Lesson 8

Lesson 8. Check and checkmate. Outcome of the game.

Let us discuss concepts of check and checkmate once again.
Check is an attack to opponent's king.

There are three options to protect from the check:

1. Move the king.
2. Block the king by any other piece.
3. Capture the opponent’s threatening piece.

In the setup shown in the diagram black rook checked the white king. The whites are able to block with three following options:

1. King is able to move away from the check,
2. Bishop is able to block the king, 
3. Queen is able to capture black rook to eliminate attack to the king.

Checkmate is the check with no protection.

In this setup black rook also attacked the white king, but the king has no way to move away, nothing to hide behind, and also there is nothing to capture black rook. So that's a checkmate, blacks has won.

Altogether there are three types of outcomes in the chess game:

• Whites won
• Blacks won
• Draw

Based on traditional recording system: 1 point is given for the win, 0.5 points for the draw  and 0 for defeat. 

Statistically white wins more often than black, as they make the first move. Win is awarded to any party in case if opponent is checkmated or if any party gives away by means of inevitable defeat. Chess is played on time in professional competitions that is, each player is given a certain amount of time to think. Defeat is recorded if time runs out.

What draw is, and when it is declared, we are going to study in the next lesson.

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