---
title: Racing Kings
slug: racing-kings
board: "8×8"
players: "2"
parent: chess
win: King reaches 8th rank first
special: No checks allowed. Both kings start on 1st rank. Race to the top.
engine:
  topology:
    type: grid
    rows: 8
    cols: 8
  players: [white, black]
  setup: "8/8/8/8/8/8/krbnNBRK/qrbnNBRQ"
---

## Racing Kings

No checks allowed. Race your King to rank 8. A pure positional race with no violence.


{{svg:racing-kings-board.svg "Racing Kings — starting position"}}

### Setup

**Board:** Standard 8×8.

**Setup:** All pieces start on ranks 1–2 in a specific non-standard arrangement. No pawns.

**FEN:** `8/8/8/8/8/8/krbnNBRK/qrbnNBRQ w - - 0 1`

### Rules

- No move may give check (to either King). Any move that would place either King in check is illegal.
- No castling. No pawns. No pawn promotion.

### Win Condition

First player to move their King to rank 8 wins. If White reaches rank 8, Black gets one more move — if Black also reaches rank 8, the game is a draw.

### Strategy

Block your opponent's King path while clearing your own. Rooks and Queens control files; Bishops control diagonals. The constraint against giving check makes many "obvious" blocking moves illegal.

### Attribution

Vernon R. Parton, 1961. Public domain.