Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is a game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player’s king is in check (threatened with capture ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game.
How does a checkmate happen?
A checkmate in chess is a game-ending state in which one player’s king is threatened, and the player cannot move their king out of danger or take the threatening piece. When a player successfully puts their opponent in checkmate, they win the game. In annotated chess, checkmate is indicated with the # symbol.
Where is the checkmate position in a chess game?
The first diagram shows the basic checkmate position with a rook, which can occur on any edge of the board. The black king can be on any square on the edge of the board, the white king is in opposition to it, and the rook can check from any square on the rank or file (assuming that it can not be captured).
Can a black player be in a checkmate position?
In this position, it looks like black might be in checkmate. His King has no safe escape square. But wait, the white Queen is unprotected – black can simply capture the white Queen with his King! In fact, black must capture the Queen, as this is his only legal move. This position is not checkmate.
How do you force checkmate on the edge of the board?
Two major pieces ( queens or rooks) can easily force checkmate on the edge of the board. The process is to put the two pieces on adjacent ranks or files and gradually force the king to the side of the board, where one piece keeps the king on the edge of the board while the other delivers checkmate.
What is an example of a checkmate with two pieces?
Checkmate With Two Major Pieces (Rook and Queen) Our first example uses a queen and rook together to deliver a checkmate. However, this same pattern can be accomplished with any two major pieces. A lone king against the edge of the board is easily checkmated by any two major pieces.
