What is checkmate?

A free lesson from My Chess Family for children learning chess. Read it together, try each question on a real board, or print it out.

Download the printable sheet (PDF) Play this lesson on the board

Checkmate wins

Check means the king is attacked. Checkmate means he can't escape. Checkmate wins the game!

The black king is in check. He can't step away, nothing can block, and nothing can catch the rook. Checkmate!

Try it 1. Here's a new position. Your turn! Give checkmate with your rook.

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Rd8#

Checkmate! The king was trapped by his own pawns.

New position. One more rule. Kings can never stand next to each other. So the black king can't step to g7 or h7.

Try it 2. Now give checkmate with the queen. Your king can help her.

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Qa8# or Qg7#

Checkmate! Remember, check is an attack. Checkmate is an attack with no escape.

Checkmate or not?

Is it checkmate? Ask three questions. Can the king step away? Can something block? Can something capture?

In every puzzle here it's Black's move, and the black king is in check.

Try it 3. Black to move. Is this checkmate? A: YesB: No

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B: No

Not checkmate. The king can step away to h7, and he's safe there.

Try it 4. Another position. Black to move. Is this checkmate? A: YesB: No

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B: No

Not checkmate. The bishop can block on f8. If the rook captures it, the king captures the rook!

Try it 5. New position. Black to move. Is this checkmate? A: YesB: No

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B: No

Not checkmate. The bishop can capture the rook, and then there's no check at all.

Great! Ask the three questions every time.