Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in chess (and in other boardgames of the chaturanga family) in which one player's king is threatened with capture (in check) and there is no way to meet that threat. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game This article is about two-handed ancient game Chaturanga For the four-handed version played with dice see Chaturaji. In Chess, the King (♔ ♚ is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that it would not be able to avoid capture In games such as Chess, Shogi, and Xiangqi, a check is an immediate threat to capture the king (or general in xiangqi Delivering checkmate is the ultimate goal in chess: a player who is checkmated loses the game (the king is never actually captured – the game ends as soon as the king is checkmated). In practice, most players resign an inevitably lost game before being checkmated. This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order
If a king is under attack but the threat can be met, then the king is said to be in check, but is not in checkmate. If a player is not in check but has no legal move (that is, no valid move that would not put the king in check), the result of the game is stalemate, and the game ends in a draw. Stalemate is a situation in Chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves In Chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game the others being a win for white and a win for black (See Rules of chess. The rules of chess (also known as the laws of chess) are rules governing the play of the game of Chess. )
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The term checkmate is an alteration or Hobson-Jobson of the Persian phrase "Shah Mat" which means, literally, "the King is ambushed" (or "helpless" or "defeated"). Hobson-Jobson is the short (and better-known title of Hobson-Jobson A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases and of Kindred Terms Etymological Historical It does not literally mean "the King is dead", although that is a common misconception. [1]
Moghadam traced the etymology of the word mate. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time It comes from a Persian word mandan, meaning "to remain", which is cognate with the Latin word manco. It means "remained" in the sense of "abandoned" and the formal translation is "surprised", in the military sense of "ambushed" (not in the sense of "astonished"). So the king is in mate when he is ambushed, at a loss, or abandoned to his fate. (Davidson 1981:70-71)
The term checkmate has come to mean in modern parlance an irrefutable, strategic victory. Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's
A checkmate may occur in only two moves with all of the pieces still on the board (as in Fool's mate, in the opening phase of the game), in a middlegame position (as in the Game of the Century between Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer), or after many moves with as few as three pieces in an endgame position. Chess pieces vary in both value and abilities A standard chess match consists of each player having the following equipment 1 king A chessboard is the type of Checkerboard used in the Game of Chess, and consists of 64 squares (eight rows and eight columns arranged in two alternating For the Peter Hammill album of the same name see Fool's Mate (album Fool's mate, also known as the "two-move checkmate" In Chess the word " opening " has two common meanings both of which are discussed in this article The middlegame in Chess refers to the portion of the game that happens immediately after the opening (usually the first move after the procession of moves that The Game of the Century usually refers to a Chess game played between Donald Byrne and 13-year old Bobby Fischer in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament Donald Byrne ( June 12, 1930 – April 8, 1976) was one of the USA 's strongest Chess players during the 1950s and 1960s Robert James "Bobby" Fischer ( March 9 1943 – January 17 2008) was an American -born Chess Grandmaster In Chess, the endgame (or end game or ending) refers to the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board
Two major pieces (queens or rooks) can easily force checkmate on the edge of the board, even without the help of their king. This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order 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 (Pandolfini 1988:18-20). This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's
In the first diagram, White checkmates easily by forcing the black king to the edge a rank at the time or a file at the time:
The checkmate with two queens or with two rooks is similar.
Checkmate can be forced in the center of the board with two rooks and a king, or with a queen, rook, and king, while two queens are able to force checkmate in the center without the help of the king.
Here are the common fundamental checkmates when one side has only his king and the other side has only the minimum material needed to force checkmate, i. In Chess and related games a bare king is a situation in which one player has only the king left on the board while the fifteen other pieces and pawns have been This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order e. (1) one queen, (2) one rook, (3) two bishops on opposite colors, or (4) a bishop and a knight. The queen (♕♛ is the most powerful piece in the game of Chess. A rook, (♖ ♜ borrowed from Persian رخ rokh, Sanskrit rath, "chariot" also known as a castle is a piece in the A bishop (♗♝ is a piece in the Board game of Chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops The knight (♘ ♞ sometimes referred to by players as a 'horse' is a piece in the Game of Chess, representing a Knight (armoured cavalry The king must help in accomplishing all of these checkmates. If the superior side has more material, checkmates are easier.
The checkmate with the queen is the most important, but it is also very easy to achieve. It often occurs after a pawn has queened. Promotion to various pieces Promotion to a queen is the most common in practical play since the queen is the most powerful piece The next most important one is the checkmate with the rook, and it is also very easy to achieve. The checkmates with the two bishops and with a bishop and knight are not nearly as important, since they only occur infrequently. The two bishop checkmate is fairly easy to accomplish, but the bishop and knight checkmate is difficult and requires precision. Technique Since checkmate can only be forced in the corner of the same colour as the squares on which the bishop moves an opponent who is aware of this will try to stay first in
The first two diagrams show representatives of the basic checkmate positions with a queen, which can occur on any edge of the board. The queen (♕♛ is the most powerful piece in the game of Chess. Naturally, the exact position can vary from the diagram. In the first of the checkmate positions, the queen is directly in front of the opposing king and the white king is protecting its queen. In the second checkmate position, the kings are in opposition and the queen mates on the rank (or file) of the king. Direct opposition Direct opposition is when the two kings face each other along a rank or file with only one square in between This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order See Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of how the king and queen versus king mate is achieved.
With the side with the queen to move, checkmate can be forced in at most ten moves from any starting position, with optimal play by both sides, but usually fewer moves are required (Fine & Benko 2003:1-2). Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's (Müller & Lamprecht 2001:16). Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's In positions in which a pawn has just promoted to a queen, at most nine moves are required (Levy & Newborn 1991:144). Promotion to various pieces Promotion to a queen is the most common in practical play since the queen is the most powerful piece Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's In this position, White checkmates by confining the black king to a rectangle and shrinking the rectangle to force the king to the edge of the board:
The winning side must be careful to not stalemate the opposing king. There are two general types of stalemate positions that can occur, which the winning side must avoid (Fine & Benko 2003:2). Stalemate is a situation in Chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's
The first diagram shows the basic checkmate position with a rook, which can occur on any edge of the board. A rook, (♖ ♜ borrowed from Persian رخ rokh, Sanskrit rath, "chariot" also known as a castle is a piece in the 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). The second diagram shows a slightly different position where the kings are not in opposition but the defending king must be in a corner.
With white to move, checkmate can be forced in at most sixteen moves from any starting position (Fine & Benko 2003:2). Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's Again, see Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of how the king and rook versus king mate is achieved.
In this position, White checkmates by confining the black king to a rectangle and shrinking the rectangle to force the king to the edge of the board:
There are two stalemate positions to watch out for: (Fine & Benko 2003:2-3):
Here are the two basic checkmate positions with two bishops (on opposite colors), which can occur in any corner. Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's A bishop (♗♝ is a piece in the Board game of Chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops (Two bishops or more on the same color cannot checkmate. ) The first is a checkmate in the corner. The second one is a checkmate in a side square next to the corner square. With the side with the bishops to move, checkmate can be forced in at most nineteen moves (Müller & Lamprecht 2001:17). Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's
It is not too difficult for two bishops to force checkmate, with the aid of their king. Two principles apply:
In the position from Seirawan, White wins by first forcing the black king to the side of the board, then to a corner, and then checkmates. It can be any side of the board and any corner. The process is:
Note that this is not the shortest forced checkmate from this position. Müller and Lamprecht give a fifteen move solution, however it contains an inaccurate move by Black (according to endgame tablebases) (Müller & Lamprecht 2001:17). An endgame tablebase is a computerized Database of all Chess positions within certain endgames The tablebase reveals the game-theoretical value Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's With optimal play by both sides, checkmate in this position requires seventeen moves. The longer variation is more instructive.
This checkmate is the most difficult to force, because these two pieces cannot form a linear barrier to the enemy king from a distance. Technique Since checkmate can only be forced in the corner of the same colour as the squares on which the bishop moves an opponent who is aware of this will try to stay first in Also, the checkmate can be forced only in a corner that the bishop controls.
Here are the two basic checkmate positions with a bishop and a knight, or the bishop and knight checkmate. A bishop (♗♝ is a piece in the Board game of Chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops The knight (♘ ♞ sometimes referred to by players as a 'horse' is a piece in the Game of Chess, representing a Knight (armoured cavalry Technique Since checkmate can only be forced in the corner of the same colour as the squares on which the bishop moves an opponent who is aware of this will try to stay first in The first position is a checkmate by the bishop, with the king in the corner. The second position is a checkmate by the knight, with the king in a side square next to the corner. Alternatively, the knight can be on c6 or d7 in the second position.
With White to move, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position (Müller & Lamprecht 2001:19), except those in which the black king is initially forking the bishop and knight and it is not possible to defend both. Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's In Chess, a fork is a tactic that uses one piece to attack two or more of the opponent's pieces at the same time hoping to achieve material gain (by capturing However, the mating process requires accurate play, since a few errors could result in a draw either by the fifty move rule or stalemate. Technique Since checkmate can only be forced in the corner of the same colour as the squares on which the bishop moves an opponent who is aware of this will try to stay first in The fifty move rule in Chess states that a player can claim a draw if no capture has been made and no pawn has been moved in the last fifty consecutive Stalemate is a situation in Chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves
It is impossible to force checkmate with a king and two knights, although checkmate positions are possible (see the first diagram). In the second diagram, if Black plays 1. . . Ka8? White can checkmate with 2. Nbc7#, but Black can play 1. . . Kc8 and escape the threat. The defender's task is easy — he simply has to avoid moving into a position in which he can be checkmated on the next move, and he always has another move available in such situations (Speelman, Tisdall & Wade 1993:11). Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's
In the third diagram, White can play 1. Nc6+ Ka8, but now if White plays 2. Nb5 threatening 3. Nc7#, Black is stalemated. Stalemate is a situation in Chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves It is sometimes possible to force checkmate with two knights against a pawn, because in some positions, having a pawn removes this stalemate defence.
Three knights and a king can force checkmate against a lone king. Four knights can force checkmate against a lone king even without their own king's participation. These situations are generally only seen in chess problems, since one or more of the knights must be a promoted piece, and there is very rarely a reason (e. A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using Chess pieces on a Chess board that presents the solver with Promotion to various pieces Promotion to a queen is the most common in practical play since the queen is the most powerful piece g. , avoidance of stalemate) to promote a pawn to anything other than a queen (see underpromotion). Promotion to various pieces Promotion to a queen is the most common in practical play since the queen is the most powerful piece
Under some circumstances, two knights and a king can force checkmate against a king and pawn (or rarely more pawns). The winning plan, quite difficult to execute in practice, is to blockade the enemy pawn(s) with one of the knights, maneuver the enemy king into a stalemated position, then bring the other knight over to checkmate. (See Two knights endgame. Two knights can not force checkmate Troitzky line Examples This diagram shows an example of how having the pawn makes things worse for Black (here )
In some rare positions it is possible to force checkmate with a king and bishop versus a king and pawn or a king and knight versus a king and pawn.
In the diagram showing Stamma's mate (named for Philipp Stamma), White to move wins (Emms 2004:122):
White also wins if Black is to move first:
This checkmate has occurred in actual games, see the game Nogueiras-Gongora [1] from the 2001 Cuban Championship, which proceeded
There are also positions in which a king and knight or bishop can checkmate a king and bishop, but checkmate cannot be forced (see the diagrams for some examples). Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in Chess (and in other Boardgames of the Chaturanga family in which one player's Nevertheless, it keeps these material combinations from being ruled a draw because of "insufficient mating material" or "impossibility of checkmate". This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order In Chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game the others being a win for white and a win for black
Some common or notable mating patterns have names of their own. Apart from the aforementioned fool's mate, these include scholar's mate, smothered mate, the back rank mate, Boden's mate, epaulette mate, and Légal's mate (see below). For the Peter Hammill album of the same name see Fool's Mate (album Fool's mate, also known as the "two-move checkmate" In Chess, scholar's mate is the Checkmate which occurs after the moves 1 In Chess, a smothered mate is a Checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded (or smothered In Chess, a back rank checkmate is a Checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along a back rank (that is the row on which the pieces Boden's Mate is a Checkmate pattern in Chess. It is named after Samuel Boden, who delivered the first known example of this mate in Schulder-Boden Epaulette or epaulet mate is in its broadest definition a Checkmate where two parallel retreat squares for a checked king are occupied by his The Légal Trap, Blackburne Trap, also known as Légal Pseudo-Sacrifice and Légal Mate is a Chess opening trap characterized by a
Some opening traps involve an early checkmate. In Chess the word " opening " has two common meanings both of which are discussed in this article These include: