Chess Rules - Check, Checkmate, and Winning the Game

Each player is bound by some special rules, summed up by the famous chess phrases: Check and Checkmate.

The white Rook attacks the black King. This means the black King is in check.

The black king must move out of check. He can't move to a square under attack. The green x's show the only legal moves for the black King.

Check

When a move is made that attacks a King, that King is "in check".

When your King is in check, you must make a move that removes him from check. You can't allow your King to be captured - this is against the rules!

It is illegal to make a move that puts your own King in check. In other words, you can't make a move that allows your own King to be captured.

You can't move your King next to an opposing player's King, as this would put your own King in check.

The black king is in check, but has no way to escape. This means he is in checkmate. White wins the game.

Checkmate and Winning the Game

When you put your opponent's King in check, and there is no legal move that allows him to escape check, that King is in "checkmate".

When you checkmate an opponent's King, you win the game. Checkmate is the objective in chess. Simply put, this is how you win the game.

It is important to realize that the Kings are never actually captured. The game is stopped just before a forced capture of the King has been secured.

Other Ways to Win and Lose

Here are the other common ways the game ends with a win/loss:

• If a player resigns, he willfully decides to give up the struggle, and is declared loser.
• If a player exceedes the time limit, he is declared loser. This depends on the time control (a topic we'll leave to another article).