Checkmate vs stalemate

Updated 1 October 2026

In both, the player to move has no legal move. If their king is in check, it is checkmate and they lose. If their king is not in check, it is stalemate and the game is a draw.

Checkmate

Checkmate means the king is attacked and there is no way out: it can't move to a safe square, nothing can block the attack, and the attacker can't be captured. The game ends right there, and the player who gave checkmate wins.

This pattern has a name: see back-rank mate.

Stalemate

Stalemate means it is your turn, your king is not in check, but you have no legal move at all: every king move would walk into check and none of your other pieces can move. Since you can't pass, the game stops and it is a draw.

How to avoid stalemating when you're winning

Stalemate is the classic way to throw away a won game, usually when the losing side has nothing left but a king. The typical slip is a queen placed one square too close.

• Before every move in a winning endgame, ask: will my opponent still have a legal move?
• Use your king to help. A queen or rook alone can't checkmate a king in the open: see how to checkmate with a king and queen.
• Against a lone king, make sure every move either gives check or leaves the king at least one square.

Quiz: checkmate, stalemate or neither?

It is Black's move in each position. Decide, then open the answer.

1. Show answer

   Checkmate. The queen gives check, the king guards the queen, and every escape square is covered.

2. Show answer

   Stalemate. Black is not in check, but g8, g7 and h7 are all covered and Black has no other piece. A draw.

3. Show answer

   Just check. The rook attacks the king, but it can step to d7, d8, f7 or f8.

4. Show answer

   Neither. The king is stuck, but Black can still push the pawn from a2 to a1, so the game goes on.

Other ways a game can be drawn

Stalemate is only one kind of draw. A game is also drawn by agreement, when the same position appears three times, after fifty moves by each side with no capture or pawn move, or when neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate. How a chess game ends covers each of them, and the clock.