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Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in chess
Chess

Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two Player . Sometimes called Western chess or international chess to distinguish it from History of chess and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older...
 (and in other boardgames of the chaturanga
Chaturanga

! colspan="2" bgcolor=#ccccff | Chaturanga pieces|-| || Raja |-| || Mantri or Senapati |-| || Iratham |-| || Yaanei |-| || Kutharei |-...
 family) in which one player's king
King (chess)

In chess, the King is the most important chess piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture ....
 is threatened with capture (in check) and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured. Delivering checkmate is the ultimate goal in chess: a player who is checkmated loses the game (the king is never actually captured – the game ends as soon as the king is checkmated because checkmate leaves the defensive player with no legal moves
Rules of chess

The rules of chess are rules governing the play of the game of chess. While the exact origins of chess are unclear, the modern rules first took form in Italy during the 16th century....
).






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Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in chess
Chess

Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two Player . Sometimes called Western chess or international chess to distinguish it from History of chess and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older...
 (and in other boardgames of the chaturanga
Chaturanga

! colspan="2" bgcolor=#ccccff | Chaturanga pieces|-| || Raja |-| || Mantri or Senapati |-| || Iratham |-| || Yaanei |-| || Kutharei |-...
 family) in which one player's king
King (chess)

In chess, the King is the most important chess piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture ....
 is threatened with capture (in check) and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured. Delivering checkmate is the ultimate goal in chess: a player who is checkmated loses the game (the king is never actually captured – the game ends as soon as the king is checkmated because checkmate leaves the defensive player with no legal moves
Rules of chess

The rules of chess are rules governing the play of the game of chess. While the exact origins of chess are unclear, the modern rules first took form in Italy during the 16th century....
). In practice, most players resign an inevitably lost game before being checkmated.

If a king is under attack but the threat can be met, then the king is said to be in check, but is not in checkmate. If a player is not in check but has no legal move (that is, every possible move would put the king in check), the result of the game is stalemate
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
, and the game ends in a draw
Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game, the others being a win for White and a win for Black . Traditionally, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser....
 (but in other variants, it is a loss for the stalemated player). (See rules of chess
Rules of chess

The rules of chess are rules governing the play of the game of chess. While the exact origins of chess are unclear, the modern rules first took form in Italy during the 16th century....
.)

A checkmating move is denoted in algebraic notation
Algebraic notation

Algebraic notation can mean:* In mathematics and computers, infix notation, the practice of representing a binary operator and operands with the operator between the two operands ...
 with the hash symbol (#) – for example, 34.Qh8# or by "++". (The symbol "++" is sometimes used to indicate double check
Double check

In chess, a double check is a check delivered by two pieces at the same time.The most common form of one check involves one piece moving to deliver check, at the same time revealing a discovered check from a piece behind ....
.)

Origin of the word

The term checkmate is an alteration or Hobson-Jobson
Hobson-Jobson

Hobson-Jobson is the short title of Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive, a historical dictionary of Anglo-Indian words and terms from Indian languages which came into use during the British rule of India....
 of the Persian
Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
 phrase "Shah Mat" which means, literally, "the King is ambushed" (or "helpless" or "defeated"). It does not literally mean "the King is dead", although that is a common misconception, as chess reached Europe via the Islamic world, and Arabic mata ????? means "died", "is dead".

Moghadam traced the etymology
Etymology

Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time.In languages with a long detailed history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time....
 of the word mate. It comes from a Persian verb mandan, meaning "to remain", which is cognate with the Latin word manco. It means "remained" in the sense of "abandoned" and the formal translation is "surprised", in the military sense of "ambushed" (not in the sense of "astonished"). So the king is in mate when he is ambushed, at a loss, or abandoned to his fate .

The term checkmate has come to mean in modern parlance an irrefutable and strategic victory.

Examples



A checkmate may occur in as few as two moves with all of the pieces
Chess piece

Chess pieces vary in both value and abilities. A Rules_of_chess#Initial_setup consists of each player having the following equipment:* 1 King ...
 still on the board
Chessboard

A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the game of chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors . The colors are called "black" and "white" , although the actual colors are usually dark green and buff for boards used in competition, and often natural shades of light and dark woods for home boards....
 (as in Fool's mate
Fool's mate

Fool's mate, also known as the "two-move checkmate," is the quickest possible checkmate in the game of chess. One example consists of the moves...
, in the opening
Chess opening

In chess the word "opening" has two common meanings, both of which are discussed in this article. Chessplayers are so familiar with these two meanings that many books and articles never state the distinction and may switch without notice from one meaning to the other....
 phase of the game), in a middlegame position (as in the Game of the Century between Donald Byrne
Donald Byrne

Donald Byrne was one of the USA's strongest chess players during the 1950s and 1960s.Born in New York City, he won the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1953, was awarded the International Master title by F?d?ration Internationale des ?checs in 1962, and played for or captained five U.S....
 and Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an United States and Icelandic chess Grandmaster , and the eleventh World Chess Champion.As a teenager, Fischer became famous as a chess prodigy....
), or after many moves with as few as three pieces in an endgame position.

Two major pieces


Two major pieces (queens
Queen (chess)

The queen is the most powerful chess piece in the game of chess. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of their first rank next to their King ....
 or rooks
Rook (chess)

A rook is a chess piece in the strategy board game of chess. In the past the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes , and non-players still often call it a "castle"....
) can easily force checkmate on the edge of the board, even without the help of their king. The process is to put the two pieces on adjacent ranks or files and gradually force the king to the side of the board, where one piece keeps the king on the edge of the board while the other delivers checkmate .

In the first diagram, White checkmates easily by forcing the black king to the edge a rank at a time or a file at a time:
1. Qg5+ Kd4
2. Rf4+ Ke3
3. Qg3+ Ke2
4. Rf2+ Ke1
5. Qg1# (second diagram) .
The checkmate with two queens or with two rooks is similar .

Checkmate can be forced even away from the edge of the board with two rooks and a king, or with a queen, rook, and king, while two queens are able to force checkmate in the center without the help of the king.

Basic checkmates

Here are the common fundamental checkmates when one side has only his king
Bare king

In chess and related games, a bare king is a situation in which one player has only the king left on the board, while the fifteen other pieces and pawns have been captured....
 and the other side has only the minimum material needed to force checkmate, i.e. (1) one queen
Queen (chess)

The queen is the most powerful chess piece in the game of chess. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of their first rank next to their King ....
, (2) one rook
Rook (chess)

A rook is a chess piece in the strategy board game of chess. In the past the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes , and non-players still often call it a "castle"....
, (3) two bishops
Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a Chess piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's Knight and the King , the other between the queen's knight and the Queen ....
 on opposite-colored squares, or (4) a bishop and a knight
Knight (chess)

The knight is a chess piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head, leading some to refer to it informally as a "horse"....
. The king must help in accomplishing all of these checkmates. If the superior side has more material, checkmates are easier .

The checkmate with the queen is the most important, but it is also very easy to achieve. It often occurs after a pawn
Pawn (chess)

The pawn is the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen....
 has queened
Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a Pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a Queen , Knight , Rook , or Bishop of the same List of chess terms#Color ....
. The next most important one is the checkmate with the rook, and it is also very easy to achieve. The checkmates with the two bishops and with a bishop and knight are not nearly as important, since they only occur infrequently. The two bishop checkmate is fairly easy to accomplish, but the bishop and knight checkmate
Bishop and knight checkmate

The bishop and knight checkmate in chess is the checkmate of a bare king king which can be forced by a bishop, knight, and king. With perfect play, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position where the defender cannot immediately win one of the pieces , and the position is not in the "stalemate trap" ....
 is difficult and requires precision.

King and queen



The first two diagrams show representatives of the basic checkmate positions with a queen
Queen (chess)

The queen is the most powerful chess piece in the game of chess. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of their first rank next to their King ....
, which can occur on any edge of the board. Naturally, the exact position can vary from the diagram. In the first of the checkmate positions, the queen is directly in front of the opposing king and the white king is protecting its queen. In the second checkmate position, the kings are in opposition
Opposition (chess)

In chess, opposition is the situation occurring when two king face each other on a rank or file , with only one square in between them. In such a situation, the player not having to move is said to "have the opposition" ....
 and the queen mates on the rank (or file) of the king. See Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of how the king and queen versus king mate is achieved.

With the side with the queen to move, checkmate can be forced in at most ten moves from any starting position, with optimal play by both sides, but usually fewer moves are required . . In positions in which a pawn has just promoted
Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a Pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a Queen , Knight , Rook , or Bishop of the same List of chess terms#Color ....
 to a queen, at most nine moves are required . In this position, White checkmates by confining the black king to a rectangle and shrinking the rectangle to force the king to the edge of the board:
1. Qf6 Kd5
2. Qe7 Kd4
3. Kc2 Kd5
4. Kc3 Kc6
5. Kc4 Kb6
6. Qd7 Ka6
7. Qb5+ Ka7
8. Kc5 Ka8
9. Kc6 Ka7
10. Qb7# .


The superior side must be careful to not stalemate
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
 the opposing king, whereas the defender would like to get into such a position. There are two general types of stalemate positions that can occur, which the winning side must avoid .

King and rook


The first diagram shows the basic checkmate position with a rook
Rook (chess)

A rook is a chess piece in the strategy board game of chess. In the past the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes , and non-players still often call it a "castle"....
, which can occur on any edge of the board. The black king can be on any square on the edge of the board, the white king is in opposition to it, and the rook can check from any square on the rank or file (assuming that it can not be captured). The second diagram shows a slightly different position where the kings are not in opposition but the defending king must be in a corner.

With the side with the rook to move, checkmate can be forced in at most sixteen moves from any starting position . Again, see Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of how the king and rook versus king mate is achieved.

In this position, White checkmates by confining the black king to a rectangle and shrinking the rectangle to force the king to the edge of the board:
1. Kd3+ Kd5
2. Re4 Kd6
3. Kc4! Kc6
4. Re6+ Kc7
5. Kc5 Kd7
6. Kd5 Kc7
7. Rd6 Kb7
8. Rc6 Ka7
9. Kc5 Kb7
10. Kb5 Ka7
11. Rb6 Ka8
12. Kc6 Ka7
13. Kc7 Ka8
14. Ra6# (second checkmate position)


There are two stalemate positions to watch out for: :

King and two bishops



Here are the two basic checkmate positions with two bishops
Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a Chess piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's Knight and the King , the other between the queen's knight and the Queen ....
 (on opposite-colored squares), which can occur in any corner. (Two bishops or more on the same color cannot checkmate.) The first is a checkmate in the corner. The second one is a checkmate in a side square next to the corner square. With the side with the bishops to move, checkmate can be forced in at most nineteen moves .

It is not too difficult for two bishops to force checkmate, with the aid of their king. Two principles apply:
  • The bishops are best when they are near the center of the board and on adjacent diagonals. This cuts off the opposing king.
  • The king must be used aggressively, in conjunction with the bishops.


In the position from Seirawan, White wins by first forcing the black king to the side of the board, then to a corner, and then checkmates. It can be any side of the board and any corner. The process is:
1. Ke2 Ke4 (Black tries to keep his king near the center)
2. Be3 Ke5 (forcing the king back, which is done often)
3. Kd3 Kd5
4. Bd4 Ke6
5. Ke4 Kd6 (Black tries a different approach to stay near the center)
6. Bc4 (White has a fine position. The bishops are centralized and the king is active.)
6... Kc6 (Black avoids going toward the side)
7. Ke5 Kd7 (Black is trying to avoid the a8 corner)
8. Bd5 (keeping the black king off c6)
8... Kc7
9. Bc5 Kd7
10. Bd6! (an important move that forces the king to the edge of the board)
10... Ke8 (Black is still avoiding the corner)
11. Ke6 (now the black king cannot get off the edge of the board)
11... Kd8
12. Bc6 (forcing the king toward the corner)
12... Kc8 (Black's king is confined to c8 and d8. The white king must cover a7 and b7)
13. Kd5 (13. Ke7? is stalemate
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
)
13...Kd8
14. Kc5 Kc8
15. Kb6 Kd8 (Now White must allow the king to move into the corner)
16. Bc5 Kc8
17. Be7! (an important move that forces the king toward the corner)
17... Kb8
18. Bd7! (the same principle as the previous move)
18... Ka8
19. Bd8 (White must make a move that gives up a tempo
Tempo (chess)

In chess, tempo refers to a "turn" or single move. When a player achieves a desired result in one fewer moves, he "gains a tempo" and conversely when he takes one more move than necessary he "loses a tempo." Similarly, when one forces his opponent to expend moves that he would not otherwise have expended, one "gains tempo" because the oppone...
. This move is such a move, along with Bc5, Bf8, Be6, or Ka6.)
19... Kb8
20. Bc7+ Ka8
21. Bc6#, as in the first diagram in this section .


Note that this is not the shortest forced checkmate from this position. Müller and Lamprecht give a fifteen move solution, however it contains an inaccurate move by Black (according to endgame tablebase
Endgame tablebase

An endgame tablebase is a computerized database of all chess positions within certain Chess endgames. The tablebase reveals the game theory value of each position , and how many moves it will take to achieve that result with perfect play....
s) . With optimal play by both sides, checkmate in this position requires seventeen moves. The longer variation is more instructive.

King, bishop and knight



This checkmate is the most difficult to force, because these two pieces cannot form a linear barrier to the enemy king from a distance. Also, the checkmate can be forced only in a corner that the bishop controls.

Here are the two basic checkmate positions with a bishop
Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a Chess piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's Knight and the King , the other between the queen's knight and the Queen ....
 and a knight
Knight (chess)

The knight is a chess piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head, leading some to refer to it informally as a "horse"....
, or the bishop and knight checkmate
Bishop and knight checkmate

The bishop and knight checkmate in chess is the checkmate of a bare king king which can be forced by a bishop, knight, and king. With perfect play, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position where the defender cannot immediately win one of the pieces , and the position is not in the "stalemate trap" ....
. The first position is a checkmate by the bishop, with the king in the corner. The second position is a checkmate by the knight, with the king in a side square next to the corner. Alternatively, the knight can be on c6 or d7 in the second position.

With the side with the bishop and knight to move, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position , except those in which the defending king is initially forking
Fork (chess)

In chess, a fork is a Chess tactic that uses one piece to attack two or more of the opponent's pieces at the same time, hoping to achieve material gain because the opponent can only counter one of the two threats....
 the bishop and knight and it is not possible to defend both. However, the mating process
Bishop and knight checkmate

The bishop and knight checkmate in chess is the checkmate of a bare king king which can be forced by a bishop, knight, and king. With perfect play, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position where the defender cannot immediately win one of the pieces , and the position is not in the "stalemate trap" ....
 requires accurate play, since a few errors could result in a draw
Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game, the others being a win for White and a win for Black . Traditionally, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser....
 either by the fifty-move rule or stalemate
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
.

Opinions differ as to whether or not or not a player should learn this checkmate procedure. James Howell omits the checkmate with two bishops in his book because it rarely occurs but includes the bishop and knight checkmate. Howell says that he has had it three times (always on the defending side) and that it occurs more often than the checkmate with two bishops . On the other hand, Jeremy Silman
Jeremy Silman

Jeremy Silman is an American International Master of chess. He has won the U.S. Open Chess Championship, the American Open, and the National Open....
 includes the checkmate with two bishops but not the bishop plus knight checkmate because he has had it only once and his friend John Watson
John L. Watson

John L. Watson is a chess International Master and author.Watson was born in 1951 and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, Nebraska, and was educated at Brownell-Talbot, Harvard, and the University of California at San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering....
 has never had it . Silman says
...mastering it would take a significant chunk of time. Should the chess hopeful really spend many of his precious hours he's put aside for chess study learning an endgame he will achieve (at most) only once or twice in his lifetime?"


Two knights



It is impossible to force checkmate with a king and two knights, although checkmate positions are possible (see the first diagram). In the second diagram, if Black plays 1... Ka8? White can checkmate with 2. Nbc7#, but Black can play 1... Kc8 and escape the threat. The defender's task is easy — he simply has to avoid moving into a position in which he can be checkmated on the next move, and he always has another move available in such situations .

In the third diagram, White can play 1. Nc6+ Ka8, but now if White plays 2. Nb5 threatening 3. Nc7#, Black is stalemate
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
d. It is sometimes possible to force checkmate with two knights against a pawn, because in some positions, having a pawn removes this stalemate defence.

Under some circumstances, two knights and a king can force checkmate against a king and pawn (or rarely more pawns). The winning plan, quite difficult to execute in practice, is to blockade the enemy pawn(s) with one of the knights, maneuver the enemy king into a stalemated position, then bring the other knight over to checkmate. (See two knights endgame.)

Three knights



Three knights and a king can force checkmate against a lone king within twenty moves . These situations are generally only seen in chess problems, since one or more of the knights must be a promoted piece
Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a Pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a Queen , Knight , Rook , or Bishop of the same List of chess terms#Color ....
, and there is very rarely a reason (e.g., avoidance of stalemate) to promote a pawn to anything other than a queen (see underpromotion).

Rare checkmate positions

In some rare positions it is possible to force checkmate with a king and bishop versus a king and pawn or a king and knight versus a king and pawn.

Stamma's mate



In the diagram showing Stamma's mate (named for Philipp Stamma), White to move wins :
1. Nb4+ Ka1
2. Kc1 a2
3. Nc2#
White also wins if Black is to move first:
1. ... Ka1
2. Nc1 a2
3. Nb3#


This checkmate has occurred in actual games, see the game between Jesus Nogueiras
Jesus Nogueiras

Jesus Nogueiras is a Cuban chess Grandmaster . He was one of the Candidates Tournament in 1985?87. Major tournament victories include winning the Cuban Chess Championship five times the Capablanca Memorial in 1984 and the Torre Memorial in 1997....
 and Maikel Gongora from the 2001 Cuban Championship
Cuban Chess Championship

In the second part of the 19th century, Celso Golmayo Z?pide had been generally accepted as Cuban champion since his 1862 match defeat of F?lix Sicre....
, which proceeded
81. Kc2 Ka1
82. Nc5 Ka2 (if 82... a2 then 83. Nb3#)
83. Nd3 (reaching the position in the first diagram above, with Black to move)
83... Ka1
84. Nc1
Black resigned here, but play would continue:
84... a2
85. Nb3# .



Unusual checkmate positions

There are also positions in which a king and a knight can checkmate a king and a bishop, knight, or rook; or a king and a bishop can checkmate a king with a bishop on the other color of squares, but the checkmate cannot be forced (see the diagrams for some examples). Nevertheless, it keeps these material combinations from being ruled a draw
Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game, the others being a win for White and a win for Black . Traditionally, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser....
 because of "insufficient mating material" or "impossibility of checkmate" under the FIDE rules of chess
Rules of chess

The rules of chess are rules governing the play of the game of chess. While the exact origins of chess are unclear, the modern rules first took form in Italy during the 16th century....
.


Articles on checkmates

  • Bishop and knight checkmate
    Bishop and knight checkmate

    The bishop and knight checkmate in chess is the checkmate of a bare king king which can be forced by a bishop, knight, and king. With perfect play, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position where the defender cannot immediately win one of the pieces , and the position is not in the "stalemate trap" ....
  • Back rank checkmate
    Back rank checkmate

    In chess, a back rank checkmate is a checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along a back Rank in which the mated king is unable to move up the chessboard because the king is blocked by friendly pieces on the second rank....
  • Boden's Mate
    Boden's Mate

    Boden's Mate is a checkmate pattern in chess characterized by bishop on two criss-crossing diagonals , with possible flight squares for the king being occupied by friendly pieces....
  • Checkmates in the opening
    Checkmates in the opening

    In chess, checkmates in the opening are examples of a player being checkmated during the first few moves of the game. Some common or notable mating patterns have names of their own....
  • Epaulette mate
    Epaulette mate

    Epaulette or epaulet mate is, in its broadest definition, a checkmate where two parallel retreat squares for a Check King are occupied by his own pieces, preventing his escape....
  • Fool's mate
    Fool's mate

    Fool's mate, also known as the "two-move checkmate," is the quickest possible checkmate in the game of chess. One example consists of the moves...
  • Ideal mate
    Ideal mate

    In chess, an ideal mate is a checkmate position that is a special form of model mate. While in a model mate, each piece on the mating player's side participates in the mate, an ideal mate involves all the pieces of the mated player's as well, typically by blocking the mated king's field of movement so that it cannot escape....
  • Légal Trap
    Légal Trap

    The L?gal Trap, Blackburne Trap, also known as L?gal Pseudo-Sacrifice and L?gal Mate is a chess opening trap, characterized by a queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice....
  • Model mate
    Model mate

    A model mate is a checkmate position in chess in which the checkmated king and all vacant squares in its field are attacked only once, and squares in the king's field occupied by friendly units are not also attacked by the mating side ....
  • Pure mate
    Pure mate

    A pure mate is a checkmate position in chess in which the mated king and all vacant squares in its field are attacked only once, and squares in the King field occupied by friendly units are not also attacked by the mating side ....
  • Scholar's mate
    Scholar's mate

    In chess, scholar's mate is the checkmate which occurs after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7#. The moves may be played in a different order or with slight variations, but the basic idea ? the queen and bishop combining in an attack on f7 is the same....
  • Smothered mate
    Smothered mate

    In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded by his own pieces....
  • Two knights endgame


See also

  • Rules of chess
    Rules of chess

    The rules of chess are rules governing the play of the game of chess. While the exact origins of chess are unclear, the modern rules first took form in Italy during the 16th century....
  • Check (chess)
  • Chess endgame
  • Chess problem
    Chess problem

    A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a Chess puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved....
  • Chess theory
    Chess theory

    The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the chess opening, Chess middlegame, and Chess endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played....
  • Pawnless chess endgames
    Pawnless chess endgames

    Pawnless chess endgames are chess Chess endgame in which only a few chess piece remain, and none of them are pawn . The basic checkmates are a type of pawnless endgame....


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