rook — The rook moves along ranks and files in all four directions, including backwards, which the stem's forward-only condition excludes.

Chess appears in SSC General Awareness as sports vocabulary rather than as strategy: the movement of the six pieces, the size of the board and the named special moves.

Each side starts with 16 pieces, of which eight are pawns, on a board of 64 squares.

The special moves are castling, which shifts king and rook in one turn, en passant, a pawn-only capture, and promotion, by which a pawn reaching the far rank becomes another piece.

Key facts

• A pawn moves one square forward, two on its first move, and captures diagonally.
• A pawn reaching the far rank is promoted, usually to a queen.
• Each side begins with 16 pieces, of which eight are pawns.
• Castling is the move in which a player's king and rook both move in the same turn.

Common traps

• Forgetting that a pawn captures diagonally rather than straight ahead.
• Reading moves forward as enough for the rook, which also moves backwards and sideways.

No directly related past PYQ was found.