---
title: Single-Check
slug: single-check
board: "8×8"
players: "2"
parent: chess
win: Deliver check
special: One check wins. No checkmate needed — any single check ends the game.
engine:
  topology:
    type: grid
    rows: 8
    cols: 8
  players: [white, black]
  setup: "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR"
---

## Single-Check

One check wins. No checkmate needed: just deliver a single check and the game is over. Every move is life or death.


{{svg:single-check-board.svg "Single-Check — starting position"}}

### Setup

**Board:** Standard 8×8.

**Setup:** Standard chess starting position.

**FEN:** `rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1`

### Rules

All standard chess rules apply, except:
- The game ends immediately when a player delivers check.
- Checkmate is not required; any check wins, even if it could be blocked or evaded.
- Stalemate is still a draw.

### Win Condition

Deliver check to the opponent's King.

### Strategy

The game becomes about pure King safety. Pieces that can give check from a distance (Queen, Bishops, Rooks) are incredibly dangerous. Any discovered check possibility must be neutralised immediately. Development speed is everything: the first player to create a check threat usually wins. Knights are particularly dangerous because their checks cannot be blocked. Games are extremely short.

### Attribution

Traditional variant. Public domain.