Your king is in check. How can you defend against this kind of threat? As a beginner, it can be easy to get nervous when you are in check—your king is attacked! But not all checks are dangerous, and it is possible to defend against most checks without any trouble.

There are three ways to defend against check:

1. Escape with the king to a safe square, where the king is no longer in check. (Safe squares for the king are also called escape squares or flight squares.)
2. Block the check.
3. Capture the piece giving the check.

Other ways of defending against an attack of a piece, such as protecting or counter attacking, are not available when defending against check. Such moves are in fact not even legal moves, because you always must move your king out of check.

Blocking a check is similar to blocking an attack on a piece. Blocking is possible only if the piece delivering check has a long-range attack. This means the piece delivering check must be a queen, rook, or bishop. It can’t be a pawn or knight (and it is impossible for a king to deliver check).

The following position illustrates the options for defending against check:

Black’s rook on e8 gives check to White’s king. How can White defend?

• The king can escape: 1.Kd1, 1.Kd2, or 1.Kf1. (It can’t escape to e2, where it would still be in check by the rook.)
• White can block the check with 1.Be2 or 1.Be3.
• 1.Be5? would also block the check but would lose the bishop.
• The best defense is to capture the rook with 1.Bxe8!

You should be careful to notice any checks available to your opponent and make sure a defense is possible—otherwise the check might be checkmate. If you look at all possible checks and defenses in advance, there is no reason to get nervous!

In this level you must escape to a safe square.

Examples

Black's rook on a3 delivers check to the white king.
White cannot legally escape to c4 (guarded by black's pawn b5), nor to d4 (guarded by black's bishop on b2).
Blocking the check with Bc3 would lose the bishop to Bxc3 or Rxc3+.
Therefore, White must escape with the king to c2: 1.Kc2.