Lesson 4 of 20 · Rules · 7 min · free

Check, Checkmate and Illegal Moves

Before your first game you need the rules that decide it: answering check, recognizing checkmate, and the two pawn rules that catch out new players.

Answer a check by moving the king, capturing or blocking.
Avoid two illegal pawn moves: nifu and pawn-drop mate.
Find a mate in one with a drop or a piece on the board.

A check attacks the king. The player in check must deal with it at once: move the king, capture the checking piece, or block the line with a piece or a drop.

Checkmate means the king is in check and no answer works. The game ends there. You may never make a move that leaves your own king in check.

Nifu (two pawns): you may not have two unpromoted pawns of your own on the same file. Dropping a pawn onto such a file is illegal. A tokin does not count.

Pawn-drop mate (uchifuzume): dropping a pawn to give immediate checkmate is illegal. Mating by moving a pawn already on the board is fine, and a pawn drop that checks without mating is fine too.

If the same position occurs four times, the game is a draw (sennichite)—unless one side gave check on every move, in which case that side loses. In practice most games end by resignation.

Practice

Opponentno pieces in hand

You

Practice 1 of 4

Checkmate in one move.

Remember: Answer every check by moving, capturing or blocking. No two unpromoted pawns on one file, no pawn-drop mate, and repeated positions are a draw unless one side kept checking.