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Welcome back. Perhaps you'd like to tell me what you'd like me to call you this lesson.
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Have you played and understood all the KNIGHT games, kiddo?  Yes, I understand all the KNIGHT games I don't understand all the KNIGHT COMBAT games I keep on losing the CAPTURE THE FLAG knight games I'm no good at the TARGET PRACTICE quizzes |
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In that case there's just one more piece you need to learn about. In this lesson we're going to look at the KING. The KING is the general in your army. He's the guy who decides what move to play. So you have to be good at all the other pieces before you learn about the KING. The KING is the hardest piece in your army to understand so you'll really have to pay attention in this lesson. 
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This is what a KING does. It moves just one square at a time in any direction. Now you might think that's the easiest piece to learn, not the hardest piece. But there's a problem. It's not quite as simple as that.
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A KING CANNOT move to any square that is ATTACKED by an enemy piece. In this position the KING can only move to d4, d5 and f5. It CANNOT move to d3, e3 or f3 because of the black rook. It CANNOT move to e5 or f4 because of the black bishop. If you move any other piece to a square where it is attacked it runs the risk of getting taken. But you CANNOT move the KING to an attacked square just as you CANNOT move a rook along a diagonal or a bishop along a rank or file.
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Here's another example. In this position the KING can only move to d5, d3 and e3. It CANNOT move to d4 or e5 because of the knight. It CANNOT move to f3, f4 or f5 because of the BLACK KING. REMEMBER: TWO KINGS CAN NEVER STAND NEXT TO EACH OTHER!
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How many squares can the king move to in this position?
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Which square can the white king move to in this position?
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Which square can the white king move to in this position?
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Which pawn can the white king capture in this position?
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In this position Black has just moved his rook to a1, ATTACKING the white KING. When you play a move that ATTACKS the enemy KING you CHECK him. If you like you can say the word CHECK to warn your opponent. Here, White is IN CHECK. If you are IN CHECK you HAVE to do something about it. Here, White has only one way to GET OUT OF CHECK. He HAS to move his king to d2. You will see that this is the ONLY safe square.
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In this position White CANNOT get out of CHECK by moving his KING. But if you're in CHECK from a QUEEN, a ROOK or a BISHOP you might be able to GET OUT OF CHECK by BLOCKING: putting a piece in the way. Here, White can BLOCK the CHECK by moving his rook from d4 to d1. Black could then capture the rook on d1 with his rook on a1, giving the next position.
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In this position we see the THIRD way of GETTING OUT OF CHECK. White can - and has to - GET OUT OF CHECK by CAPTURING the rook on d1 with his king. So we have THREE ways of GETTING OUT OF CHECK. 1. MOVE the KING to a square where he is not under attack. 2. BLOCK the CHECK by putting a piece in the way (you can only do this if you're in CHECK from a QUEEN, ROOK or BISHOP. 3. CAPTURE the piece that's CHECKING you, either with your KING or with another piece.
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How must White get out of check in this position?
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How must White get out of check in this position?
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How must White get out of check in this position?
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Up to now you've been playing CAPTURE THE FLAG where you win by getting a pawn to the end of the board or taking all the enemy pieces. But that is not the aim of real chess, although taking enemy pieces is always important, and getting pawns to the end of the board can also be important. The aim of a real game of chess is to reach a position where the enemy king is in CHECK and cannot GET OUT OF CHECK in any of the three ways you have seen.
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In this position the white king is IN CHECK from the rook on a1. This rook also stops him moving to d1 or f1. He cannot move to d2, e2 or f2 because he would be in CHECK from the rook on b2. He cannot CAPTURE the rook on a1. He cannot BLOCK the CHECK by putting a piece in the way. He is IN CHECK and can do nothing about it. This is CHECKMATE: Black has won the game.
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Here's another example of CHECKMATE.
The white king is IN CHECK from the pawn on d2. The pawn on e2 stops him moving to d1 or f1. The black king stops him capturing the either pawn or moving to f2. Again it is CHECKMATE: Black has won the battle. |
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In this position the black knight is CHECKING the white king.
Remember the knight can jump over the pieces in the way so this really is a CHECK. The white king cannot move because he is surrounded by his own men. And none of them can CAPTURE the knight. So again it's CHECKMATE. We also use the word MATE which means exactly the same thing: it's just a shortened form of CHECKMATE. This sort of CHECKMATE with a KNIGHT is known as a SMOTHERED MATE. |
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Tell me, is this CHECKMATE?
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Tell me, is this CHECKMATE?
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Tell me, is this CHECKMATE?
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Congratulations, Kiddo!! You have now completed the KING lesson. 
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Before you can play a real battle there are a few more rules to learn. But first you need some more practice in learning about CHECKS and CHECKMATES. Fine! Can I have a go now? I'd like to repeat the lesson first please I'll do it later if you don't mind - I have to go now I don't like having to obey rules |
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