In this level, your opponent is threatening checkmate in one move.

How can you defend against this kind of threat?
There are five main ways to defend against checkmate in one move:

1. Protect the square where checkmate is threatened.
2. Capture one of the pieces threatening checkmate.
3. Escape with the king.
4. Make an escape square for the king.
5. Block one of the pieces threatening checkmate.

The following diagram illustrates the five main ways to defend against an immediate checkmate threat:

Here, Black is threatening checkmate in one move with Qxg3#. White can defend by:

• Capturing one of the pieces threatening checkmate with 1.Nxd6.
• Protecting the square where checkmate is threatened with 1.Qe1, 1.Rh3, or 1.Kh2.
• Escaping with the king with 1.Kf2. This opens an escape route to e2 and also clears the way for the rook to defend the g3 pawn.
• Blocking one of the pieces threatening checkmate with 1.g4 or 1.f4.
• Making an escape square for the king with 1.Be2 or 1.Bd3. (1.Rh2? would also make an escape square, but it would still be mate after 1...Qxg3+ 2.Kh1 Qxh2#.)

1.Bd3 is probably the best move, because after 1...Qxg3+? 2.Kf1, the queen would be trapped.

In this level, you must block one of the pieces threatening checkmate.

Examples

Black is threatening checkmate with Qxg2#.
White could give a check by capturing on f7 with the bishop or queen, but this would just lose material without defending against the threat.
Therefore White has to block by advancing the g-pawn.
1.g3 is the only good move, as 1.g4? would lose to 1...Qxg4+ followed by 2...Qg2#.

White is threatening checkmate with Qg7#.
Black could capture the f-pawn with 1...Nxf6?, but this would lose the knight to 2.Rxf6 (White could also checkmate with 2.Rg3+! followed by 3.Qg7#).
Black could block the queen with 1...Rf7?, but that would leave the rook on e8 unprotected, and lose to 2.Qxe8+.
The only good move is 1...Qf7, blocking the queen, and remaining a knight up.

Sometimes the only way to defend is to prepare a block, as in the following example:

White is threatening checkmate with Rh3#.
The only way to defend is to play 1...Rf6, so that 2.Rh3+ can be blocked with 2...Rh6.

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