Understanding chess endings
Stalemate or checkmate? Teach your child what to check
First identify whose turn it is. Then ask whether that king is in check and whether the player has any legal move. A trapped king alone does not answer either question.
Two questions separate a win from a draw
A child has a queen left, the opponent has only a king, and the game unexpectedly ends in a draw. The natural reaction is that the stronger side should have won. Chess does not decide the result by counting the remaining pieces. To recognise the ending, inspect the position from the perspective of the player whose turn comes next.
Under the FIDE Laws of Chess, checkmate occurs when the king is attacked and there is no legal way to escape that check. Stalemate occurs when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. A legal stalemate ends the game as a draw. In both cases, the king remains on the board; it is not captured.
The hero is a fictional AI-generated lesson scene, not an image of our staff or a client. Its board is not an instructional position. Set up the exact coordinates below on your own board to follow the examples.
| King in check? | Any legal move? | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Checkmate: the checked side loses |
| No | No | Stalemate: a draw |
| Yes | Yes | Check, but not checkmate |
| No | Yes | Neither checkmate nor stalemate |
Build a stalemate with just three pieces
Place the white king on c6, the white queen on b6 and the black king on a8. Remove every other piece. It is Black's turn. Board coordinates use a letter for the file and a number for the rank; check the printed coordinates rather than guessing from which side you are sitting.
First ask whether the black king on a8 is currently attacked. The queen on b6 does not attack a8, and the white king on c6 is not adjacent to it. Black is not in check. Now inspect the only neighbouring squares on the board: a7, b7 and b8. The queen attacks all three. Black cannot move onto an attacked square.
Because Black has no other pieces, there is no other move to investigate. Black is not in check and has no legal move: this is stalemate. Let your child explain each square separately. Memorising the visual shape without checking the attacks can lead to a wrong answer when one piece moves.
Move the queen one square and test again
For a separate practice setup, leave the kings on c6 and a8 but put the white queen on b7. Again, it is Black's turn and there are no other pieces. This time the queen attacks a8 diagonally, so the black king is in check. That single difference changes the question from whether Black can move to whether Black can escape check.
The black king cannot move to a7 or b8 because the queen attacks them. It cannot capture the queen on b7 because the white king on c6 protects her. There is no other black piece to capture the attacker or block the attack. The result is checkmate.
Alternate between the two setups without changing the kings. Ask your child to name the one fact that changes: the queen attacks the king's present square in the second position. Neither a threatening-looking queen nor a king at the edge is sufficient evidence by itself. The answer comes from legal moves and attacked squares.
Do not inspect only the king
Return to the first setup: white king c6, white queen b6, black king a8, Black to move. Now add a black pawn on h7. The black king still cannot move, but the pawn can legally move to h6. Black therefore has a legal move and the position is not stalemate. The additional pawn changes the result even though the corner of the board looks identical.
In a fuller position, inspect every piece belonging to the player to move. A possible-looking move is not legal if it exposes that player's king to check. When the king is already in check, consider whether the attacker can be captured or the attack blocked, as well as whether the king can move. A knight's checking attack cannot be blocked by placing a piece between it and the king.
The AI-generated pieces are off the board for illustration only. They do not depict a legal position, a puzzle answer or an actual pupil's game.
Turn the mistake into a short practice game
Use the three-piece setups as a sorting activity before playing a full game. One person arranges a position and names the side to move. The other answers in a complete sentence: Black is not in check, and these squares are unavailable, so it is stalemate. Swap roles and ask the child to challenge any missing part of the explanation.
During a casual teaching game, pause before a move that removes the opponent's last available square. Ask what legal reply would remain if the move were played. Do not teach that giving check is always the best move; the aim is to notice the opponent's options. Agree on pauses and takebacks beforehand so a learning game is not confused with tournament play.
If a game has already legally ended in stalemate, calling it a practice win does not change the chess result. You can reset the position and explore alternatives together. US Chess beginner-teaching guidance recommends giving children time to distinguish check, checkmate and stalemate after they have learned the piece movements.
Choose an appropriate next challenge
A child who can name the ending but cannot identify attacked squares may need more practice with piece movement. A child who understands both examples can try unfamiliar positions with an extra defending piece. Keep the challenge tied to what they can explain, rather than the number of puzzles completed or a promised rating increase.
Our chess lesson page describes the teaching scope and the need to confirm specialist availability. Include your child's age, playing experience and one example of an ending they found confusing when you enquire. For families staying in Kerobokan, the Kerobokan arrangements guide helps with the separate question of where a lesson could take place.
If the practical question is how to fit a new activity around school, use our guide to a realistic tutoring schedule. A focused discussion of a few positions can be a more manageable starting task than expecting a beginner to analyse a whole long game.
Frequently asked questions
Is a king with no available square always stalemated?
Check the entire position. If the king is in check and no legal response exists, it is checkmate. If another piece can make a legal move while the king is not in check, it is not stalemate. The test concerns every legal move for the player whose turn it is.
Can the king capture the checking piece?
Only if that capture is legal and leaves the king out of check. In the queen-on-b7 example, the white king on c6 protects the queen, so the black king cannot capture her.
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Published by Private Tutoring Bali. Sources and corrections.