♟️ Chess for Kids · Lesson 5 of 8
Check, checkmate and stalemate
How you win, and when it’s a draw.
Check
When a piece attacks the king, the king is in check. You must get out of check right away — you can’t make any other move.
Three ways out of check
| Move | Move the king to a safe square |
|---|---|
| Block | Put a piece between the attacker and the king |
| Capture | Capture the attacking piece |
Checkmate
If the king is in check and none of the three ways works, it’s checkmate and the game is over. The player who gave checkmate wins. (The king is never actually captured.)
Stalemate and draws
Stalemate: it’s your turn, your king is NOT in check, but you have no legal move. The game is a draw! Other draws: neither side has enough pieces to checkmate (like king vs. king), the same position three times, or both players agree.
Tip
💡 Winning with lots of pieces? Be careful not to leave the enemy king with no moves when he’s not in check — that’s stalemate, and your win becomes a draw.
✏️ Practice: your turn
- Set up a check and find all three ways out
- Practice checkmate with a king and queen vs. a king
- Set up a stalemate on purpose
- Play a full game and say “check” when you give check
🧠 Quick quiz
Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.
0 of 4 correct
All lessons in Chess for Kids
- 🏁 1. The board and the setupFiles, ranks, and where each piece stands
- 🏰 2. The rook and the bishopStraight lines and diagonals
- 👑 3. The queen, the king and the knightThe strongest piece, the most important piece and the piece that jumps
- ♙ 4. The pawnDouble step, diagonal capture, promotion and en passant
- 🏆 5. Check, checkmate and stalemateHow you win, and when it’s a draw
- 🏯 6. CastlingThe move that hides the king
- 🚀 7. The opening and trapsCenter, development, a safe king, and avoiding Scholar’s Mate
- ⚔️ 8. Tactics: forks and pinsPiece values, forks, pins, and how to keep improving