How to End a Chess Game

Co-authored by Vitaly Neimer and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: July 26, 2022 References

Reaching the endgame in chess can be really tense as you try to outsmart your opponent. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, it’s important to know the ways you can finish a match if you’re winning or losing. We’ll cover a few different patterns you can use to beat the other player, and then go over some other possible endings you might encounter!

Note: Some of these steps assume your opponent’s moves based on known chess strategies. Your opponent might play differently, so you may have to adapt your strategy.

1

Checkmate

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Threaten your opponent’s king so it can’t move to win. Putting a king in checkmate automatically ends the game, so make it your goal for the entire match. Position your pieces so they’re attacking your opponent’s king, which puts them in check. Once your opponent is in check, they have to either move their king, move another piece to protect their king, or capture the piece you’re attacking with. If they aren’t able to move into a safe place on the board, then you’ve put them in checkmate. ^{[1]
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- The positions and pieces you use to put your opponent in checkmate vary depending on the plays you made in your early and mid-game.

2

Back Rank Mate

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Attack the king in the back row with your rook if it’s trapped behind pawns. If your opponent hasn’t freed up any of the spaces in front of their king, try to move one of your rooks into your opponent’s back row. If all of the spaces between your rook and their king are empty, you can automatically declare checkmate and win against them. ^{[2]
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- For example, if your opponent has their king on the space e8 and has pawns on d7, e7, and f7, you can move your rook to a8, b8, g8, or h8 to win.
- You can also win by moving one rook to their back row and your other rook to the row in front of it. That way, they won’t be able to move their king without it getting attacked on the next turn.

3

Arabian Mate

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Pin the king in a corner with your rook and knight. The checkmate only works if your opponent moves their king into the corner and you have a knight 2 spaces away diagonally from them. Position your rook in one of the spaces right next to your opponent’s king to put them in check. Your opponent will want to capture the rook to protect itself, but they won’t be able to since you could capture them with your knight on the next turn. ^{[3]
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- For example, you trigger an Arabian Mate if your opponent has a king in h8, and you have a knight at f6 and a rook at either h7 or g8.
- This strategy works for either player and it doesn’t matter which corner they move the king to.

4

Smothered Mate

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Use a knight to capture a king surrounded by its own pieces. Knights can jump over any pieces, so it’s really easy to sneak up and attack the other player’s king. This only works if the king can’t move into an empty square next to it, so it has to be completely surrounded by its own pieces or stuck along the edge of the board. Move your knight into a space that’s next to the surrounding pieces where it could jump to the king’s space on the next turn. If they can’t attack your knight with another piece, then you’ve won the game! ^{[4]
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- For example, if your opponent has a king in h8, a rook in g8, and pawns in g7 and h7, you can move your night to f7 to avoid attack and put your opponent in checkmate.
- Be cautious when setting up a Smothered Mate so your opponent can’t capture your knight. Otherwise, you may lose it and play the rest of the game disadvantaged.

5

Two Pawn Mate

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Defeat your opponent with 2 of your pawns and your king. This ending only works if your opponent’s king is stuck in the back row. Position one of your pawns in front of your opponent’s king. Put another pawn in a square diagonally behind the first one to keep your piece protected. Finally, move your king behind the first pawn so it can capture the 2 squares diagonally in front of it. Your opponent won’t be able to move and you’ll win! ^{[5]
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- For example, if your opponent had their king on e8, you would position your first pawn on e7, the second pawn on d6, and your king on e6 to force a checkmate.

6

Fool’s Mate

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Win quickly as black with only 2 moves. On the opening turn, if white advances a pawn to f4, move the pawn in front of your king to e6 so you can free up your queen and bishop. If you’re playing against someone inexperienced, they may move a pawn to g4 on their next turn. If they do, move your queen diagonally to h4. Since you could capture their king on the next turn and they can’t make any moves to protect it, you’ll checkmate them and win. ^{[6]
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- Experienced chess players usually won’t fall for a Fool’s Mate since they’ll tend to move the pawn at e2 so the king can escape.
- Fool’s mate may also work if you’re playing white, but it takes 3 turns instead of 2. Open with a pawn to e4. If your opponent moves their pawn to f6, then advance a pawn to d4. If the black player makes a mistake by moving a pawn to g5, then move your king to h5 for a checkmate. ^{[7]
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7

Scholar’s Mate

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Declare victory in 4 moves as white with this beginner pattern. On your opening turn, advance the pawn in front of your king to e4. If your opponent matches your play by moving a pawn to e5, bring your queen out to h5. Your opponent will usually move a knight c6. If they do, slide your king’s bishop to c4. If your opponent then moves their other knight to f6, capture the pawn on f7 with your queen to declare checkmate. ^{[8]
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- This is one the most basic chess openings and a quick way to win a game.
- Even though the king could capture your queen, you’d be able to immediately capture it next turn with your bishop.

8

Legal’s Mate

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Sacrifice your queen early on to trap your opponent with your knights. Open the game by moving a pawn to e4. When your opponent moves a pawn to e5, push your knight forward to f3. Your opponent will usually mirror your play and move a knight to c6. Slide your bishop to c4. If they move a pawn to d6, move your other knight to c3. When your opponent moves a bishop to g4, move a pawn to h3. Your opponent will typically move their bishop to h5. Then, move your knight to e5. Let your opponent capture your queen so you can move your bishop to f7 and force a check. Your opponent must move their king to e7, but you can force a checkmate by putting your second knight on d5. ^{[9]
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- You can only use Legal’s Mate if you’re playing as white.

9

Stalemate

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Your opponent can only legally move their king into a space where it can’t be captured on the next turn. If you position pieces so their king has no legal moves but they aren’t directly put in check, the game immediately ends in a stalemate. Since stalemates are considered ties, you won’t be declared the winner even if you can still make a legal move with your pieces. ^{[10]
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10

Insufficient Material Draw

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End with no winner if you don’t have the pieces to force a checkmate. You’ll typically win if you end with more pieces on the board than your opponent, but some piece combinations can’t force a checkmate. For example, if you and your opponent only have your kings left, neither of you can win and it immediately ends the game in a draw. There also isn’t a way you can win if you only have your king and a knight or bishop against a king, or if you have 2 knights. ^{[11]
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- The only way you can win a game with insufficient pieces is if your opponent makes a mistake or allows their piece to be put into check.
- You might also reach a draw with insufficient material if you and your opponent both have a king and a minor piece (a knight or bishop).

11

50-Move Draw

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To avoid long or drawn-out games, you can only make 50 moves without capturing another piece or advancing one of your pawns. As you’re moving your pieces in the endgame, count how many turns pass between either of those movements. Once you reach 50 turns, the game immediately ends in a draw and there isn’t a winner. ^{[12]
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12

Threefold-Repetition Draw

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Finish in a draw if you repeat the same board position 3 times. Games could go on for an indefinite amount of time if you keep repeating the same moves and positions of your pieces. If either you or your opponent takes moves that leave the board in the same position for the third time, either of you can claim a draw and end the game without a winner. ^{[13]
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- This stops players from moving the same piece back and forth to draw out the game longer than it needs to be.

13

Resignation

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Choose to resign if you think you’re going to get checkmated. Sometimes, you can see when your opponent outsmarts you early on in the game and you won’t be able to win or recover. Double-check all of your possible moves and make sure there aren’t any ways that you’re able to come back and win. If you think your opponent has you beat and they’re confident about it, tip over your king and resign the game so you don’t draw it out. ^{[14]
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- Many players resign once they realize they’re at a disadvantage so they don’t draw out the game any longer than it needs to. That way, you aren’t wasting time playing a game you know that you’re going to lose.
- Don’t choose to resign too late or early just because your opponent seems impatient or too tough. If you’re still interested in the game and think you might have a chance, keep playing so you can improve your skills and learn more about the game.

14

Timeout

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You’ll automatically lose if you run out of time in a competitive match. In competitive matches, you only have a certain amount of time to play the entire game so you don’t keep your opponent waiting. If you run out of time on the game clock, you forfeit the game. Your opponent automatically wins if they have the pieces that could force a checkmate. ^{[15]
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- You don’t have to worry about timing out if you’re just playing a casual game with friends.
- If your opponent doesn’t have enough pieces, like if they only have their king, then they wouldn’t be able to force a checkmate and the game ends in a draw instead.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How can I checkmate fast?

Vitaly Neimer
International Chess Master
Vitaly Neimer is an International Chess Master and Certified Professional Chess Coach with over 15 years of training experience. He has been a part of the United States' Webster SPICE national chess champion team and is also a two-time Israeli national chess champion.

Vitaly Neimer

International Chess Master

Expert Answer

Try castling to the other side of your opponent to quickly end a game. This is called Opposite Side Castling.

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Question

What are some tips to win at chess?

Donagan

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Develop your pieces early by advancing them toward your opponent's side of the board. Do this first with your knights, bishops, and rooks, then your queen. Control the center of the board (the four middle squares) by attacking those squares with your pieces. Look for opportunities to exchange one of your weaker pieces (knight or bishop) for one of your opponent's stronger pieces (queen or rook). Try to promote your pawns by advancing them to your eighth rank and exchanging them for a stronger piece.

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Is there a checkmate faster than Fool's Mate?

FlowerPower 💖

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No, nobody has found a checkmate that's faster than Fool's Mate (it's already 2 moves, which is pretty fast!).

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Tips

Keep playing games of chess with a variety of players so you can continue practicing and building your skills. ^{[16]
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Work on getting your pawns to the other side of the board. That way, you can promote them to queens and get better control of the board. ^{[17]
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Warnings

Watch out for threats from your opponent while you’re playing since they may try tricking you into taking a piece so they can take the advantage next turn. ^{[18]
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How to End a Chess Game

Steps

Checkmate

Back Rank Mate

Arabian Mate

Smothered Mate

Two Pawn Mate

Fool’s Mate

Scholar’s Mate

Legal’s Mate

Stalemate

Insufficient Material Draw

50-Move Draw

Threefold-Repetition Draw

Resignation

Timeout

Expert Q&A

Tips

Warnings

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References

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