Chess rules
What Is Perpetual Check in Chess?
Perpetual check is a situation in which one player can keep giving check forever and the other king cannot escape. The game is then drawn, usually by threefold repetition or by agreement, because neither side can make progress.
Example
1. Qd8+ Kg7 2. Qg5+ Kf8 3. Qd8+ Kg7 4. Qg5+
Black is a rook up, but the white queen checks on d8 and g5 and the black king cannot get away. The king can only shuttle between g7 and f8, or go to h8 and be checked again. The game will be drawn.
Is perpetual check a rule?
There is no separate perpetual check rule in the FIDE Laws of Chess. A perpetual check ends in a draw through other rules. Usually the same position repeats, and a player claims a draw by threefold repetition. If no one claims it, the game is drawn automatically when the same position appears five times.
Players also commonly agree to a draw once a perpetual check is clear. If the checks somehow never repeat the position, the fifty-move and seventy-five-move rules still apply.
Using perpetual check to save a game
Perpetual check is the most common way to save a lost position. If you are behind in material but your queen can reach the enemy king, look for a pair of checking squares that the king cannot escape from.
Kings sheltered by pawns are vulnerable, because their own pawns take away escape squares. A queen and a knight, or a rook and a knight, can also give perpetual check.
How to escape a perpetual
The defending side should look for a shelter: a square where the king can hide behind its own pieces or pawns, or a check that can be blocked with a counter-check. Before winning material, make sure your king will not be exposed to endless checks.
Common questions
Is perpetual check a draw?
In practice, yes. The game is drawn by threefold repetition when claimed, automatically on the fifth repetition under FIDE rules, or by agreement.
Do I have to keep giving check if I start a perpetual?
No. You can stop checking at any time and try something else. The draw only happens when the repetition is claimed, reaches five times, or the players agree.
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