3 VERY SPECIAL WORDS: CHECK, CHECKMATE & STALEMATE!

AFTER A TOUGH and HARD FOUGHT GAME THE POSITION BELOW WAS REACHED...

... WITH WHITE TO PLAY.

An easy win for White - if we remember our three special words, which are:

CHECK - When a piece looks at the Square the King is on.
CHECKMATE - When an enemy piece or pieces not only looks at the square that the King is on but it/they also control the squares around the King. If the player of the King who is attacked is unable to CAPTURE the checking piece (That is to say the piece looking at our King.), BLOCK it or to RUN AWAY then we have a checkmate.
STALEMATE - When the enemy pieces or an enemy piece controls the squares around the King but not the square that the King actually stands upon. That is to say they do not look at the enemy King. This can only happen as long as the King who cannot move does not have any "friends" upon the board who can move. In other words we either need only pawns on the board who cannot move at all or no pawns and no other pieces remaining upon the board other than the King. There could be pieces upon the board - as long as they are pinned to the King - thus they are unable to move.

BLUE BUBBLES SHOW THE SQUARES THE WHITE KING "LOOKS" AT... or RATHER THE SQUARES THAT HE ATTACKS/CONTROLS!

Each King can only move one square at a time - unless of course it uses the special move castling. See a previous posting for coverage of this special move. Not only can the King step onto any of the one squares around him - as long as an enemy piece does not look at them that is - but he can protect his friends that are in this one square bubble that floats around him.

Notice that the White King looks at or attacks all of the squares around him - going in all directions. Each King has a force field that keeps out the enemy King. Because we can never put our own King in check we are unable to use our King - under any circumstance - to give a check to another King. This would break the number one rule of chess! Because for our King to give a check to an enemy King he must step within the other King's "field" and would thus receive a check as well. The two Kings can never ever stand next to each other!

THE BLACK KING HAS A FORCE FIELD TOO!

THE QUEEN IS THE MOST POWERFUL PIECE ON THE CHESS BOARD!

The Queen is the strongest piece on the chess board as she combines the moves of the Rook and the Bishop. Here she can look along Files, Ranks and Diagonals - the three "lines" on a chess board.

As long as she stays inside the "FORCE FIELD" of the White King the White Queen is immune or safe from being captured by the Black King.

STALEMATE!

One careless or hurried move can ruin a win in a game of chess. Here the move Qc7 was played and now the Black King has no liberties or free squares upon which he can move to... but move he must as it is his turn. Because we can never, ever put our King in check the play is now stale. Hence "STALEMATE". This game has now ended in a draw - that is to say it is even Steven!

Stalemate is a kind of DRAW - one of the three possible results in a game of chess. Win, lose or Draw are the three possible results that we can have in a game. Here White played a careless move and gave a mate... but not a checkmate.

The Queen looks at all of the squares all around the Black King but alas the Black King is not attacked or rather being viewed/looked at by the White Queen. He stands on the one square that is not attacked - so he is not in check.

ANYONE HERE ORDER A CHECKMATE?

CHECKMATE - That is how you win chess games!

Let us say that in the diagram up above that instead of the move 1. Qc7 having been played that the move 1. Qb7 was played instead. This too is a mate as all of the squares around the Black King are controlled by the Queen.

Notice how the Queen ALSO attacks, or looks at, the square that the Black King stands upon. So this is a CHECK and MATE which means CHECKMATE! Game over - White won!

We would write that down on a score sheet as "1 - 0" to show that White had won this game.

ALWAYS CHECK ON THE CHECK!

IS IT REALLY A CHECKMATE OR IS IT ONLY A CHECK?

If instead of playing the move 1. Qb7, let us say that the player of the white pieces had instead played the move 1. Qa7 check!

This is only a check... and not a checkmate. Why?

After the move 1. ...Kxa7! The King has captured the White Queen! So this was only a check and not a checkmate because the Queen could be captured. Now this game is over because it is a draw by TWO KINGS! This is also known as a DRAW by INSUFFICIENT MATERIAL as well.

The reason why the Black King could capture the White Queen was because she was outside the force field of the White King!

So to get the checkmate as the player of the White pieces - in order for you to win the game - you need to keep the Queen inside of the White King's forcefield and she needs to land on the b7 square! There she is safe from capture by the Black King and she controls all the squares around the Black King - hence the "mate" - and she "checks" or attacks/looks at the square the Black King actually stands upon. Checkmate! Game over rover!! Do you have time for another game?

Enjoy the lessons! - Chess Coach Sean Tobin.