How to solve the chess puzzle in Blue Prince

The chess puzzle in Blue Prince revolves around a rectangular chess board and chess pieces found around the house.

Once you’ve lit all four braziers and unlocked the Precipice, you’ll find a chess board that isn’t your usual square, but rather the same shape as the house’s blueprint. Additionally, beside the chess board, you’ll find one of each chess piece.

However, that’s everything you’ve been given. There are no more hints nearby and you’re left on your own to solve the puzzle on this chess board, but as you recollect your thoughts, you might remember seeing chess pieces in specific rooms.

Here’s how to solve the chess puzzle in Blue Prince and where to find each chess piece.

How to solve the chess puzzle in Blue Prince

The chess puzzle features a 5×9 chess board matching the blueprint of the estate. When you place your chess pieces on a random position, nothing seems to happen. However, occasionally, the box under the chess piece will glow white, indicating you’ve placed that chess piece on the correct tile.

To solve the chess puzzle in Blue Prince, you’ll need to recollect where you’ve seen each chess piece, draft specific rooms containing each chess piece, and place each chess piece on that room’s respective grid location.

Unfortunately, this does mean that everyone’s solution will be different, and you’ll need a little luck to find each chess piece.

Blue Prince chess piece locations

Fortunately, chess pieces will always appear in specific rooms, so as long as you know where to find each chess piece, you’ll know which rooms you should be drafting. Here’s where you can find each chess piece:

• Pawn — Bedroom, Parlor, Den, Storeroom, Guest Bedroom, Dining Room, Walk-in Closet, Drawing Room, Bunk Room, Secret Passage, Dormitory, Freezer, Solarium, Lost and Found
• Knight — Security Room, Observatory, Armory, Treasure Trove
• Bishop — Chapel, Rumpus Room, Attic, Bookshop
• Rook — Nook, Vault, Clock Tower, Conservatory
• Queen — Study, Ladyship’s Chambers
• King — Office, Throne Room

If you draft multiple rooms that contain the same chess piece like the Bedroom and Parlor, you can place the pawn on either room.

For an example to the puzzle’s solution, here’s an image of what my chess board and blueprint looked like:

Which chess piece power should you choose in Blue Prince?

After you’ve solved the chess puzzle, the walls around the room will rise up to the ceiling, revealing large statues indicating each chess piece. You’ll be asked to choose a piece to receive a new permanent power:

• Pawn: When you reach Rank 8 each day, you may choose Knight, Bishop, Rook or Queen. Gain the power of that piece until the end of the day.
• Knight: Add the Armory to your draft pool.
• Queen: Each time you draft a room on the Queenside (West Wing) of your house, lose 5 steps and gain 1 key.
• King: Each day, you may choose a color. Rooms of the chosen color are more likely to be drawn while drafting.
• Bishop: You do not have to pay tithes. Instead, gain 30 gold the first time you enter the Chapel each day with this power.
• Rook: You may draw floor plans up to 4 times when drafting the 4 corner rooms of your house.

In our experience, the King is the most useful chess piece as you can influence which room you’ll, draft and, if you’re looking for a particular room, the King’s power can be a great help. The Knight is also very useful as one of the items inside the Armory, The Axe, can be used to permanently remove the gem cost from a room. However, make sure you’re confident in which room you want to axe, as we have only been able to use the item three times.

How to change chess piece powers in Blue Prince

If you don’t like your chess piece’s power, you can switch to another chess piece. However, to do so, you’ll need to solve the chess puzzle again.

For more Blue Prince guides, check out our full walkthrough on how to reach Room 46, our list of all safe codes, or our solution to one of the hardest puzzles, the Gallery puzzle.