Chess Basics: Check and Checkmate

Once a chess player is comfortable moving each piece, the next skills they need to master are how to attack their opponent's king (check) and win a game (checkmate). Let's walk through the definitions of check and checkmate and the three ways players can fend off attacks on their own king.

Check

A check is an attack on a king by an enemy piece. Kings are placed in check when an enemy piece reaches a square from which it can capture the king on its next turn. In the position below, the white queen is one move away from capturing the black king, as shown by the red arrow:

When a player's king is in check, they have to respond immediately. It's against the rules to leave the king in danger. 

The ABCs of Getting Out of Check

There are three ways a player can escape a check, and they have to choose one on their next turn. At Silver Knights, we call them the "ABCs":

• Away: Have the king run away from the attack by moving to a square where no enemy pieces can reach him.

• Block: Place a piece in between the king and the checking piece, disrupting the attack.

• Capture: Use a piece--in some cases, even the king himself--to gobble up the piece that delivered the check. 

Let's see how each of these methods could be used in the position below:

To escape the black rook's attack, the white king could run away to any of the four squares indicated by the blue arrows. White could also block the check by moving their rook in between the king and the black rook, as shown by the purple arrow. Their final option would be to capture the black rook with their bishop by following the path marked by the red arrow.