Most anyone knows that check mate is the primary goal in chess and that check mate ends the game. But only very few players understand check mate. There is a big difference between knowing something and understanding it. What? Yes, knowing something does not necessarily mean we understand it, and I’m not getting into any philosophical discussion about these two concepts; you can find better sources for that.
Check mate is one of the many elements of chess that we fight or play for. He who delivers check mate wins the game and the game ends; that’s usually one of our first lessons in chess. So far so good. However, what we are not specifically told is that “he who first delivers check mate wins the game“. Or if we are told about that we don’t get to understand it completely. And it makes a big difference in our subsequent knowledge and understanding of the game.
Sunset in Frankfort
By making emphasis in that particular quality “who first delivers” we add a sense of urgency when we play a chess game. We start knowing that, in some way, the game is a race, and then to understand why it is important not to waste time playing moves that won’t get us closer to delivering check mate. Yes, that’s what we want in a chess game…. to be first delivering check mate.
Not only is check mate an important element of the game, it is also an element of force. What? Yes, check mate, or better yet, the event of check-matting our opponent is an element we can use to force our opponent to do specific moves or to limit his choices. In chess that is called check mate threat. The check mate threat is so powerful, our opponent has no other choice but to defend against it, if he doesn’t want to loose the game, or we will otherwise deliver check mate on the next move.
Chess Grand Masters understand this element very well and at Grand Master play check mate is a critical element of success. If we want to become stronger chess players we want to know and understand that a check mate threat forces our opponent and that he who first delivers check mate wins the game.
Questo que lotro…, salud!
Think Board 