King

King : The king is the most important piece in chess. It can move one square in any direction (forward, backward, left, right, or diagonally) but can never move into a square attacked by an enemy piece. The game ends when a king is trapped in a position called checkmate.

Basics:
Standard Move: Moves exactly one square at a time, in any direction.
Capturing: Captures enemy pieces by landing on their square.
Protection: The king can never be captured or removed from the board. If it is directly attacked, it is in check and must be saved immediately (by moving, blocking, or capturing the attacker)
Checkmate : If a king is in check and has no legal moves to escape, it is in checkmate, and the player loses.

Special Moves:
Castling: A special, once-per-game move that allows the king to jump two squares toward a rook, while the rook jumps over the king. It is used to quickly tuck the king into safety and activate the rook.
Illegal Moves: A player cannot make any move that places their own king in danger.

Strategy:
While the king is highly vulnerable in the opening and middlegame and must be protected behind a wall of pawns, it transforms into a powerful, active attacker during the endgame when there are fewer pieces left on the board.