Chess checkmate. What is a checkmate and how to put a checkmate?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Chess attracted attention a long time ago. After all, this is not only a game of intellectuals. It combines creativity and mathematics, logic and a non-standard approach to solving situations.

So let's see how it all started.

History of the game

Unusual word "chaturanga". Few have heard it today. In fact, this is the name of the game in ancient India, which became the progenitor of chess. It was played by four people, and each had only eight pieces. Raja (king), chariot (rook), cavalry, bishop and four pawns. The colors are also different from today. There were red, green, yellow and black figurines on the board. Not easy - checkmate!

There was, however, an option for two players. In terms of the number and arrangement of pieces, it exactly corresponds to chess today.

The second version of the origin is Byzantine. In the Middle Ages, the Roman nobility had fun in Zatrikion. Two opponents, 16 pieces each. It seems that everything is the same as now … But not everything is so simple! The board was round! Sixteen fields around the outer circumference andfour - the width of the playing ring.

In the Russian Empire in the XVIII-XIX centuries. chess for four players with fortresses was popular. 76 pieces, 192 squares and a twenty-sided board!

Today there are fields in the form of a cylinder and a torus (donut). You can checkmate by going behind!

And the modification of this fun, invented in 1948, is supplemented with the rules of checkers and is called chess. You can only move on black squares, and each participant has 8 pawns, 2 kings, 1 bishop and 1 camel (another name is a nanny; the same as a knight in standard chess).

The "combat" version of the game suggests the following. The board is divided horizontally into two halves, and the opponents place their troops hidden from each other. Further, it is assembled into one whole and continues according to the usual rules.

What is check

So, back to the standard field. The goal of the game is to destroy the king of the other side. So, attacking him is a check. If the opponent was able to defend or avoid him, the fight continues.

Let's look at an example. The figure shows this position: the white bishop attacks the black king.

There are several types of check in chess:

Eternal (as soon as the player moves away from the threat, the next turn he will again be under attack).

This method of attack will greatly lengthen the time of the party, almost up to several hours. However, on the other hand, it is very profitable for the loser. You can make a repeated move three times and, if the player wishes, a draw will be declared.

Hidden(a figure checks, which was previously hidden by another of the same color. That is, one moved away, the second attacked).

A fairly common type of attack. The beauty of it is that when you create a suitable arrangement on the board, you can pick up one of the enemy fighters, while the enemy king will be under attack. The opponent's next step will also be a plus for you, since he will have to defend himself, not attack and develop the position.

Cross (having closed from the threat, in response, you yourself attack the opponent's king with the same move).

A very common response to the previous version, ill-conceived in all details. Often, beginners have a situation where the opponent seems to have "gape". A stunning figure is under attack, or the check suggests itself. If it seems to you that the situation is completely in your favor, and everything is going like clockwork, stop and look at the board from a different angle. Perhaps you are walking with your head held high into your own defeat, right into the trap set.

What is checkmate

This is not an abuse of the downtrodden side, but just a similar sounding word. In Persian, it means “helpless, immobilized,” and in Arabic it means “dead.”Your king is under attack, but there is nowhere to run, nothing to beat and nothing to close? This is what happened. That's it, checkmate, which means "end of the game."

The main task is to prevent such a turn of events at any cost. It can turn out to be a draw, create a stalemate. But it is better to understand in detail all the intricacies of the game and conduct the position on the board yourself. Analyzegames according to the records, analyze the decisions of grandmasters at the world championships. Finally learn how the opening differs from the middlegame!

This amazing game is so diverse and multifaceted that, making friends with it, you will begin to change for the better. Even if not everything is as good as we would like now.

Nothing, soon master the strategy and tactics so that you can fight with several opponents at once!

Now let's look at the main options for victory.

Checkmate with queen

One of the first two studies for beginners. We know how to walk, we learned how to record games. It's time to put the first mat in greenhouse conditions. Well, training is necessary. Hard to learn, easy to fight.

We carefully examine the composition. Great combo for beginners. It is solved elementarily, no matter where the figures are. The white king is on A1, and on the next move the black queen attacks it, moving to A3. Can I close or beat the attacker? How about running away from a hit? Difficult situation. The game is over, and the loser should take the game apart and analyze the mistakes made.

Check with Bishops

Also a fairly common win variation. One or two officers can play a key role in a battle. And if the enemy still short-sightedly leaves the flanks open, it's a sin not to take advantage of the moment. Checkmate, gentlemen.

Note that the stronger pieces haven't actually moved yet. The elephant cavalry did all the work! This happens in games when the playersgot carried away with some strategic ideas. Imagine, yesterday you analyzed the Capablanca opening, and today your opponent moves in such a way that there is an opportunity to convert it. Beauty!

Rook checkmate

Classic composition for beginners. One or two rooks, two kings and an empty board. One of the first studies that you will meet in the process of mastering this excellent strategy. The white king keeps on hitting G7 and H7, the round attacks on the eighth rank. "Finita la comedia".

Checkmate with Bishop and Knight

More difficult task. The cavalry walks with the letter "G", the officer - only diagonally of the same color, in our case - white. The black king can run away from such a company for quite a long time until he is cornered. And there are already three to one.

Such moments, of course, happen in a normal game, but more often it happens in etudes. Start with short examples, work through all the options for events. Later you will move to a more difficult level, figures will be added. Solutions will be hidden not after three moves, but after seven. We develop combinatorics, we improve our observation skills. Everything is just beginning!

Checkmate with king and pawn

Another element of the composition. Even if there is no opponent, and you are just learning the basics. Take a couple of puzzles, a board and a set of figures. Try to record parts for later analysis.

In our case, there are several plot developments. Checkmate in chess in this way is placed by pawns or, if oneof them will reach the last horizontal, using one of the previous methods.

You can choose any piece instead of a pawn.

So, today we got acquainted with the history of an amazing game - chess, looked at the basic etudes. We figured out such concepts as check and checkmate.

But this is only the first step. We have not even entered the threshold of this magical palace yet. Ahead of you are still waiting for the joys of the greatest victories and the sorrows of irreversible defeats. Happy tears of a national or world champion, the proud title of grandmaster.

Who knows, having become infected with prospects, perhaps you will begin to develop and carry the idea to the masses. Logical thinking will become flexible, and attentive eyes will become tenacious. The versatility of the world of chess is breathtaking and amazes with perspectives. As the classic said, Moscow will be renamed New Vasyuki, and Vasyuki - Old Moscow.

The rest is a matter of practice. Good luck, dear readers!