III.

Object of the Game

Each player’s goal is to attack the enemy king such that the king cannot deflect or remove the attack and cannot escape. When a king is attacked, it is “in check.” Check does not have to be announced, but the player whose king is in check must attempt to escape on the next move. There are three possibilities: (1) moving the king to a safe square, (2) capturing the attacking piece, or (3) cutting off the attack by interposing a piece or pawn between the attacking piece and the king. If none of these moves is available, the king is checkmated. Checkmate ends the game at once—the king is never actually captured—and the player who gives the checkmate wins. The word “checkmate” (often abbreviated to “mate”) comes from the ancient Persian shah mat, meaning “the king is helpless (defeated).”