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In the game of 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...
, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can force 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....
 by an unending series of checks. Such a situation typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate
Checkmate

Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured....
, while any other move gives the opponent a chance to win. Perpetual check is no longer one of the 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....
. However, such a situation will eventually result in a draw by either threefold repetition
Threefold repetition

In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move....
 or the fifty-move rule, but usually players agree to a draw
Draw by agreement

In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw . A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw....
 .

Perpetual check can also occur in other chess variant
Chess variant

A chess variant is a game derived from, related to or similar to chess in at least one respect. The difference from chess can include one or more of the following:...
s, although the rules relating to it may be different.






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In the game of 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...
, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can force 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....
 by an unending series of checks. Such a situation typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate
Checkmate

Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured....
, while any other move gives the opponent a chance to win. Perpetual check is no longer one of the 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....
. However, such a situation will eventually result in a draw by either threefold repetition
Threefold repetition

In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move....
 or the fifty-move rule, but usually players agree to a draw
Draw by agreement

In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw . A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw....
 .

Perpetual check can also occur in other chess variant
Chess variant

A chess variant is a game derived from, related to or similar to chess in at least one respect. The difference from chess can include one or more of the following:...
s, although the rules relating to it may be different. For example, giving perpetual check is not allowed (an automatic loss for the giver) in both shogi
Shogi

, in English, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western world chess, chaturanga, Chinese chess, and janggi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan....
 and xiangqi
Xiangqi

Xiangqi is a two-player China board game in the same family as Chess, chaturanga, shogi and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English language....
.

Examples


In this diagram, Black is ahead 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 would normally be a decisive material advantage. But White, to move, can draw by perpetual check:
1. Qc8+ Kh7
2. Qf5+ Kg8 (or 2... Kh8)
3. Qc8+ Kh7
4. Qf5+ g6
5. Qxf7+ Kh8
6. Qf8+ Kh7
7. Qf7+ etc.


Unzicker-Averbakh


In the second diagram, from Unzicker
Wolfgang Unzicker

Wolfgang Unzicker was oneof the strongest Germany chess Grandmaster s from 1945 to about 1970.He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead....
-Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh

Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Russian chess player and author. His father was Germany Jewish, and his ancestors came from Germany and were named Auerbach, meaning "meadow brook." His mother was Russian....
, Stockholm
Stockholm

is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish Government of Sweden, the Parliament of Sweden, and the official residence of the Swedish Monarchy of Sweden....
 Interzonal
Interzonal

Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. They were a stage in the World Chess Championship cycle....
 1952, Black (on move) would soon be forced to give up one of his 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"....
 for White's c-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....
 (to prevent it from promoting
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 ....
 or to capture the promoted 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 ....
 after promotion). He can, however, exploit the weakness of White's kingside pawn structure
Pawn structure

In chess, the pawn structure is the configuration of pawn on the chessboard. Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus largely determines the strategic nature of the position....
 with
1... Rxc7!
2. Qxc7 Ng4! (threatening 3...Qh2#)
3. hxg4 Qf2+
salvaging a draw by threefold repetition with checks on h4 and f2.

Hamppe-Meitner


In the classic game Hamppe-Meitner, Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
 1872, following a series of sacrifices Black forces the game to the position in the diagram, a perpetual check:
16...Bb7+!
17.Kb5 (17.Kxb7?? Kd7 18.Qg4+ Kd6 followed by ...Rhb8#)
17...Ba6+
18.Kc6 (18.Ka4?? Bc4 and 19...b5#)
18...Bb7+ ½-½

Leko-Kramnik


In the game between Peter Leko
Péter Lékó

P?ter L?k? is a Hungarian people chess player. He became a grandmaster in 1994 at the age of 14 years . In the January 2009 F?d?ration Internationale des ?checs list, he has an Elo rating system of 2751, making him number nine in the world, and Hungary's number one....
 and Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik

Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess International Grandmaster. He was Classical World Chess Championship 2000 from 2000 to 2006, and undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007....
 at the 2008 Corus tournament
Corus chess tournament

The Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands....
, Black was able to obtain a draw because of perpetual check:

24... Qb4+
25. Ka2 Qa4+
26. Kb2 Qb4+
27. Kc1 Qa3+
28. Kb1 ½–½

Fischer-Tal


A perpetual check saved a draw for Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal was a Soviet Union-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster , and the eighth World Chess Champion.He was often called "Misha" and also "The magician from Riga" for his daring combinational style....
 against 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....
 in this 1960 game, played in the 14th Chess Olympiad
14th Chess Olympiad

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-76052-0335, Schacholympiade: Tal gegen Fischer .jpgThe 14th Chess Olympiad, organized by the F?d?ration Internationale des ?checs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 26 and November 9, 1960, in Leipzig, East Ger...
, while Tal was the World Champion
World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Both men and women are eligible to contest this title....
. Now Black played 21... Qg4+ and the game was drawn . (After 22. Kh1 then 22... Qf3+ 23. Kg1 Qg4+ forces perpetual check.)

History



The Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games, Volume 1 (1485-1866) includes all recorded games played up to 1800 . The earliest example of perpetual check contained in it is a game played by two unknown players in 1750: N.N.-Unknown, 1750 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 (the rules of castling
Castling

Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rook of the same color. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook, then moving the rook onto the square over which the king crossed....
 not yet having been standardized in their current form, White moved his king to h1 and his rook to f1) Nf6 5.Nc3 Ng4 6.d3 0-0 (Black moved his king to h8 and his rook to f8) 7.Ng5 d6 8.h3 h6 9.Nxf7+ Rxf7 10.Bxf7 Qh4 11.Qf3 Nxf2+ 12.Rxf2 Bxf2 13.Nd5 Nd4 14.Ne7 Nxf3 15.Ng6+ Kh7 ½-½ in light of 16.Nf8+ Kh8 17.Ng6+ etc. The next examples of perpetual check in the book are two games, both ending in perpetual check, played in 1788 between Bowdler and Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor

Fran?ois-Andr? Danican Philidor was a France chess player and composer. He was regarded as the best single chess player of his age , although the title of World Chess Champion was not yet in existence....
, with Philidor giving odds
Chess handicap

A handicap in chess is a way to enable a weaker player to have a chance of winning against a stronger one. There are many kinds of such handicaps, such as List of chess terms#Material odds, extra List of chess terms#Move , extra time on the Game clock, and special conditions ....
 of pawn and move .

A draw by perpetual check used to be in the 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....
 . Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton

Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant....
 gave it as one of six ways to draw a game in The Chess-Player's Handbook . It has since been removed since perpetual check will eventually allow a draw claim by either threefold repetition
Threefold repetition

In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move....
 or the fifty-move rule. If a player demonstrates intent to perform perpetual check, the players usually agree to a draw
Draw by agreement

In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw . A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw....
 .

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....
  • Desperado
  • 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 ....


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