Check (chess) - Checking in Tactics and Strategy

Checking in Tactics and Strategy

Sometimes checking an opponent provides no benefit to the checking player. This is called a "useless check" and it may even provide the checked opponent with a tempo (move opportunity) to move his king into a safer position (Hooper & Whyld 1992:437). For example, 1. e4 e6 2. d4 Bb4+? does nothing for Black and in fact causes him to lose a tempo after 3. c3! A check given with the sole intention of delaying an inevitable defeat by one move is referred to as a "spite check", and may be considered somewhat unsporting (Eade 2005:65).

However, there are many times when checking the opponent's king may be a useful tactic or part of a tactic, either in attacking or in defense. Checking is often used in combinations with many other tactics or simply to force an opponent into a position where the opposing king can be checkmated, otherwise taken advantage of, or is otherwise worse for the opponent. Some attacks involves numerous checks to force an opponent into a losing position, especially when the king is exposed. An unexpected check in a forced combination or an overlooked cross-check in a planned series of checks may serve as sort of a zwischenzug, foiling the plan.

Some uses of checking:

• Repetitive checking to prevent losing a game going poorly (to draw the game by perpetual check).
• Royal fork (knight fork of king and queen) or other forks involving the king.
• Checks to force an exchange.
• A double check could be especially bad for the opponent since there are likely to be fewer options to get out of check. A double check is often more likely to lead to checkmate or loss of material.
• A check might force a king to move so that it cannot castle later.
• Moving a piece to give check can sometimes open a line of attack on another piece. The opponent must escape the check, and therefore cannot (in general) prevent the other piece from being captured (discovered attack).
• Similarly, the piece moved to create a discovered check may attack another enemy piece, leading to the same scenario.
• The king may also, by being forced to move out of check, enable the checking piece to capture another piece (an absolute skewer).
• A check might force some piece to block it and therefore pose an absolute pin on that piece.
• A check might deflect the king from protecting some other piece (particularly in an endgame, to capture opponent's pawns).