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Checkmate

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Image:Checkmate.jpg
For other uses, see Checkmate (disambiguation).

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 under attack and there is no way to meet that threat; it is a check from which there is no escape. The king is never actually captured — the game ends as soon as the king is checkmated. A player who is checkmated loses the game. Delivering checkmate is the ultimate goal in chess, although not all games end in checkmate. Most players resign before being checkmated, or the game may end in a draw in several ways.

If a king is under attack but the threat can be met (by capturing the checking piece, moving the king to an unattacked square, or interposing a piece between the king and the checking piece unless the checking piece is a knight), 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. (See Rules of chess.)

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[edit] Origin of the word

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"). It does not literally mean "the King is dead", although that is a common misconception.<ref>http://www.goddesschess.com/chessays/shahmatjan.html</ref>

Moghadam traced the etymology of the word mate. 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 1949:70-71)

[edit] Basic checkmates

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Checkmate with queen and rook. The checkmate with two queens or with two rooks is similar.

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.e. (1) one queen, (2) one rook, (3) two bishops on opposite colors, or (4) a bishop and a knight. The king must help in accomplishing all of these checkmates. If the superior side has more material, checkmates are easier. For instance, two rooks, a queen and a rook, or two queens can easily force checkmate without the help of their king. 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 checks the king and the other keeps the king on the edge of the board (Pandolfini 1988:18-20).

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. 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.

Two knights cannot force checkmate against a lone king. However, under some circumstances, two knights and a king can force checkmate against a king and pawn (or rarely 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. Three knights and a king can force checkmate against a lone king, and four knights can do so even without their king's participation. Those situations, which require one or more promoted knights, are almost never seen outside of chess problems.

[edit] Queen

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Checkmate with the queen


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A second checkmate with the queen

These diagrams show representatives of the basic checkmate positions with a queen, which can occur on any edge of the board. Naturally, the exact position can vary from the diagram. With white to move, checkmate can be forced in at most ten moves from any starting position, with optimal play by both sides (Fine and Benko 2003:1). In the first position, the queen is directly in front of the opposing king. In the second position, the kings are in opposition and the queen mates on the rank of the king. See Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of how the king and queen versus king mate is achieved.

[edit] Rook

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Checkmate with the rook


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A second checkmate with the rook


This diagram shows the basic checkmate position with a rook, which can occur on any edge of the board. With white to move, checkmate can be forced in at most sixteen moves from any starting position (Fine and Benko 2003:2). The second diagram shows a slightly different position where the kings are not in opposition but the defending king must be in a corner. Again, see Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of how the king and rook versus king mate is achieved.

[edit] Two bishops

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Checkmate with two bishops

Here are the two basic checkmate positions with two bishops (on opposite colors), which can occur in any corner. (Two bishops 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 and Lamprecht 2001:17).

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A second checkmate with two bishops

It is not too difficult for two bishops to force checkmate, with the aid of their king. Two principles apply:

  • The bishops are best when they are near the center of the board and on adjacent diagonals. This cuts off the opposing king.
  • The king must be used aggressively, in conjunction with the bishops.
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Two bishops (and king) can force checkmate

In the third diagram, 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. In algebraic notation, the process is:

  • 1. Ke2 Ke4 (Black tries to keep his king near the center)
  • 2. Be3 (forcing the king back, which is done often)
  • 2... Ke5
  • 3. Kd3 Kd5
  • 4. Bd4 Ke6
  • 5. Ke4 Kd6 (Black tries a different approach to stay near the center)
  • 6. Bc4 (White has a fine position. The bishops are centralized and the king is active.
  • 6... Kc6 (Black avoids going toward the side)
  • 7. Ke5 Kd7 (Black is trying to avoid the a8 corner)
  • 8. Bd5 (keeping the black king off c6)
  • 8... Kc7
  • 9. Bc5 Kd7
  • 10. Bd6! (an important move that forces the king to the edge of the board)
  • 10... Ke8 (Black is still avoiding the corner)
  • 11. Ke6 (now the black king can't get off the edge of the board)
  • 11... Kd8
  • 12. Bc6 (forcing the king toward the corner)
  • 12... Kc8 (Black's king is confined to c8 and d8. The white king must cover a7 and b7)
  • 13. Kd5 (13. Ke7?? is stalemate)
  • 13...Kd8
  • 14. Kc5 Kc8
  • 15. Kb6 Kd8 (Now White must allow the king to move into the corner)
  • 16. Bc5 Kc8
  • 17. Be7! (an important move that forces the king toward the corner)
  • 17... Kb8
  • 18. Bd7! (the same principle as the previous move)
  • 18... Ka8
  • 19. Bd8 (White must make a move that gives up a tempo. This move is one, along with Bc5, Bf8, Be6, or Ka6.)
  • 19... Kb8
  • 20. Bc7+ Ka8
  • 21. Bc6#, as in the first diagram in this section (Seirawan 2003:5-7).

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 and Lamprecht 2001:17). With optimal play by both sides, checkmate in this position requires seventeen moves. The longer variation is more instructive.

[edit] Bishop and knight

Main article: Bishop and knight checkmate
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A checkmate with a bishop and knight


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A second checkmate with a bishop and knight

This checkmate is the most difficult to force, because these two pieces cannot form a linear barrier to the enemy king from a distance. Also, the checkmate can be forced only in a corner which the bishop controls.

Here are the two basic checkmate positions with a bishop and a knight, or the bishop and knight checkmate. 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 and 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. However, the mating process requires accurate play, since a few errors could result in a draw either by the fifty move rule or stalemate.

[edit] Two knights

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