Checkmate - What is it?

Checkmate occurs when a king is in check and there is no way to get out of check. When a checkmate occurs, the game is over. If you like checklists, a checkmate occures when:

If you would like to study more about check and checkmate, visit the following pages:

Below are a few different checkmates that have occured in past chess games and some explanation as to why they are checkmates:

Example # Board Explained Notation
1
  • This is check, NOT checkmate
  • The knight on b1 can block the check
  • Once the knight blocks, the rook takes it
  • Checkmate is achieved!
 Ra8+ Na3
Rxa3#
2
  • This is checkmate!
  • The king is being checked by the rook on c1
  • The rook can not be captured (defended by queen)
  • The king can not move out of check
  • There is no way to block the rook check
 Rc1#
3
  • This is checkmate!
  • The king is checked by the rook on c6
  • The king has no where to move
  • There is no way to block the check
  • The rook on c6 can not be captured
 Rc6#