Check vs Checkmate: The Three Ways to Get Out of Check

Many people who are new to chess play for a while without a clear line between “check” and “checkmate”. Both words are about attacking the enemy king, and they sound alike. But one can happen many times in a game, and the other ends it.

This post checks the difference against the definitions, then goes through the three ways to answer a check, with positions. For the rules I used the FIDE Laws of Chess. The positions are ones I set up myself, and I checked the legal moves in each with a chess program.

What check means

The FIDE Laws say a king is “in check” if it is attacked by one or more of the opponent’s pieces. In plain words, it stands where it could be captured next move.

The side in check must get out of it with the very next move. The Laws say no piece can be moved that will expose its own king to check or leave that king in check. You cannot ignore a check and play something else, and you cannot step your king onto a square the opponent attacks.

By the way, the FIDE Laws have no rule that you must say “check” out loud. Saying it is a habit between friends, and staying silent is not a foul.

What checkmate means

Checkmate is check with no legal move that gets out of it. The side that delivers checkmate wins, and the game ends there. The king is never actually captured.

The common confusion is with stalemate. In both cases the side to move has no legal move, but if the king is not in check, the game is a draw. I covered that in Stalemate Explained.

So whether a position is checkmate comes down to one question: is there any way left to get out of check? There are only three ways.

The three ways to get out of check

1. Move the king. Step it to a square the opponent does not attack.
2. Capture the checking piece. Any piece may capture it, the king included. The king can only capture if no other enemy piece covers that square.
3. Block. Put one of your pieces on a square between the checking piece and your king, so the line is cut.

Here is an example.

Position A: White king on a1, white rook on e1. Black king on e8, black bishop on c5, black knight on f3. Black to move.

The rook on e1 checks the king on e8 straight up the e-file. Black has eight legal moves, and all three ways are there.

• Move: Kd8, Kf8, Kd7 and Kf7
• Capture: Nxe1, the knight on f3 takes the rook
• Block: Be7, Be3 and Ne5

Nxe1 wins a whole rook, so it is clearly best, but any of the eight gets Black out of check. I think the habit of looking for all three in turn makes it much harder to miss the best defence.

Some checks cannot be blocked. A knight jumps, so there is no square in between. A check from a piece right next to the king has no square in between either. Then you can only move the king or capture.

A capture that is not allowed

Sometimes a piece stands where it could capture, and still cannot. That happens when moving it would put its own king in check. This is called a pin.

Position B: White king on a1, white bishop on c3, white rook on g4. Black king on g7, black knight on e5. Black to move.

The rook on g4 checks along the g-file. The knight on e5 can reach g4, so it looks as if it can take the rook. It could also jump to g6 and block. But the knight stands on the diagonal between the bishop on c3 and the king on g7. If it moves, the bishop’s line reaches the king.

So in this position Black has only the six king moves. Without the bishop on c3, Nxg4 and Ng6 would both be legal. When you look for a defence, also check that the piece you want to capture or block with is actually free to move.

Double check: the king must move

A check from two pieces at once is a double check. Most often one piece moves and gives check, and at the same time it opens the line of a piece behind it.

Position C: White king on h1, white rook on e1, white knight on e5. Black king on e8, black bishop on c5, black pawn on g7. White to move.

White plays Nf6+. The knight on f6 checks e8, and with the e-file now open, the rook on e1 checks too.

The g7 pawn can capture on f6, but the rook’s check would remain. The bishop could go to e7 to block the rook, but the knight’s check would remain. No single capture or block can stop two checks, so the king must move. Black’s only legal moves here are Kd8, Kf8 and Kf7. If the king had no square, a double check would simply be checkmate.

When none of the three works

Position D: White king on g1, white rook on e8. Black king on g8, black pawns on f7, g7 and h7. Black to move.

The rook on e8 checks along the 8th rank. Black’s own pawns block the king’s way forward, and the rook covers f8 and h8. There is no square to go to. No black piece can capture the rook. No black piece can reach f8 to block. None of the three works, so it is checkmate. This pattern on the back rank is called a back-rank mate, and I mentioned it in Chess checkmate puzzles for beginners.

Add a single black bishop on b4 and the result changes. The bishop can go from b4 to f8 and block, so Bf8 holds. It is no longer checkmate. One extra defending piece is enough to change the verdict.

You cannot castle out of check

One more rule beginners sometimes get wrong: you cannot castle while your king is in check. The FIDE Laws say castling is prevented for the moment if the square the king stands on, crosses or lands on is attacked. When you are in check, use one of the three ways instead.

Explaining it to children

With children, I think it helps to name the three ways in short words: run, take, block. When their king is in check, they say the three words in that order and look for each one. If none is there, that is checkmate.

When they are the ones giving check, they ask the same three questions from the other side. Can the king run? Can my piece be taken? Can something block? If all three answers are no, the move is checkmate. I believe the difference between check and checkmate settles in through repeating these three questions dozens of times, more than through any definition.

Using it in mate puzzles

The same three questions work directly when you solve mate puzzles. For any checking move you consider, count the black king’s escape squares, the black pieces that can capture the checker, and the black pieces that can block. If even one remains, the move does not mate yet.

When the answer is a quiet move that is not a check, I find it easier to read it as a move that prepares the next check, so that after any black reply all three ways will be gone. How to read mate puzzles is in Chess checkmate puzzles for beginners, and how to drive the king with king and queen is in How to Checkmate with King and Queen.

Daily mate practice

Chess365 is a checkmate puzzle app with 1,000 puzzles each of mate in 2, 3, 4 and 5. You always play White, you can make any legal move, and Black answers with the most stubborn defence. Black picks whichever of the three ways holds out longest, so if your line misses a defence, the board shows you the escape.

On the board, a king in check is shown in red. The move list uses standard algebraic notation, with “+” after a check and “#” after checkmate. If you fail to mate, you can retry up to three times.

How to use the app is in Getting Started with Chess365. If you want to learn the piece moves and the rules of chess first, StudyX Mindsports has beginner lessons.