The king is the most valuable piece on the board. Without your king you have lost. The king can move one square in any direction. Below is an example of the possible moves by a centralized king.

The best position for your king is castled and safely tucked away until after the action has taken the stronger pieces off the board. We will cover castling and placement of the king in end games at a later time. Below is an example of a safe king in the midst of a battle.