One of your pieces must attack the king. Otherwise it can't be checkmate.
New chess player: help me understand how this is a stalemate?
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Dec 23, 2020
0
#3
If it is White’s turn to move, then it is a stalemate because there is no square that he can go, and he is NOT under check at that time. It is a checkmate if he is UNDER check and he has nowhere to go, hence CHECKmate. If the black’s queen is on e1, then that would be a CHECKmate because the white king is UNDER check, and will have nowhere to go.
Dec 23, 2020
0
#4
To explain further, if it is White’s move, it is a stalemate because he has no valid square to go. It is illegal for a king to go a square where he can get captured uprright, so he cannot move, and he has no other piece to move. But black cannot capture the king either because he has not put the king under check. In order to checkmate the opponent, you have to put him under CHECK. That’s where the word CHECKMATE come from.
Dec 23, 2020
0
#5
NovitiateOne wrote:
To explain further, if it is White’s move, it is a stalemate because he has no valid square to go. It is illegal for a king to go a square where he can get captured uprright, so he cannot move, and he has no other piece to move. But black cannot capture the king either because he has not put the king under check. In order to checkmate the opponent, you have to put him under CHECK. That’s where the word CHECKMATE come from.
Actually the word "checkmate" and probably the word "check" came from "Shah-mat", meaning the king is dead. Don't know where it came from, somewhere Asian... I think Persia? Anyway, there is a nice tid-bit of info.
I'm super new to chess. Only been playing about a month. I thought this would be a checkmate, but the game told me it's a stalemate? Can someone explain how that is?