Run, take, block: the three ways out of check

"Check!" is one of the most exciting words a young chess player can say. It means their piece is attacking the other king. But the very next question is just as important: what do you do when your own king is in check? The good news is that there are only three answers, and children can learn them like a little rhyme.

What check means

A king is in check when an opponent's piece could capture it on the next move. In chess, the king is never actually captured. Instead, the rule is simple: if your king is in check, you must get it out of check straight away. You are not allowed to make any other move first, and you are never allowed to make a move that puts or leaves your own king in check.

If there is no way out at all, that is checkmate, and the game is over.

The three ways out

Every escape from check is one of these three:

• Move the king to a square where it is not attacked
• Capture the piece that is giving check
• Block the check by putting one of your pieces in between

Many families like to say them as "Run, take, block".

Try this at home: Each time your child is in check, hold up three fingers and ask, "Can you run? Can you take? Can you block?" Let them check each finger in turn before they move. After a while they start counting on their own.

A few things that trip children up

The king can capture too. If the checking piece is right next to the king and nothing else is guarding it, the king itself can take it. This surprises a lot of young players.

You can't block a knight. A knight jumps over pieces, so putting something in its way does nothing. Against a knight, you can only run or take.

You can't block a piece that is right next to the king. If the checking piece is touching the king, there is no square in between to block on.

Running into another attack doesn't count. The square the king moves to must be safe. Encourage your child to look around the new square for enemy pieces before letting go of the king.

No castling out of check. Castling is not allowed while the king is in check, so it is never one of the escape routes.

Turning it into a game

Set up a tiny position: your child's king, one of your rooks giving check, and one or two of their own pieces nearby. Ask them to find every way out, not just one. Then move the pieces around and try again. Positions with only a few pieces keep the board calm and the thinking clear.

ChessMons tip: In ChessMons Practice, there are 20 puzzles for each piece and skill, and "Today's 3" gives a short set of daily puzzles. If your child gets stuck, coach Tock offers step-by-step hints, so they can find the answer themselves instead of being told.

Why this matters

Children who know the three ways out of check play with much more calm. Check stops feeling like a scary surprise and becomes a small puzzle to solve. And once they can spot when there is no way out, they are ready to understand checkmate properly, which is where the real fun begins.