Double check
Encyclopedia
In chess
, a double check is a check delivered by two pieces at the same time. In chess notation
, it is often symbolized by "++".
known as Philidor's legacy). The only replies to a double check are king moves, as capturing the checking piece (except by the king, which in the process moves out of check by the other piece) is not an option since there are two of them, and interposition is likewise impossible as there would be two lines of attack to block.
In exceptional circumstances, it is possible for the piece moved not to give check. The only way for this to happen in orthodox chess is by way of an en passant
pawn
capture. In the position shown above right, Black has just played 1...g5 (from g7). White replies 2.hxg6 e.p.++. This is a double check even though the pawn that White just moved is not giving check. Rather, one check is given by the rook, the other by the bishop; the former is discovered by the movement of the capturing pawn, the latter by the removal of the captured pawn. Such a double check is extremely rare in practical play, but is sometimes found in problems
.
Aron Nimzowitsch
wrote that, "Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check." Because the only possible response to a double check is a king move, the double check is often an important tactical motif. A famous example is Réti
-Tartakower
, Vienna 1910, which arose after 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qd3 e5?! 6.dxe5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxe5 8.0-0-0! Nxe4?? 9.Qd8+!! (sacrificing a queen in order to set up a double check) Kxd8 10.Bg5++ and White mates after 10...Ke8 11.Rd8# or 10...Kc7 11.Bd8#. A double check was also seen in the celebrated Evergreen Game
, Anderssen
-Dufresne
, 1852. From the diagram at right, Anderssen won with 20.Rxe7+! Nxe7 21.Qxd7+!! (a queen sacrifice to set up a deadly double check) Kxd7 22.Bf5++ Ke8 (or 22...Kc6 23.Bd7#) 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7#.
or fairy pieces
, other ways of delivering a double check may be possible. Triple, quadruple and even quintuple checks may also be possible, for example in the position shown, after Black plays 1... d5, White plays 2. exd5 ep quintuple check (the moa is a non-leaping knight which first takes a diagonal step, then an orthogonal one). After the en passant capture, both moas, the rook, the grasshopper and the bishop check the black king.
In Xiangqi
, a Chinese version of chess, triple check and even quadruple check is possible even without using fairy chess pieces. An example is as follows:
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, a double check is a check delivered by two pieces at the same time. In chess notation
Chess notation
Chess notation is the term for several systems that have developed to record either the moves made during a game of chess or the position of the pieces on a chess board. The earliest systems of notation used lengthy narratives to describe each move; these gradually evolved into terser systems of...
, it is often symbolized by "++".
Discussion
The most common form of one check involves one piece moving to deliver check, at the same time revealing a discovered check from a piece behind (such a check is an inherent part of the type of smothered mateSmothered mate
In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded by his own pieces....
known as Philidor's legacy). The only replies to a double check are king moves, as capturing the checking piece (except by the king, which in the process moves out of check by the other piece) is not an option since there are two of them, and interposition is likewise impossible as there would be two lines of attack to block.
In exceptional circumstances, it is possible for the piece moved not to give check. The only way for this to happen in orthodox chess is by way of an en passant
En passant
En passant is a move in the board game of chess . It is a special pawn capture which can occur immediately after a player moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, and an enemy pawn could have captured it had it moved only one square forward...
pawn
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
capture. In the position shown above right, Black has just played 1...g5 (from g7). White replies 2.hxg6 e.p.++. This is a double check even though the pawn that White just moved is not giving check. Rather, one check is given by the rook, the other by the bishop; the former is discovered by the movement of the capturing pawn, the latter by the removal of the captured pawn. Such a double check is extremely rare in practical play, but is sometimes found in problems
Chess problem
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved. For instance, a position might be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two...
.
Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch was a Russian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential chess writer...
wrote that, "Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check." Because the only possible response to a double check is a king move, the double check is often an important tactical motif. A famous example is Réti
Richard Réti
Réti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king...
-Tartakower
Savielly Tartakower
Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...
, Vienna 1910, which arose after 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qd3 e5?! 6.dxe5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxe5 8.0-0-0! Nxe4?? 9.Qd8+!! (sacrificing a queen in order to set up a double check) Kxd8 10.Bg5++ and White mates after 10...Ke8 11.Rd8# or 10...Kc7 11.Bd8#. A double check was also seen in the celebrated Evergreen Game
Evergreen game
The Evergreen game is a famous chess game played in Berlin in 1852 between Adolf Anderssen and Jean Dufresne.Adolf Anderssen was one of the strongest players of his time, and was considered by many to be the world champion after winning the London 1851 tournament. Jean Dufresne, a popular author of...
, Anderssen
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...
-Dufresne
Jean Dufresne
Jean Dufresne was a German chess player and chess composer. He was a student of Adolf Anderssen, and lost the "Evergreen game" to him in 1852. Dufresne was an unsuccessful novelist under the anagrammatic pseudonym E. S...
, 1852. From the diagram at right, Anderssen won with 20.Rxe7+! Nxe7 21.Qxd7+!! (a queen sacrifice to set up a deadly double check) Kxd7 22.Bf5++ Ke8 (or 22...Kc6 23.Bd7#) 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7#.
Variants and triple check
In chess with variant rulesChess variant
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from or inspired by chess. The difference from chess might include one or more of the following:...
or fairy pieces
Fairy chess piece
A fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a piece analogous to a chess piece. It is not used in conventional chess, but is used in certain chess variants and some chess problems...
, other ways of delivering a double check may be possible. Triple, quadruple and even quintuple checks may also be possible, for example in the position shown, after Black plays 1... d5, White plays 2. exd5 ep quintuple check (the moa is a non-leaping knight which first takes a diagonal step, then an orthogonal one). After the en passant capture, both moas, the rook, the grasshopper and the bishop check the black king.
In Xiangqi
Xiangqi
Xiangqi is a two-player Chinese board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, shogi, Indian chess and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China...
, a Chinese version of chess, triple check and even quadruple check is possible even without using fairy chess pieces. An example is as follows:
| style="border: solid thin; padding: 0px 9px 0px 8px;" | Triple check: Red moves his horse from e5 to d7, giving check and exposing a double check from chariot and cannon. |
| style="border: solid thin; padding: 0px 9px 0px 8px;" | Quadruple check : Red moved his chariot from f9 to e9 which suddenly uncovers two checks from the horses, makes a check of its own, and makes a platform for the cannon at e7 to give yet another check. |