The King Swap: When and How to Use It

In classical chess, you castle to get your King to safety. Timuria replaces that with the King Swap: once per game, you can instantly swap your King with one of your own pieces. Because it's a one-time-only right, deciding when to use it is a critical decision.

How Does It Work?

When you select your King, if you still have the King Swap available, the pieces you can swap with are highlighted in blue. Using this option instantly swaps your King's position with that piece — it's not a capture, just a position exchange.

When Should You Use It?

• When there's a real threat: think of the King Swap as an emergency exit. When your King is directly threatened and a normal move can't save it, that's the natural moment to use it.
• Swap with a safe piece: the square your King ends up on after the swap needs to be safe too — merely dodging the immediate threat only to walk into a new one wastes the right.
• Save it for the endgame: using this right in the opening when there's no real threat might feel tempting, but leaves you with no "lifeline" left when you genuinely need it in the middle- or endgame.

When Should You Not Use It?

Using the King Swap just to move your King to a "more active" square generally isn't a good idea — this right is meant for defense, not offense. Also always evaluate the resulting position a move ahead; sometimes a swap can unknowingly leave another one of your pieces undefended.

Account for Your Opponent's King Swap

Don't forget your opponent has this right too. Right when you think you've set up a clean checkmate combination, your opponent might escape at the last second using their King Swap. Checking whether they still have this right before planning a mate saves you from wasting moves.