First, the player moves or drops a piece. Second, the player demotes a piece or promotes a Pawn on the last rank. Dropping With one exception for Pawns, a piece held in hand may be dropped on any empty space. A Pawn may not be dropped on the last rank. Demotion You may demote any of your non-royal pieces, whether it is on the board or held in hand.
Kings never demote.
QuickPawn Promotion A QuickPawn does not immediately promote upon reaching the last rank. Any QuickPawn sitting on the last rank during the second part of a player's turn may be replaced with any non-QuickPawn piece held in hand by the opponent. The exchanged piece changes to the player's side, and the Pawn is removed from the game. For the first part of a move, use usual algebraic notation. The context will make clear what is going on.