Mastering Chess: How to Checkmate with Just Your King

Curious about how to checkmate in chess with just the king? This article covers everything you need to know about achieving a checkmate using only the king.

We explore the basic rules of chess and the different types of chess pieces, focusing on the role of the king and what happens when it is in check. Learn the steps to checkmate with the king alone and possible scenarios for achieving this victory.

We also discuss how to defend against a checkmate with the king. Let’s dive in!

What Is Checkmate in Chess?

Checkmate is a critical goal in chess. It describes a situation in which a player’s king is in a position that makes it impossible to move them in a way that avoids immediate capture as the next move of their opponent. The checkmated player will become the losing player unless the opposing player makes an error, which to be positive is how it may often end.

The official FIDE rules of chess define three different types of checkmates. These are not just academic but have implications in closed or tournament games. These are universal definitions and are outlined by FIDE as follows:

• Checkmate: The game is over immediately. This immediately ends the game without being able to reverse the consequence.
• Announced checkmate: A checkmate over multiple moves, such as the well-known smothered mate, in which the checkmated king needs further shielding before being checkmated again. An announced checkmate is made evident not merely by the threatened capture of the king, but by one pawn or piece preparing to checkmate him, while the other pawns and pieces are prepared to intercept any enemy pieces that may attempt to prevent this check from being given or to capture the checking pieces.
• Defined checkmate: One or both players connect only with their kings, which are immediately placed in such a position of opposing check that neither player can escape it whatever their move.

In more useful words, a defined checkmate is a checkmate in one, i.e., on this move, while an announced checkmate is a checkmate that cannot be avoided in the next move but must be set up.

How To Checkmate With King?

To checkmate in chess with just a king, you need to corner the enemy king. This can be done as soon as the opposing king is confirmed to be in a corner and there is no way to move from it. There are six ways to get the opposing king into a corner, each demonstrated in this section with checkmates using only kings on a shat board (and not restricted to just king and pawn). Due to the opposite corners, three involve the long route of first chasing the king to the shorter side and then using the short/more direct route to the opposite corner.

What Are The Basic Rules Of Chess?

The basic rules of chess include the following:

1. Rows and columns called ranks and files organize the 64 squares on the board.
2. The board has a white square in the right corner for each player’s far right square of the back row which is known as H1 for white and H8 for black.
3. Players need to learn the rules for the movement of their six different pieces. These movements are pawns two positions up if moved from the starting position have the option of one or two spaces forward only and the ability to capture diagonally. Knights can move two spaces in a rank then one in a file and can jump over other pieces in their path. Bishops move diagonally as many spaces as they like. Rooks and queens can move vertically or horizontally. The Royal piece known as the king marches to the death.
4. The king cannot be put into a position where he could be attacked by another chess piece. The king would be in a position to be taken if they are touching the field on the board and are in actual danger.
5. Basic rules of chess include understanding check, checkmate, stalemate (draws).
6. Players can hand over the game by executing a castling maneuver where any pair of rook and king is moved together. This can only be done if neither of the pieces have moved before.
7. The pawn can be ‘en passant’ taken by opponents if they are moved two steps forward and the first move of the pawn has it make contact against the opponent.
8. If a player’s pawn makes it to the opposing player’s final rank they can convert it to any other piece except for the king.

What Are The Different Types Of Chess Pieces?

The different types of chess pieces are named as follows, in accordance with FIDE standards: one king for each side, one queen for each side, two rooks for each side, two knights for each side, two bishops for each side, and eight pawns for each side. All except the pawns are known as the royal pieces.

What Is The Role Of King In Chess?

The role of the king in chess is to support the checkmating effort of the queen (and any remaining minor pieces). This means the king tours to support both active and potential future threats to the opponent’s king. The king plays an indirect role in creating an environment of tactical risk and boardsquared control which shortens the number of moves required to achieve a checkmate.

Can The King Move Anywhere On The Board?

The King can move anywhere on the board as long as moving one or more squares in the requested direction will not leave the King in a position where it could potentially fall to another piece the next turn. This could be a problem if the newly moved King ends up in the line of fire of an opponent’s piece and is unprotected by its own pieces. All other pieces besides the King cannot move as they wish but are limited by special moving properties outlined in the rules of chess.

It should be noted that there is an exception mentioned in the article Under the Hood: True Endgame Strategy of the website ocdrift.com. When answering the question Can the King Move Anywhere? the author Matthew explains how the King and Rook can perform a swapped move called castling. The Kingside Castling is method where the King moves two spaces to the right while the Rook moves to the left, the Queenside Castling is when they move in the opposite direction, this can only be done if neither piece was moved before and the opponent’s pieces are not in a position to i.e. attack them. A player simply points their King towards the piece of interest and tries it. If the swapped piece can legally move the old King’s direction, castling is not possible. If the King dies first that also takes away the possibility of casting.

What Happens When The King Is In Check?

In chess, a king is in check when it is directly attacked by another piece. In such a case, the player whose king is in check must get the king out of that direct line of attack by moving him, capturing the threat to the king, or placing a piece (own piece or opponent piece) between the king and the opponent’s piece threatening the king’s position (unless the opponent piece is able to capture it). If the move is invalid, the king is checkmated or mated.

During check, the player’s other moves are limited according to the rules so long as the king is in check, meaning there is often minimal time to get the king to safety if the opponent is determined to effect the checkmate. In particular, the opponent will require an additional threat to the safety of the king or the threatened attacking piece, or to control squares where the king can move towards safety. A checkmate with a king is almost always finalized when subsection e of rule 9 of the FIDE chess rules states a player who has one of his pieces placed between his king and the attacking piece is not in check.

How To Checkmate With Just The King?

You can checkmate with just the king by restricting your opponent’s king to a single square. When your opponent’s king no longer has legal moves but is not under threat, a stalemate occurs which ends the game in a draw.

Unlike an ordinary checkmate situation, there is no way for the attacking opponent to guarantee the win by using their remaining resources until the stalemate occurs. When this situation happens, the game ends immediately no matter if a pawn may be promoted to get a checkmate on the next move. Gaining checkmate with just the king is difficult but is a showy way to demonstrate the strategy of a chess player and can be achieved given the right circumstances.

What Are The Steps To Checkmate With King?

The steps to checkmate with just a king on each side are analogous to the steps for pawn vs pawn endgames in chess. Making sure your opponent’s king cannot reach the back rank is the key to checkmating your opponent according to Blair’s Law. According to the endgame theory, a key square is the square that must be controlled by either of the opponents kings in order to win the endgame. The key squares for a king vs king endgame change depending on which vertical file the pawn is on.

In general, the attacking king should head to the key square corresponding to the side of the board where their pawn is. If their pawn is on the king’s side, they should head to the key square on the side where the opponent’s pawn is. Most pawn vs pawn endgames have a clear key square that the kings must control or at least fight for control over. If either king is allowed to intrude in the key square, in most situations the end result will be a draw. This is also true of king vs king endgames. Awareness of Blair’s Law will help in the checkmating process with a king. The game will vary in length depending on how quickly each side can control the key squares.

Can The King Checkmate Alone?

The King checkmate alone cannot happen in official chess play. The 50-move rule states that if 50 successive moves are made by each player without a pawn being moved or a piece captured, this specific configuration is the easiest example of a non-progressing position and are more likely to happen. The game is then considered a draw.

In addition, there are thrilling checkmates possible with only one king versus a king and two bishops (bishop’s pair). King, Bishop, and King against King and Bishop are often put forward as the likeliest position. A widely known example is the Bodens Mate. All pieces for the side with two bishops are exchanged, volatility enables checkmate by surrounding the opposing king and using the bishops as aids for blockades.

What Are The Possible Scenarios For Checkmate With King?

There are four possible scenarios for checkmate with a queen, rook, two knights, or two bishops, which are any of the following four-center squares became part of the checkmated King’s square of movement.

1. Main sections are called by the color (Short notation)
• K-side: Uppercase KG, BD, S, QS = shorter castle, white side of the board (h1, h2, f1, g1)
• Q-side: Lowercase kg, bd, s, qs = queenside, d3/h6/a4, a5, c4, e3
2. Opposite squares are called by the movement, stress, or check locations (Long notation)
• Opposite Central Squares: White plans to form bishops on opposite central squares – Be3/Bb5, Bb3/Be2
• Central Squares under stress and attack: Having the king on either D4/E4 with a surprisingly successful combination of blocked Rooks and Queens and one pawn attack on the Castle (short notation)
• Under Examination between Opposite sides: Queen a3, e6, e4, a6, Right side Rook at 7th row, Left side Rook at 4th. Strong transport of Queens on b1/h8 or h8/b1. This type of checkmate goal is less common.

Checkmate With King And Queen

A King and Queen vs. King mate is the most common way to checkmate a lone king. A king and queen mate can be accomplished with one of the kings only occupying part of one of the board’s edges. The mated man is corralled to a corner where the queen itself delivers the final killing move. Kings are able to check the enemy king while the queen moves to occupy lateral and back squares to help control the game and position the hostile king into mating squares.

In the first example below, we see the mated man in the bottom right corner against a white queen, and in the second, the mated man is trapped in the top left corner against a black king (Karjakin – Carlsen). When the lone king is in the center, move your own king towards the right or left side. Move (not jump) the enemy king to the edge of the board, with your king positioned in support behind its own pawns.

Checkmate With King And Rook

The following FEN notation shows that White’s King has checkmated Black with the help of a Rook. The Black King is trapped between the edge of the board, White’s king, and White’s rook. It is White’s move, but whichever of White’s pieces moves avoids a stalemate.
Answer: FEN 8/2k5/6RK/8/3K4/8/8/8 w – – 0 1

Checkmate With King And Two Bishops

King and two bishops checkmate is only theoretically possible because of the fifty-move rule, which means a player can claim a draw if no capture has been made and no pawn has been moved for fifty consecutive moves.

With perfect play by both sides, a player with a king and two bishops has a forced corridor mate in 35 moves or less, but only if the defending side does not make any king moves during that time. It is important to note that if the player with king and two bishops is too slow, the defending side may opt to move the king and the player will be unable to close the corridor before the fifty-move rule concludes.

Thus, checkmate with king and two bishops is not realistically possible under normal tournament conditions.

Checkmate With King And Knight

A checkmate with king and knight against king is like the king and bishop checkmate. Anyone who believes that checkmate with a king and knight is difficult will take it back after trying it. In a practice game against a computer, you will easily get a chance for checkmate through a discovered attack. Simply start making the use of discover checks with a knight. It may take a little more than fifty moves, but in most cases, it will end in a checkmate with a king and knight.

Checkmate With King And Two Knights

Since the limited number of possible legal moves per turn for the black king will be met with mate, having only a king and two knights cannot force checkmate positions. At over-the-board play such a situation is considered to be a draw. That said, under the 3-move draw rule in standard chess, if the black player solves the checkmate position in 3 moves, then the white player will not have the figures to bring the game to a draw. This is also a circumstance that has arisen so few times in chess history that there have been very few publicized games using it.

Checkmate With King And Bishop And Knight

Bishop and Knight versus King checkmate is the most complex in that it requires the most moves to achieve and the most difficult to attain due to the two minor pieces effectively blocking the friendly king. This 2020 game between two engines is an example of this mating pattern, leading to something like the diagram.

Both minor pieces need to cooperate and start driving the enemy king by controlling squares horizontally and vertically from within its 8-by-8 square. The keys to remember are that you are driving the king to the square where it will be mated, that you are in control of your king and blocking its exit, and that the enemy king must not be able to put your king into the position where his escape would be possible.

Once the enemy king is driven to a corner outside of the square, it can then be pushed to the edge of the board, and then finally driven to the C1 or H1 corner and mated. Bishop and Knight versus King checkmate is again a difficult pawnless checkmate which has only been successfully achieved three times during the 2019 European Team Chess Championships.

This extremely rare situation was achieved between David Navara of the Czech Republic and Stefan Pogosyan of Armenia, illustrating the difficult task of moving the enemy king in a coordinated fashion without any way to make important threats. If the defending king is in the corner of an 8 by 8 square with colors matching the controlling bishop, a bishop is used to provide squares of control beyond the last row. Almost all other squares on the board within a square from the friendly king are guarded by the knight in concert with the defensive king.

How To Defend Against A Checkmate With King?

To defend against a checkmate with a king will require at least two additional pieces or a lot of luck. Blocking the checks will give the king time to escape, so if during a checkmate scenario a block is possible, then use it immediately. Having other pieces to help protect is important. Checkmate is addressed in chess rules, so when the move is illegal, the king and checkmated player are essentially protected until their next move.

Move The King Away

Move the king away: if your opponent’s king is guarding the file, rank, or diagonals that your king needs to travel along to control the square you are attacking, then you have the option of moving your king to a square that requires the enemy king to give up control over the file, rank, or diagonal.

A good example of this is the following position where the white king starts on c8: White’s only winning move is 1. Kb6 when the enemy king moves back towards the a-file and White’s king can then approach the enemy king to capture the base pawn. Pursuing the enemy king on a7 would result in stalemate.

In this second example, White is again in the inferior position where his pawn majority on the right is useless, and instead secures the passed pawn on the a file for his eventual victory.

White King Moves (black to move will allow perpetual or lose quickly but black has absolute defense during the whole pattern). White pawn advances.

Block The Attack

Blocking the attack is done by placing one’s own piece, usually a bishop or a knight, adjacent to your own king in order to close off the avenue the opposing checkmating piece could use. The attacking piece can sometimes be blocked by the own piece that is under threat, but this of course removes the blocking piece from the game and is the least ideal choice.

Blocking is an excellent strategic option if there are no additional areas in the blocking/support triangle that can be accessed by the king without be threatened by another piece. Easy examples of this include scenarios where the non-royal blocking piece has its avenue to that square covered by other enemy pieces. So if there is no way for the attacking piece to attempt to fork two of the opposing pieces around the protected piece or to cover the blocking pieces avenue to the king, this is the ideal time to deploy the block method of avoiding checkmate.

Capture The Attacking Piece

When a king is threatened by an attacking piece, the next method to escape checkmate is to simply capture the attacking piece. Sometimes capturing the attacking piece is not possible, but when the attacking piece is poorly protected, moving the king to capture the piece creates an opportunity for escape.

In the following position, either White’s rook, White’s pawn, or White’s king can get out of a checkmate.

1. White Rook (a1-d1): 1.Rf1.
2. White Pawn (c2 or e2): 2. Pxe2 (or c2).
3. White King (g2 or f1): 3.Kg2 (or Ke1).

So long as White has knowledge of these opportunities to escape checkmate, they are in control of the game’s outcome. In this case, escape to the middle may be the best choice.

Use Another Piece To Defend

How another piece of equal or lesser value than the opponent’s attacking piece can defend. This is another scenario when the attacking piece has invaded squares around the opponent’s king, presenting the prospect of a possible checkmate. In the following position, the black rook is attempting to force the white king against the back wall of the board by threatening a checkmate in spite of the following counter from white.

1. g2-g3 Rook now forces a response from white as the King cannot move to 3 of the center squares.
2. Wk to c3 Kc3 cannot defend against a checkmate or land on b3 next move in a single turn from current position
3. g4-g5 The square on the left was open but now has a white pawn defending it, The white king (g6) can no longer move here because its own pawn blocks it, so it falls once again to the rook (c1) to attack the weak point of the black position
4. h8=f7 Another pawn to defend the weak square from imminent checkmate as the rook simply lands on f7 and closes off the supposed pathway to the king (g8)

Learning this tread with me would be crucial in a winning game for white when black has already burnt most of its pieces in ways, and the white king is the only one left challenging the black king.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Checkmate in Chess With King?

What is checkmate in chess?

Checkmate is a situation in chess where a player’s king is in a position where it is under attack and cannot escape capture.

How to Checkmate in Chess With King?

Can a player win with just a king on the board?

Yes, it is possible to win a game of chess with only a king. However, it requires some strategic moves and the cooperation of the opponent.

How to Checkmate in Chess With King?

How does a king checkmate an opponent’s king?

A king can checkmate an opponent’s king by placing it in a position where it is under attack and cannot escape capture, while also being protected by its own pieces.

How to Checkmate in Chess With King?

How do you checkmate with just a king and a queen?

To checkmate with a king and a queen, you must use the queen to control the center of the board and force the opponent’s king to a corner where it can be captured by the king.

How to Checkmate in Chess With King?

Can a king checkmate an opponent’s king without any help from other pieces?

No, a king cannot checkmate an opponent’s king without the help of other pieces. It requires the cooperation of at least one other piece to trap the opponent’s king.

How to Checkmate in Chess With King?

What is the quickest way to checkmate with just a king and a pawn?

The quickest way to checkmate with a king and a pawn is to promote the pawn to a queen and use it to attack and capture the opponent’s king.