Double check

For the novel by Malcolm Rose, see Double Check (novel).
abcdefgh
8
g8 black king
g4 white bishop
g2 white rook
g1 white king
8
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abcdefgh
From this position, 1.Be6++ is a typical double check.

In chess, a double check is a check delivered by two pieces simultaneously.[1][2] In chess notation, it is almost always represented the same way as a single check ("+"), but is sometimes symbolized by "++" (however, "++" is also sometimes used to denote checkmate[3]).


Discussion

abcdefgh
8
h6 black king
g5 black pawn
h5 white pawn
f4 white bishop
h4 white rook
h1 white king
8
77
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55
44
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abcdefgh
A position demonstrating how double check is possible without the moved piece giving check, by way of en passant capture by White.

The most common form of double check involves one piece moving to deliver check and revealing a discovered check at the same time from a piece it had been blocking. (Such a check is an inherent part of the type of smothered mate known as Philidor's legacy.) The only possible replies to a double check are king moves, as both checking pieces cannot be captured or blocked at once. In some cases, the king can capture one checking piece and escape the other in a single move.

In exceptional circumstances, it is possible for the moved piece to not participate in the double check (i.e. to give a "double discovered check", though this name is not actually used). The only way for this to happen in orthodox chess is by way of an en passant capture. In the position shown at right, Black has just played 1...g7–g5. White replies 2.hxg6e.p.++. The result is a double check even though the pawn White moved does not give check (one check is given by the rook, discovered by the capturing pawn's move; the other by the bishop, discovered by the captured pawn's removal). Such a double check is extremely rare in practical play, but is sometimes found in problems.

From praxis

Réti–Tartakower, 1910
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black pawn
e5 black queen
e4 black knight
d3 white queen
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white bishop
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
c1 white king
d1 white rook
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
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abcdefgh
Position after 8...Nxe4??
Anderssen–Dufresne, 1852
abcdefgh
8
b8 black rook
e8 black king
g8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black bishop
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black knight
f7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
b6 black bishop
c6 black knight
f6 white pawn
a4 white queen
a3 white bishop
c3 white pawn
d3 white bishop
f3 black queen
a2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
d1 white rook
e1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Position after 19...Qxf3?


Aron Nimzowitsch wrote, "Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check."[4] Because the only possible response to a double check is a king move, the double check is often an important tactical motif.[1] 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#.[5]

A double check was also seen in the celebrated Evergreen Game, Anderssen–Dufresne, 1852.[2] 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

abcdefgh
8
d7 black pawn
a6 white upside-down queen
e6 black king
e5 white pawn
c4 white bishop
d4 white upside-down knight
f4 white upside-down knight
e1 white rook
h1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
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abcdefgh
With moas (shown as inverted knights) and grasshopper (shown as inverted queen). After Black moves his pawn to d5, taking it en passant results in quintuple check.
abcdefgh
8
e7 black pawn
f7 black king
f5 white pawn
d3 white upside-down knight
f1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
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abcdefgh
With nightrider (shown as inverted knight). After Black moves his pawn to e5, taking it en passant results in triple check.

In chess with variant rules 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.exd6e.p. quintuple check (the moa is a non-leaping knight which first takes a diagonal step, then an orthogonal one). After the en passant capture, five pieces check the black king: both moas, the rook, the grasshopper and the bishop.

In xiangqi, the Chinese version of chess, triple check and even quadruple check is possible even without using fairy pieces, as in the following examples:

10
9
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7
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5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h i

Triple check:
Red moved his horse from e5 to d7, giving check and exposing a double check from the chariot and cannon.
10
9
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5
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3
2
1
a b c d e f g h i

Quadruple check :
Red moved his chariot from f9 to e9, uncovering two checks from the horses, giving a check of its own, and making a platform for the cannon at e7 to give yet another check.

References

  1. 1 2 Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992), The Oxford Companion to Chess (second ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 113, ISBN 0-19-866164-9
  2. 1 2 Golombek, Harry (1977), Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess, Crown Publishing, p. 88, ISBN 0-517-53146-1
  3. ↑ Tim Just and Daniel Burg, 2003, U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess, 5th ed., ISBN 0-8129-3559-4, p. 218
  4. ↑ Nimzowitsch, Aron (1947), My System (second ed.), David McKay, p. 130, ISBN 0-679-14025-5
  5. ↑ Chernev, Irving (1955), 1000 Best Short Games of Chess, Simon and Schuster, p. 18
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