How do you win a game of chess?
B · Beginner · Winning and drawing · 7 of 10A game is won by checkmate: the opponent's king is in check and there is no legal move to get it out. Checkmate ends the game at once. A game is also won when the opponent resigns, and in games with a clock when the opponent runs out of time.
How it works
- Checkmate: the king is under attack "in such a way that the opponent has no legal move".
- It ends the game immediately: provided the move that produced it was legal.
- Resignation: a player who declares they resign has lost, and that also ends the game at once.
- On time: a player who does not complete the required moves in the allotted time loses.
- The exception on time and resignation: if the opponent could not checkmate by any possible series of legal moves, the game is a draw.
- By penalty: an arbiter can declare a game lost, for example for a second illegal move or for having a phone.
- By default: a player who arrives after the default time loses.
The glossary has the checkmate, the resignation, the flag fall, the check, the scoring and the dead position.
Tricky cases
A player checkmates and then their flag is found to have fallen. Who wins?
The player who gave checkmate. Checkmate "immediately ends the game", so nothing after it counts.
A player runs out of time, but the opponent has only a king left. Who wins?
Nobody. The game is drawn, because the opponent "cannot checkmate the player's king by any possible series of legal moves".
A player resigns, and it turns out the opponent could never have forced or even reached checkmate. Does the resignation stand?
No. If the opponent cannot checkmate by any possible series of legal moves, the result is a draw.
Can a player take back a resignation?
No. Declaring it "immediately ends the game".
Why the rule exists
Checkmate is the capture of the king stopped one move short. Ending the game there removes any argument about what happens next. Resignation exists because strong players can see a lost game long before the end and need not play it out.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Checkmate | Win; the game ends at once | FIDE Laws 5.1.1 |
| Resignation | Loss, unless the opponent cannot possibly checkmate | FIDE Laws 5.1.2 |
| Time runs out | Loss, unless the opponent cannot possibly checkmate | FIDE Laws 6.9 |
| Second completed illegal move | Loss, with the same exception | FIDE Laws 7.5.5 |
| Late beyond the default time | Loss unless the arbiter decides otherwise | FIDE Laws 6.7.1 |
From the rule book
FIDE, Laws of Chess (approved 7 August 2022, applied from 1 January 2023), Articles 1.4, 5.1, 6.7, 6.9, 7.5.5 and 11.3.2.2. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2023 (FIDE Handbook E.01).