Check, Checkmate & Stalemate

A king is in check when it is attacked by an enemy piece. Check is not the end of the game — you must simply respond on your next move in one of three ways: move the king to a safe square, block the attack with another piece, or capture the attacking piece. You are not allowed to make any move that leaves your own king in check.

Checkmate ends the game. It happens when a king is in check and there is no legal move to escape it — the king cannot move to safety, the check cannot be blocked, and the attacker cannot be captured. The player who delivers checkmate wins immediately.

Stalemate is a draw. It occurs when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move available. Because the rules require a move and none is legal, the game ends in a tie. Stalemate is a vital defensive resource — a losing player can sometimes save a draw by forcing it, so always give your opponent a legal move when you are winning.

Besides stalemate, a game is drawn by:

• Agreement — both players agree to a draw.
• Threefold repetition — the same position occurs three times.
• The 50-move rule — 50 consecutive moves by each side with no capture and no pawn move.
• Insufficient material — neither side has enough pieces to checkmate (for example, king vs king).

In practice most games end before checkmate. A player may resign when the position is hopeless, or lose on time if playing with a clock and their time runs out (provided the opponent has enough material to mate). See the full rules of chess for these details.