Check & checkmate
When the king is under attack — and how the game ends.
What is check?
When a piece is attacking the enemy king, that's called check. The king is in danger and must get out of it immediately — you can't just ignore it.
1. Move the king
The simplest way to get out of check — move the king to a safe square where nothing is attacking it.
The king steps sideways, off the rook's line of attack.
2. Block the check
If a piece is checking from far away (a rook, bishop, or queen), you can put one of your own pieces in the way to block it.
The knight jumps to e7, blocking the rook's path to the king.
3. Capture the attacker
If you can take the piece that's giving check, the check is gone. Problem solved.
The bishop captures the rook — check is over.
Checkmate — game over
If the king is in check and there's no way to escape — can't move, can't block, can't capture — that's checkmate. The game is over.