What is a mate in chess?
What is a mate in chess?
A checkmate (also known as “mate”) occurs when a king is placed in check and has no legal moves to escape. When a checkmate happens, the game ends immediately, and the player who delivered the checkmate wins.
Why is it called mate chess?
The term checkmate is, according to the Barnhart Etymological Dictionary, an alteration of the Persian phrase “shāh māt” (شاه مات) which means “the King is helpless”.
What is the difference between mate and checkmate?
Checkmate: When a king is in check and can’t perform any of the preceding moves, it has been checkmated. If your king is checkmated, you lose the game. The term checkmate is commonly shortened to simply mate.
How many types of mates are there in chess?
A checkmate pattern is a particular and recognizable arrangement of the pieces that deliver the checkmate. You can further improve your chess tactics skill by studying all the different checkmates that commonly occur in chess games.
What is knight mate called?
The Arabian Mate is reached when a knight and rook work together to checkmate the king. The knight protects the rook and also blocks the escape square of the king. The Arabian Mate.
Can a king checkmate a king?
A king cannot itself directly check the opposing king, since this would place the first king in check as well. A move of the king could expose the opposing king to a discovered check by another piece, however. In informal games, it is common to announce “check” when making a move that puts the opponent’s king in check.
Can you win chess without checkmate?
Win/Lose: There are three main ways to win or lose a chess game: checkmate, resignation and timeout.
What is a smothered mate in chess?
A smothered mate is a checkmate that occurs when a king is mostly (or completely) surrounded by its own pieces. Almost every chess player brings their own pieces to the aid of their king when it is being attacked.
What is smothered mate in chess?
What’s another word for checkmate?
In this page you can discover 27 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for checkmate, like: defeat, thwart, cut the ground from under, check, countermove, halt, counter, conquer, corner, stop and triumph.
Which is the only piece that can’t check a king?
The king may capture an enemy piece in a move to get out of check, as long as the piece is not protected. Blocking the check. This only works if the checking piece is a queen, rook, or bishop and there is at least one empty square in the line between the checking piece and the checked king.