Short answer: On Windows, hold Alt and type the piece’s code on the numeric keypad — 9812 for the white king ♔ through 9823 for the black pawn ♟. In Word, type the hex (2654 for ♔) and press Alt + X. On a Mac or phone, copy the piece you need from the tool below.
Tap to copy a chess piece
The twelve chess piece symbols — king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn, in white and black — are used for diagrams, puzzles, bios and posts. They sit together in one Unicode block (U+2654–U+265F), so the codes run in a neat sequence. Here’s how to type them everywhere, plus the difference between the symbols and chess notation. This is part of the Stars & Hearts hub.
The 12 chess pieces
| Piece | White (Alt) | Black (Alt) | Notation |
|---|---|---|---|
| King | ♔ (Alt + 9812) | ♚ (Alt + 9818) | K |
| Queen | ♕ (Alt + 9813) | ♛ (Alt + 9819) | Q |
| Rook | ♖ (Alt + 9814) | ♜ (Alt + 9820) | R |
| Bishop | ♗ (Alt + 9815) | ♝ (Alt + 9821) | B |
| Knight | ♘ (Alt + 9816) | ♞ (Alt + 9822) | N |
| Pawn | ♙ (Alt + 9817) | ♟ (Alt + 9823) | — |
The white pieces are U+2654–U+2659 and the black pieces U+265A–U+265F. In Word, use the hex + Alt + X (2654 → ♔, up to 265F → ♟).
Windows
Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type the piece’s code on the numeric keypad (not the top-row numbers): Alt + 9812 for ♔ up to Alt + 9823 for ♟. Release Alt and the piece appears. These are Unicode decimal codes and work in Unicode-aware apps.
No numeric keypad? Press Win + . to open the emoji and symbols panel and type chess or the piece name. If a code returns the wrong character, you’re on the number row — see why Alt codes don’t work.
Mac
macOS has no dedicated Option shortcut for chess pieces. Two routes:
- Character Viewer: press Control + Command + Space, search chess, king, queen or rook, and double-click to insert.
- Unicode Hex Input: with that source enabled, hold Option and type the four-digit hex — Option + 2654 gives ♔.
iPhone and Android
The default keyboards don’t include the plain text chess pieces. Copy them from the tool above (the reliable route), or save the ones you use as text replacements (iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement; Android: Personal dictionary). Note the black pawn ♟ also exists as an emoji, so it may render in colour on some phones.
Word and Google Docs
Microsoft Word: type the hex and press Alt + X — 2654 → ♔, 265A → ♚, 265F → ♟. You’ll also find them under Insert → Symbol → More Symbols in the Miscellaneous Symbols block.
Google Docs: go to Insert → Special characters and search chess or the piece name.
Chromebook
Press Ctrl + Shift + U, release, type the hex (2654 for ♔), then Enter. Or open the emoji/symbol picker with Launcher + Shift + Space and search chess.
Linux
In most GTK/IBus apps, press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hex (2654–265F), then Enter or Space to commit it. If that shortcut isn’t enabled, open the Characters / gucharmap app and search the piece name. Chess pieces have no Compose-key sequence, so the Unicode-entry method is the reliable one.
HTML, CSS and code
The chess pieces use numeric HTML entities — ♔ ♔ up to ♟ ♟ (there are no named entities). Because the block is contiguous from U+2654, you can generate all twelve in code: in JavaScript, String.fromCodePoint(0x2654 + i) for i from 0 to 11. In CSS use the escaped point, e.g. content:"\2654"; in JavaScript a string literal is "\u2654".
Symbols vs chess notation
This is the distinction worth understanding:
- White = outline, black = filled. The white pieces (♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙) are drawn as outline glyphs and the black pieces (♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟) as filled ones. That’s a shape difference, not a colour you set — so on a dark background the “white” outlines can look more visible than the “black” fills.
- The symbols are for diagrams, not for notation. Written chess (PGN, algebraic notation) uses letters: K, Q, R, B, N and no letter for a pawn — for example Nf3 or Qxd5. The Unicode pieces are for drawing positions, or for figurine notation, where the symbol replaces the letter (♞f3 instead of Nf3).
- Knight is N, not K. Since K already stands for the king, the knight uses N (“kNight”). It’s the one letter that surprises beginners.
- Move annotation marks round out notation: + is check, # (or ‡) is checkmate, × marks a capture, and quality marks run ! good, !! brilliant, ? mistake, ?? blunder, !? interesting, ?! dubious.
- Fancier pieces exist — rotated, neutral and fairy-chess pieces live in a separate Chess Symbols block (U+1FA00–U+1FA6F) with limited font support, so copy those rather than typing a code.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Alt + 9812 does nothing | Num Lock off, or you used the top-row numbers. Use the numeric keypad. |
| Laptop has no numpad | Use Win + . (search chess), Word’s 2654 + Alt + X, or copy from above. |
| White pieces vanish on a light background | The outline glyphs can be faint on white. Use the black (filled) pieces, or add a background. |
| Black pawn shows in colour | ♟ also has an emoji form; on some phones it renders as the emoji. Use it in a plain-text field for the flat version. |
| Piece shows as a box ▯ | The font lacks the glyph. Switch to Segoe UI Symbol, Arial or a similar font. More: symbol showing as a box. |
Frequently asked questions
How do you type chess symbols on Windows?
Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type the piece’s code on the numeric keypad: 9812 for the white king ♔, counting up to 9823 for the black pawn ♟. In Word you can instead type the hex (2654 for ♔) and press Alt + X.
How do you type chess pieces on a Mac?
There’s no dedicated Option shortcut. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “chess” or the piece name, and double-click it. With Unicode Hex Input enabled, you can also hold Option and type the four-digit hex, such as Option + 2654 for ♔.
What is the difference between the white ♔ and black ♚ chess pieces?
The white pieces are drawn as outline glyphs and the black pieces as filled ones — a shape difference, not a colour you choose. On a dark background the white outlines can actually look more visible than the black fills.
Do you use these symbols for chess notation like PGN?
No. Written notation (PGN and algebraic) uses letters — K, Q, R, B, N and no letter for a pawn, as in Nf3. The Unicode pieces are for drawing diagrams or for figurine notation, where the symbol replaces the letter (♞f3 instead of Nf3).
Why is the knight written as N and not K?
Because K already stands for the king. The knight uses N — from the “N” in “kNight” — so the two pieces don’t clash in notation.
What are the Unicode code points and HTML entities for chess pieces?
The pieces run from U+2654 (♔ white king) to U+265F (♟ black pawn). In HTML they use numeric entities from ♔ (♔) to ♟ (♟); there are no named entities.
Recap
- Windows → Alt + 9812 (♔) to 9823 (♟); Word 2654–265F then Alt + X.
- Mac / phone → Character Viewer, or copy from the tool above.
- White = outline, black = filled (a shape difference, not the colour you set).
- Notation uses letters (K Q R B N); the symbols are for diagrams and figurine notation.
Written by Igor R.. Tested on Windows 11, macOS, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, Linux, Word and Google Docs. Last updated July 2026. Symbol code points follow the Unicode Standard.