Mastering the Check-in Chess: Tips and Tricks for Beginners
Chess is a game of strategy, skill, and anticipation. One key move in chess is the check, where a player’s king is threatened by the opponent.
We explore different ways to check in chess, such as attacking the opponent’s king, blocking escape routes, setting up forks, using pins, and sacrificing pieces.
We also discuss what happens after a check, how to get out of check, and how to avoid being checked altogether.
Enhance your chess game by following these strategies!
Contents
Key Takeaways:
What Is a Check in Chess?
A check in chess is a situation that arises during the game in which a king is under attack, but the attack can be blocked or defended, removing the king from danger. The checked player must move their king (or otherwise defend their king directly) without putting themselves into check. If there are no legal moves to remove the king from danger, the check results in a checkmate, which ends the game.
How to Check in Chess?
You check in Chess by moving one of your pieces such that it will attack the opponent’s king on the next turn. According to the FIDE rules of chess, no piece may move except with the object of attacking the opponent’s king. You achieve checkmate in the following way:
- Move a piece so that it threatens the opponent’s king
- The player under check has no move to remove his king from attack (The king cannot move out of check but there are a few ways to block the attack).
- The opponent cannot remove the attacking piece (capture the threatening piece)
Moving a Piece to Attack the Opponent’s King
Moving a piece to attack the opponent’s king is a form of check. This is innate and the easiest way of performing a check is to scroll through possible positions of your pieces within the limitations of the game.
The key to finding a checkmate is training your brain to think in terms of ‘what ifs’. When you are considering all the possible next moves to make, stop at the ones that place the opponent’s king in immediate danger. It is important not just to look for any way to place a king in check, but it is more about examining specific pieces for specific possible moves. ‘What if I move that piece there, what happens then?’ Playing through a series of ‘what ifs’ is what allows this step of the chess in check and mate process to work. Keep in mind, the act of moving a piece to check is important in the game but does not necessarily mean that is the best move for that specific situation. As previously discussed, the best move for the specific situation should be decided before determining whether you have placed the opponent’s king in check. If after weighing this against all alternative courses of action, you find that you have placed their king in check, make your move.
Using a Piece to Block the Opponent’s King’s Escape Route
The second method is a bit complex and usually requires that you are several moves into the endgame. This opponent’s king is a position in which your king can move to a square of three squares and your opponent can move to three squares. Move your king’s rook to a square two squares removed from the opponent’s king starting position and check your opponent’s king. You must also have at least one piece blocking the opponent’s king’s path to its nearest unoccupied square one away from its square.
Setting Up a Fork to Check the Opponent’s King
In chess terminology, a fork is a tactical maneuver in which a single piece makes two or more possible threats at once. If you have a situation where you can fork a king and another piece, such that the king cannot move out of danger, you will force the opponent to either move the non-royal unit in order to escape check, or cause a checkmate in the next turn.
This illustration of the white queen threatening the king and the opponent’s rook does not exactly fit the fork definition as the rook is not a piece that threatens the white queen in the current setup. However, just as in the example of a fork in checkers with the king and a random piece, wherever there is a piece that is able to threaten a piece and the opponent’s king in a single move, the opponent will be forced to decide which piece to save – the king or the threatened non-king piece. This, in turn, may put the opponent’s king in a position where it is vulnerable to a direct check. Using forks to set up checkmates is a decisive chess tactic that fits the strategy of checking the opponent’s king.
Using a Pin to Check the Opponent’s King
In chess, when a player places their opponent’s King in a situation where the King is not immediately threatened but cannot legally move as it poses a check on it, it is called a pin check. Because the opponent cannot move their King and create any space, it’s essentially a unique piece of tactical pressure that can only cue the opponent to accept having to lose one of their own pieces to regain any breathing room.
Sacrificing a Piece to Check the Opponent’s King
Sacrificing a piece is not part of standard check checkmate strategy, but it can serve the indirect purpose of using the piece to check the opponent’s King, also known as discovered check. The discovered check is a type of check in which one piece moves out of the way of another, which then directly attacks the King and announces check. This discovered check is always emitted by the rook, bishop, or queen. All user commentary specifically affirms that in formal games, the only cases of checking the opponent’s King they have seen are by the queen or other indirect uses of the bulk of the original piece-up number. If you can visualize this scenario well, you prevent your own pieces from becoming sacrifices, and maximize the potential of your most important pieces.
What Happens After a Check in Chess?
After a check in chess, it is the turn of the player who is under attack to make a move to get out of check. The player under attack can get out of check by either moving the king to an unthreatened square, moving an intervening piece to block the check, or by capturing the attacking piece. If the player under attack cannot make a move to get out of check, then the king is checkmated and the game is lost. The game proceeds if the player under attack can defend against the threat.
How to Get Out of Check in Chess?
You get out of check in chess by moving the king to a square that is not being attacked. Blocking the attack of the checking piece by moving a piece of your own between them. The same results as getting out of check can be achieved by capturing the checking piece or applying the double attack technique, resulting in a fork. If you are unable to do any of these moves, it is checkmate, which means you have already lost that game of chess.
Moving the King
Checking in chess can be done as the first step when moving your king or by moving another piece so it puts the opponent’s king in an established check. Moving the king is a less common way of putting the opponent in check and only applies when the king is threatened. A king move is considered to give an opponent check if it would result in the king moving to a square where it could potentially be uncontested, while the opponent’s king moving to that square would cause the moving king to be captured. List of potential squares to consider are on a 3×3 board as the baseline with borders expanding until the king’s and checking piece’s possible movement ranges are found.
Capturing the Checking Piece
Checking in chess occurs when one player’s piece or pawn threatens to capture the opponents’ king. When a player is checked he must essentially make one of the following 3 decisions to leave check:
- Moving one of his pieces or king in order to eliminate or block the threat of the opposition’s piece which is currently causing the check, or
- Capturing the opposition piece and thus decreasing the potential danger to his king (An exception to this rule may occur when capturing the checking piece would make the player’s position substantially weaker, thereby causing immediate or subsequent future greater dangers to the king).
- Capturing or threatening to capture and eliminate the threat of the opposition’s piece by placing one of the player’s pieces in a position to capture (i.e. by moving one of his knights, bishops, rooks, or queen so that it subsequently has the ability to capture the opposition piece which is currently causing the check).
This third option is usually the least favorable, as it often leads to an unfavorable exchange for the captured piece. For example, in the below position, black’s queen on d8 checks white’s king on g8. Black can activate their knight and capture white’s bishop on g7, but the white queen can capture black’s knight on d2, necessary to inhibit the checking activity of black’s queen. Instead, black should simply move their Queen to b4 and checkmate will follow shortly.
Blocking the Check
Blocking the check is a technique where one of a player’s own pieces, usually a low-value piece like a pawn that is not worth maneuvering to safety, is used to block the check. This is the third way to get out of check and is the least frequently used option because positive moves are generally more useful than wasting a piece to make the threat of check less immediate. Sometimes, however, blocking the check is a useful extension of developing or creating a new threat.
When blocking the threat with a piece that could be taken by the attacking piece, this is known as a cover attack, as the moved piece often produces an invaluable trade in the form of giving a clearer attacking path as well as eliminating the source of check.
In a game like this played online white may move the c3 pawn forward one square to block the check.
Castling
Castling is performed in one move by the king and the rook in either direction, along the same rank (row). It is the only move on which two pieces (the rook is moved beside the king) can be moved at once. The basic rules of castling are:
- Neither the King nor Rook involved in castling may have been previously moved during the game.
- There may not be any pieces between the King and Rook involved in castling.
- The squares that the King passes over during castling may not be under attack by any opposing pieces.
- The King may not be placed in or pass through a square that is under attack by an opposing piece after castling.
There are no checks after or during castling as the king moves only two squares during the process and opponents cannot place them in check.
What Is Checkmate in Chess?
Checkmate in chess is the position when a king is in check and there is no way for that player to remove their king from check. The king is thereby checkmated. This results in an automatic end of the game. The goal of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s king. The king is the only piece that may never be captured. When a king is in check, his opponent’s player must remove him from the check. If this cannot be done, then the game ends and the player whose king is unable to get away from the check is the loser.
How to Avoid Being Checked in Chess?
- A player can avoid being checked in chess by identifying opponent threats and taking actions to parry them. Find the best moves to diminish an opening in the opponent’s long-term plan by either closing an oppening inhabit a different square. ‘s protected square as compensation. By parrying the check, you take the initiative
- Parry the threat and the check by advancing a piece when attacked and failing to see a checkmate threat by your opponent. ‘This is not the same as exchanging pieces, but it is related to it,’ writes international master Jeremy Silman. ‘In this example, Rg7-once the h-pawn advances, the Black king is provided with a flight square-needs to be vigorously hunted down and punished.
- Corresponding squares in the middle of the board alternate dark and light colors and are on the opposite color of where the square lies in the player’s own camp. Bg7, Bd3, …spaces between a player’s pawns in their own camp are commonly used to correspond colored squares during the course of a game. Be2…filling spaces between one’s own pawns in one’s own camp can be followed by matching squares where unattacked pawns stand free to move without assistance, though not identical in the way space opposition dictates move patterns, only alternately colored.
Protect Your King
Before performing the check in chess, focus on protecting your own king by advancing on the opponent’s ranks before you make a move to advance.
If your king is not protected and in immediate danger of being checked or mated by other pieces during your planned move, taking the initiative to put pressure on your opponent is a reckless play with immediate tempo loss. This approach is perfect against the King’s pawn opening which is one of the most commons as when you advance, you can clear the way for your more invasive pieces to advance while your king is safely protected. This is one of the important points to check to avoid being checked in chess. The scene below shows how player white has kept their top row pieces to protect the king from being attacked by a black knight. Source: en.wikipedia.org.
Control the Center of the Board
The center of the board is home to several very strong squares and lines. If you pay attention to it and make your stand there, you will find that your opponent usually reacts with material movement and counterattacks on the side of the board where their pieces are best developed. This in turn provides you with opportunities to attack in different parts of the board, increasing your success rate both in attack and defense.
Develop Your Pieces Quickly
Developing your pieces quickly is highly critical when checking your opponent. At the start of the game most players try to control the exact center of the board with their pawns. This is known as center control. Next, they try to centralize their pieces as close to the middle of the board as possible. When you have developed your pieces aggressively and controlled the center of the board, opponents that attempt to challenge your pawns or exert influence on the center of the board are easier to checkmate.
Watch Out for Traps
When you move to protect your own valuable piece, be careful that you are not falling into a trap where your piece can be taken regardless. Some mistakes that are often repeated include taking the opponent’s piece in a well-known fork trap, getting baited by a simple pawn formation trap, or using discovered attack traps.
Yes, mistakes happen and sometimes traps cannot be avoided, but just being aware of the common types can dramatically reduce the amount of piece loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Check in Chess?
What is the purpose of checking in chess?
The purpose of checking in chess is to put the opponent’s king in a vulnerable position, where it is under threat of being captured on the next turn.
How to Check in Chess?
How do I check in chess?
To check in chess, you must move one of your pieces in such a way that it threatens the opponent’s king. The king must be moved out of check on the next turn.
How to Check in Chess?
Can any piece check the opponent’s king?
Yes, any piece can check the opponent’s king as long as it follows the rules of movement for that specific piece. However, pawns can only check diagonally.
How to Check in Chess?
Can a king check the opponent’s king?
No, a king cannot check the opponent’s king. This is because it would put the king in a position to be captured on the next turn, which is not allowed in chess.
How to Check in Chess?
Can a piece be moved to block the check?
Yes, if a piece can be moved to block the check, it must be done. If no piece can block the check, the king must be moved out of check or another piece must capture the threatening piece.
How to Check in Chess?
What happens if a player is in check and cannot get out of it?
If a player is in check and cannot get out of it, it is considered a checkmate and the game is over. The player in checkmate has lost the game.
