Check, checkmate and stalemate side by side
Each diagram has Black to move. Look at the king, then count Black’s legal moves.
The rook on e1 attacks the king on e8. Black has 7 legal moves, so play goes on.
The rook on d8 attacks g8 and the king’s own pawns block f7, g7 and h7. Zero legal moves.
Nothing attacks a8, but a7 is protected and b7 and b8 are covered. Zero legal moves.
King in checkKing not in checkLegal king moveSquare the king cannot use
| Check | Checkmate | Stalemate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the king attacked? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Legal moves for the player to move | At least one | None | None |
| Does the game end? | No, the player must answer the check | Yes, immediately | Yes, immediately |
| Result | Play continues | The checkmating side wins (1–0 or 0–1) | Draw (½–½) |
| FIDE Laws | Article 3.9 | Articles 1.4 and 5.1.1 | Article 5.2.1 |
Every board on this page was loaded into python-chess and its status (check, checkmate, stalemate or none) generated by the library, so the labels are not hand-written guesses. Open any position in the analysis board from the links below, or set it up yourself in the board editor.
The two-question test
You never need to memorise patterns to tell these apart. Ask two questions about the player whose turn it is:
- Is their king attacked right now? If an enemy piece could capture the king on the next move, the king is in check.
- Do they have any legal move at all? Count every piece, not only the king. One pawn push is enough.
| Has a legal move | Has no legal move | |
|---|---|---|
| King attacked | Check answer it | Checkmate game lost |
| King not attacked | Normal position play on | Stalemate game drawn |
This is exactly how the FIDE Laws define the endings. Article 5.1.1 says the game is won by the player who has checkmated the opponent’s king, and Article 5.2.1 says the game is drawn when the player to move has no legal move and their king is not in check (FIDE Laws, Article 5).
Check: the king is attacked
A king is in check when an opposing piece attacks the square it stands on. Check does not end the game, but it changes the rules for one move: the player in check must get out of it, and any move that leaves the king attacked is illegal (FIDE Laws, Article 3.9).
There are exactly three ways out of check, and the first diagram shows all of them:
1. Move the king
Kd7, Kd8, Kf7, Kf8. The king steps to a square that nothing attacks.
2. Block the check
Be7 or Ne5. A piece steps between the rook and the king. Only checks from a queen, rook or bishop can be blocked.
3. Capture the checker
Nxe1. The knight removes the rook. A king can capture a checker too, if the checker is unprotected.
That gives Black 7 legal moves in total: Be7, Kd7, Kd8, Kf7, Kf8, Ne5, Nxe1. Every other move is illegal while the check stands, including moves that would be perfectly normal in another position. You also cannot castle out of check; the rules of castling cover that and the other castling conditions.
FEN for this position: 4k3/8/8/8/8/b2n4/8/4R2K b - - 0 1 · Open it in the analysis board
Checkmate: in check with no way out
Checkmate is check that cannot be answered. The king is attacked and none of the three escapes works: no safe square, no block, no capture. The game ends on the spot and the player who gave mate wins. The king is never actually captured.
Most checkmates follow a handful of patterns. This one has its own lesson, back-rank mate, and the wider set is collected in checkmate patterns. If you have a king and queen against a lone king, the king and queen checkmate lesson shows the method step by step.
Stalemate: no legal move, but not in check
Stalemate is the mirror image of checkmate. The player to move has no legal move at all, but their king is not attacked. Because nobody is in check, nobody has been mated, and the game is drawn: each side scores half a point, no matter how much material the other side has.
This king-and-pawn stalemate is one of the most common ways a won ending slips away. Our full guide to stalemate has 11 practice positions, the queen stalemate trap and how to avoid it. Stalemate is only one of several ways a game can be drawn; the others, such as threefold repetition and the 50-move rule, are covered in draws in chess.
Common beginner mistakes
- Calling mate too early. Before you announce checkmate, check all three escapes. A capture or a block from a far-away piece is easy to miss (quiz position 5).
- Thinking a trapped king means stalemate. Stalemate needs the whole side to have no legal move. A single pawn that can move keeps the game going (quiz position 4).
- Forgetting stalemate when you are winning. With a queen against a lone king, take away squares one at a time and check that the king still has a move after each of yours.
- Taking a protected checker with the king. The king can capture a checking piece only if that square is not attacked by another enemy piece (quiz position 6).
- Believing you must say “check”. In over-the-board chess you don’t have to announce check; older editions of the FIDE Laws stated this outright (2001 Laws, Article 3.9). Online, the site shows it for you.
Quiz: check, checkmate or stalemate?
Six positions, each with the side to move shown. Pick an answer and the page tells you if you are right; open the answer for the reasoning. Without JavaScript, every position and answer is listed in order.
-
Position 1 of 6
A knight jumps in
Black to move
Answer: Check
The knight on d6 attacks e8, so Black is in check. It is not mate: the king can step to d7, d8, e7, f7 or f8. Knight checks can never be blocked, only escaped or captured.
FEN
4k3/8/3N4/8/8/8/8/4K3 b - - 0 1· Open in the analysis board -
Position 2 of 6
Boxed in by its own pieces
Black to move
Answer: Checkmate
The knight on f7 checks h8. The king’s only neighbours, g8, g7 and h7, are filled by Black’s own rook and pawns, and nothing can capture the knight. Check plus no legal move: checkmate, the pattern called a smothered mate.
FEN
6rk/5Npp/8/8/8/8/8/6K1 b - - 0 1· Open in the analysis board -
Position 3 of 6
White to move this time
White to move
Answer: Stalemate
White’s king on f1 is not attacked, but e1 and g1 are covered by the f2 pawn, e2 and g2 by the black king, and the pawn on f2 is protected. White has no legal move, so it is stalemate. It can happen to either colour.
FEN
8/8/8/8/8/5k2/5p2/5K2 w - - 0 1· Open in the analysis board -
Position 4 of 6
The king is trapped, but…
Black to move
Answer: None of these
The black king has no safe square and is not in check, which looks like stalemate. But Black still has a legal move: the h7 pawn can advance. The game simply continues. Stalemate needs zero legal moves for the whole side, not just the king.
FEN
k7/2Q4p/8/8/8/8/8/6K1 b - - 0 1· Open in the analysis board -
Position 5 of 6
Back-rank check with help nearby
Black to move
Answer: Check
This is the same back-rank check as our mate diagram, but now Black has a rook on d4 that can capture on d8. A check that can be answered is just check, not mate. Always look for a capture or a block before you call mate.
FEN
3R2k1/5ppp/8/8/3r4/8/8/6K1 b - - 0 1· Open in the analysis board -
Position 6 of 6
Queen next to the king
White to move
Answer: Checkmate
The queen on g2 attacks the white king and is protected by the black king, so Kxg2 is illegal, and every other square is covered. White is in check with no legal move: checkmate.
FEN
8/8/8/8/8/6k1/6q1/7K w - - 0 1· Open in the analysis board
Answers are generated by python-chess from each FEN, and the build stops if an answer key disagrees with the library.
FAQ
What is the difference between check and checkmate?
Check means the king is attacked and the player must deal with it on their move. Checkmate means the king is attacked and there is no legal move that deals with it, so the game is over and the checkmating player wins.
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
In both, the player to move has no legal move. In checkmate their king is in check, so they lose. In stalemate their king is not in check, so the game is a draw.
Is stalemate a win?
No. Stalemate is a draw under Article 5.2.1 of the FIDE Laws of Chess, and each player gets half a point, even if one side has far more material.
Can you be in check and stalemate at the same time?
No. Stalemate requires the king not to be in check. If the king is in check and there is no legal move, the position is checkmate.
Is check a win?
No. Check is just an attack on the king. The game only ends when the check cannot be answered, which is checkmate.
Do you have to say check?
Not in standard over-the-board play under the FIDE Laws. Many casual players say it as a courtesy, and online platforms highlight the checked king automatically.
Can a king put another king in check?
No. Two kings can never stand on neighbouring squares, because the moving king would be stepping into check, which is illegal. See can a king take a king?
How do you get out of check?
Move the king to a safe square, block the attack with another piece, or capture the checking piece. Knight and pawn checks cannot be blocked.
Sources and how we checked
- FIDE Laws of Chess (in force from 1 January 2023): full text, Article 3.9 (the king in check), Article 1.4 (objective of the game) and Article 5 (checkmate, stalemate).
- FIDE Laws of Chess, 2001 edition, Article 3.9 (“Declaring a check is not obligatory”): archived text.
- Every diagram and quiz position was generated from its FEN and checked with python-chess 1.11: position validity, side to move, check status and the full list of legal moves quoted in the text.