Check, Checkmate and Stalemate

How a game is won, and the trap that draws it

The whole game of chess is about one piece, the king. Attack it and it is in check. Leave it no way out and it is checkmate, and the game is won. Leave the other side no move at all, without attacking the king, and it is stalemate: a draw.

Check

A king is in check when an enemy piece attacks it, meaning that piece could capture it on its next move. The player whose king is in check must get out of it at once. On that move nothing else is allowed. Saying "check" out loud is polite, but it is not a rule.

There are three ways out:

Move the king to a square that is not attacked.
Block the attack by putting one of your pieces in between. That only works against a queen, rook or bishop attacking from a distance.
Capture the piece that is giving check.

The black rook on e8 gives check down the file. White has all three answers: the king can step to a green square, the knight or the bishop can block on a blue square, or the bishop can capture the rook.

When there are fewer ways out

A knight's check cannot be blocked, because the knight jumps: you have to move the king or capture the knight. And when two pieces give check at once, which is called a double check, the only way out is to move the king.

You may never leave your king in check

No move is allowed that puts or leaves your own king in check. That also rules out moving a piece that is shielding your king from an attack. A piece stuck like that is pinned.

The white knight on e3 is pinned. If it moved, the rook on e8 would be attacking the white king, so the knight cannot move at all.

Checkmate

If the king is in check and none of the three ways out works, it is checkmate. The game ends at once and the player who gave checkmate wins. The king is never actually captured.

The queen on e7 checks the king from right in front of it and covers every square around it. The king cannot take her, because the white king protects her: checkmate.

Checkmate can come at any time, even in the opening. The fastest possible one arrives on Black's second move, if White weakens the king with 1. f3 and 2. g4: Black's queen goes to h4, and it is over.

Stalemate

Stalemate is the opposite case: the player to move is not in check, but has no legal move at all. Every king move would step into check, and no other piece can move. Stalemate ends the game at once, as a draw.

Stalemate is how a won game gets thrown away. When you are far ahead, make sure every move you make either leaves the other side a legal move or is checkmate. More on the other draws: how a chess game is drawn.

La Reina's School · Unit 3 · Free Check, checkmate, stalemate Attacking the king, escaping an attack, and the trap that ends the game. Learn it on the board with La Reina: open the game and tap La Reina's School.