Check!

Let’s see how great you are at attacking the king and giving check!

Topic 1

Danger! The white king is under attack! One of Black’s pieces is checking the white king. Which one is it?

The black bishop was checking the white king! White must make a move to get out of check. In this case, she must move her king.  

Black has just checked the white king again. Can you see which piece is saying “check”, and how to get the king out of check?

You’re in check! Find a safe square for your king.  

Very good! The rook was checking the king – remember, the rook moves side to side and up and down. The king could have also moved to c5, e3, or d3 to get out of check.

Topic 2

One very good way to get out of check is to capture the piece which is checking the king. Can you see how White does that now?

Very good!! The bishop checked the white king, but our knight simply captured it!

Topic 3

The white king is in check again. Another way to get out of check is to block. This means you use one of your pieces as a shield to block the check from the attacking piece! Which piece blocks Black’s check?

Very good! By moving our bishop to d5, we block Black’s bishop from checking our king! It’s willing to stand in harm’s way to protect the king — a very noble gesture!  

Black captures the blocking piece…

Black captures the blocking piece.  Now what is the best way to get out of check?

Great job!! Remember — your king can sometimes protect itself by capturing the checking piece! In this case, you protected your king and also saved the queen!

Topic 4

In this position, there are two ways White can save his king. He can move the king or block the check with the queen. Which is better?

Great job! You saved the king by moving him away from the bishop’s attack. Now you’ve seen the three ways to get out of check: capture, protect, and run away. One cool way to remember this is “C.P.R.”, a life-saving technique to save a person who can’t breathe. Now you know C.P.R. for your king! 

Topic 5

Remember C.P.R.? This time, all three ways of getting out of check are possible here: capturing, protecting and running away. But which one is best? It’s your turn to decide – be sure to look at each one!

Woohoo! In this position, the running away method was best. Capturing the bishop on b4 looks good, but then Black would use his a8 rook to capture yours! Using your rook to block on d2 wouldn’t be as good because the black bishop would capture it!