chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

, a cross-check (or counter-check) is a

tactic Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefie ...

in which a

check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * '' The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld'' Games and sports * Check (chess), a th ...

is played in response to a check, especially when the original check is blocked by a

piece Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * P ...

that itself either delivers check or reveals a

discovered check In chess, a discovered attack is a direct attack revealed when one piece moves out of the way of another. Discovered attacks can be extremely powerful, as the piece moved can make a threat independently of the piece it reveals. Like many chess ...

from another piece. Sometimes the term is extended to cover cases in which the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

moves out of check and reveals a

from another piece (this is also known as a ''royal check''); it does not generally apply to cases where the original checking piece is captured. The cross-check is an essential tactic in winning some endgames such as those with two

queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

versus one, or a queen and pawn versus a queen. In these cases, the defense usually tries for a

perpetual check In the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can a draw by an unending series of checks. This typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate, and failing to continue the series of checks giv ...

and sometimes the stronger side can stop it only by a cross-check.

Examples

A cross-check occurs from time to time in games. It is an essential

in winning endgames such as two

versus one queen, or queen and

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an h ...

versus queen, where it is used to stop a series of checks from the opponent and force the

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics * Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

of queens. It is also used in some

chess problem A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...

Botvinnik vs. Minev game

Cross-checks are rare in actual play, though they do occur, and in some endgames, particularly

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

endgames, they are very important. The position shown to the right is the final position in the famous queen endgame from the game between

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinn ...

and

Nikolay Minev Nikolay (or Nikolai) Nikolaev Minev ( bg, Николай Николаев Минев, 8 November 1931 – 10 March 2017) was a Bulgarian chess International Master (IM) and noted chess author. Minev was born on 8 November 1931, in Rousse, Bulgaria ...

, Amsterdam Olympiad, 1954. In the position shown, after 91. Kc5!!, Black

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

because the promising looking checks 91...Qc7+, 91...Qg1+, 91...Qf2+ and 91...Qc2+ are answered by the cross-checks 92.Qc6+, 92.Qd4+, 92.Qd4+ and 92.Qc4+ respectively, forcing an exchange of queens in all cases, which will result in the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

of the

and winning the game by a basic

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

. This is an important theme in queen endgames: the weaker side often gives a series of checks, and it is frequently important for them to avoid simplifying cross-checks such as these in reply , . If the black queen attacks the pawn instead of checking it does no good since the promotion square of the pawn is protected by its queen.

Two queens versus one

In the position on the left from Botvinnik–Ravinsky,Botvinnik vs. Ravinsky
/ref> Black resigned. With best play according to the

endgame tablebase An endgame tablebase is a computerized database that contains precalculated exhaustive analysis of chess endgame positions. It is typically used by a computer chess engine during play, or by a human or computer that is retrospectively analysin ...

, 126...Kb3 127.Qf7+ Ka4 128.g8=Q Qg4+ 129.Kh6 Qh4+ 130.Kg7 Qg3+ 131.Kf8 Qd6+ 132.Qe7 Qh6+ 133.Qgg7 Qf4+ 134.Qgf7 Qb8+ and the position on the right is reached. Then the cross-check 135.Qee8+ (or Qfe8+)

forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods eit ...

the king and queen, forces an exchange, and wins the game.

Anderson problem, 1919

Cross-checks are relatively infrequent in actual play, but are popular in

s since they make for a relatively unobvious solution. In the problem shown to the right, White is to move and mate in two moves against any defence. It is by G.F. Anderson and was first published in ''Il Secolo'' in 1919. The

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

1.Kd6, threatening 2.Qb7#, gives the black king two

flight square In chess, a flight square or escape square is a safe square to which a piece, especially a king, can move if it is threatened. Providing one's piece with flight squares can prevent the opponent from winning material or delivering checkmate. For e ...

s, and two of the variations exploit these: 1...Kb6 2.Bc2# and 1...Kb4 2.Kxc6#. The other two defences exploit the fact that the key exposes the white king to checks, and are answered by cross-checks: 1...Rg6+ 2.Be6# and 1...Rd3+ 2.Bd5#.

Anderson problem, 1961

The problem to the right, also by G. F. Anderson (first published in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' in 1961) and also a mate in two, features no fewer than five cross-checks. The key is 1.Qb6 (threat: 2.Ne4#), with the following variations: :1...exf6+ 2.Nb7# :1...exd6+ 2.Nd7# :1...Nd4+ 2.Rf5# :1...Nxd6+ 2.Nd3# :1...Nf-other+ 2.Ne4# :1...Kxf6 2.Qb2# :1...Kxd6 2.Rd4#

References

Bibliography * * *

External links

Three successive cross-checks in a game
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross-Check Chess terminology Chess problems Chess tactics