ChessmateGet the appCheck
A king is in check when one or more opposing pieces attack its square.
The checked player must remove the attack with a legal move. They may move the king, capture the attacking piece, or block the attack when blocking is possible.
Every check requires an immediate response
A player may answer check by moving the king to a safe square, capturing the checking piece, or blocking the attack when the checker is a rook, bishop, or queen attacking along a line. The response must remove every attack on the king.
Try Kd2, Qxe5, or Be3 to answer the check.
Try Kd2, Qxe5, or Be3 to answer the check.
Not every check can be blocked
A knight check cannot be blocked because a knight does not attack along intervening squares. A check from an adjacent piece also leaves no square in between. In double check, moving the king is the only way to escape both attacks at once.
Check is recorded with +
SAN adds + after a move that gives check. The symbol describes the resulting position; it does not make an otherwise illegal move legal, and omitting it in casual writing does not change what happened on the board.