However, as seen in later examples, a sacrifice can sometimes succeed where a capture would fail. If Black wishes to save the game, it must give up one of its pawns for safety. This initiates a mating attack on the weak f-pawn since it cannot be defended by any piece except for the king. In this opening, white forces Black's king into an exposed position on the eighth rank by moving its bishop to e5. Before that time, some other forms of checks had appeared in literature but they were not recognized as distinct moves until after Lasker published his book On Chess Play entitled "The Scholar's Mate". The first example of its kind was discovered by Edward Lasker in 1894 and he named it "scholar's mate". A strong player will rarely allow his/her king to be put in such danger. Because it is solely guarded by the king, the f-pawn is regarded as one of the weakest pieces on the chessboard. Instead, the game is usually considered drawn.Ī scholar's mate in chess is a four-move checkmate in which you utilize your white-square bishop and queen in a mating attack on your opponent's f-pawn (f2 if white f7 if black). In these cases, there is no clear winner since there is no way for either side to win. The checker who has checkmated the king is the winner.Ī king can also be in check from outside forces such as war, diplomacy, or insanity (in some variants). Checkmate is decisive: once a king has been checkmated, it cannot save itself by moving away from the threatening pieces. If a king is unable to escape the threat of capture, it is defeated and checkmated. There are several ways for a king to be checked simultaneously: two attacks by different opponents, or one attack by more than one opponent. A check must be cleared before a new move may be made. If a player makes a legal move that causes his or her opponent's king to be captured, then they have won or lost according to whether they made the last legal move.Ī king can be in check from one of its own pieces, or by being attacked directly. If a player is not in check yet has no legal move, the game is a stalemate and finishes in a draw. In chess and other chess-like games, checkmate (commonly reduced to "mate") is a game position under which a player's king is in check (threatened with capture) and there is no way to avert the menace. This means that the only legal move here is d3, forcing the black king off the board with immediate effect. But since it is already trapped on an edge, there's no point in risking further damage by moving to any other square. This is why this type of checkmate is also called the "king's escape".Īnother example scenario: The black king is under attack from three sides. This shows that the best option for the black king is to escape through g3 rather than h3. So, it makes more sense for it to go to g3 where it will be safe from capture for now but will need to move again to continue defending itself. However, if it moves to h3 then the king will be captured on e4 next move anyway. It can escape by moving to either h3 or g3. This article focuses on the defensive aspects of the game.Ī typical example scenario: The black king is under attack from two sides. When Black successfully defends the checkmate, the white queen may become a target of assault. Almost all chess players have succumbed to or given this checkmate at some time in their careers. The four-move checkmate (also known as the scholar's mate) is the most common chess ending. For example, if you know that your opponent has no way of stopping your king from reaching g4, then you can place a piece on g4 so that he/she will make a dangerous move causing the loss of the game.įinally, checks can be used as diversions. For example, if you see that your opponent intends to sacrifice a piece for an advantage, you can stop this attack by simply moving a counter-sacrifice piece into the gap left by the sacrificed piece.Ĭhecks can also be used as traps. Checking is done by moving individual pieces, or groups of pieces, so as not to lose effective opportunities. If one of these attacks can be stopped in time, it helps prevent you being attacked yourself. The purpose of checking is to find out how your opponent plans to attack you by looking at the various possible moves. It is worth mentioning that although these moves are all equivalent from a defensive point of view, only the first three are actually used as checks in actual games because they can be executed quickly and with little risk. Scholar's Mate, Shepherd's Mate, Children's Mate, Barber's Mate, Napoleon's Plan, Shoemaker's Mate, and School Mate are some examples. The 4-move checkmate is called by a different name in several nations and languages.
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