Worksheet: Getting Out of Check and Checkmate

When a king is in check, you must fix it right away by moving the king, capturing the checker, or blocking the line if that works.

Why This Matters

• You may never ignore check. Your very next move must make the check disappear.
• There are only three rescue ideas: move the king, capture the checker, or block the line if the attacker slides.
• If none of those work, the position is checkmate, not just check.

Practice Tasks

1. List the three main ways to get out of check.
2. How is check different from checkmate?
3. Look at the practice positions and name which rescue idea was used in each one.

Board Evolution (One Step per Board)

Practice Positions

Find each move on paper, then check the Answer Key at the end.

Mini-Game

White starts in check. Try legal replies only, and notice that any move which does not fix the check is rejected.

Answer Key

1. You can move the king, capture the checking piece, or block the line when the attacker is a rook, bishop, or queen.
2. Check means the king is attacked but has a legal rescue. Checkmate means the king is attacked and there is no legal rescue at all.
3. Practice 1 uses a king move. Practice 2 captures the checking piece. Practice 3 blocks the line. The shared mate-in-one puzzle shows the checkmate idea.

Practice Position Solutions

1. Practice 1: Qa8# — The white king on g6 already covers g7 and h7, so those squares are off-limits for Black's king. Qa8 checks along the 8th rank, and with g7/h7 covered and g8 controlled by the queen's rank, the king is trapped.
2. Practice 2: Kd1 — Moving the king is one way out of check. Here, every other reply still leaves the king under attack.
3. Practice 3: Bxe2 — If you can safely take the checking piece, the check is gone right away.
4. Practice 4: Be2 — Against a rook, bishop, or queen line, sometimes you can place a piece between the king and the attacker.