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Stalemate vs Checkmate: What's the Difference?
To play chess, you need to know the specific terms of the game. Three of them (check, checkmate, and stalemate) are often confused or misunderstood. New to the game? Our guide on how to play chess is the place to start. In this article, we look at stalemate vs checkmate and the one rule that separates them.
What Is Check?
When a player puts the opponent's king under direct attack, that king is in check. This means the king is threatened with capture on the very next move. The player whose king is in check has to deal with the situation right away, either by moving the king, blocking the attack, or capturing the piece giving check. A king is never allowed to stay in check, and a king is never allowed to move itself into check either. Here's an example.
In the diagram above, the black king is under attack from the white rook. It's in check, and it has to get out of it. Here, the only escape is h7.
Now for the difference between checkmate and stalemate.
What Is Checkmate?
When a player puts the opponent's king in check, and the player whose king is in check has no way to get out of it, that's checkmate. It means the game is over, and whoever delivered checkmate wins. Delivering checkmate is the goal of the game. Take a look at the board below.
The black king is in check. Black has no way to get out of it. That's checkmate. White wins the game.
What Is Stalemate?
Stalemate is a rare situation where the player to move has no legal move available with any of their pieces, and their king is not in check. When that happens, the game is declared a draw. Take the position below.
The black king is not in check, so this is not checkmate. But Black cannot play a single legal move. The black pawn cannot advance, and the black king isn't allowed to move either, since it's never allowed to put itself in check. So this is stalemate, and the game is drawn, despite Black's huge material disadvantage.
Stalemate vs Checkmate: The Key Difference
By now you've got the idea, checkmate and stalemate are actually very different outcomes. Stalemate vs checkmate comes down to one thing. In checkmate, one of the two kings is under attack, meaning it's in check, while in stalemate, neither player's king is in check.
| Checkmate | Stalemate | |
|---|---|---|
| King in check? | Yes | No |
| Legal moves available? | None | None |
| Result | Game over, the player who delivered checkmate wins | Game over, the game is a draw |
Your Move
To keep reading, here's what we suggest.
- Get the full picture of the stalemate rule.
- Explore the most famous checkmate patterns ever played, from Scholar's Mate to Anastasia's Mate.
- Our free step-by-step lesson series is in the works. Join the waitlist to get it first.
That's it for our guide on the difference between checkmate and stalemate. We hope it helped. Feel free to share it on social if it did.