Can you block a double check?

No. One block or one capture only stops one of the two attackers, so the king is still in check. Only a legal king move can answer it.

Can the king capture a checking piece on a double check?

Only if that piece stands on a square adjacent to the king, is undefended, and the capture also escapes the second check. That is rare, which is what makes double check so strong.

Which famous games feature a double check?

Reti-Tartakower 1910 finishes with a queen sacrifice into a double check, and Lasker's 'windmill' against Torre in 1925 runs on repeated discovered and double checks.

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Double check: the only answer is a king move

A double check happens when a single move puts two of your pieces in contact with the enemy king. It is a special case of discovered check: the piece that steps aside gives check itself, and the piece behind it checks as well.

Double check is the most forcing move in chess. Blocking cannot stop two attackers on two different lines, and capturing can only remove one of them, so the king must move — even if it has to walk into the open.

That is why double check appears in so many famous combinations: it works even when the checking pieces are undefended, so material becomes irrelevant for a move.

Nf6+ is double check: the knight hits e8 and, by leaving e4, opens the rook's check along the e-file. Black cannot block or capture both, and the g5 pawn guards the knight, so the king must run.

How to spot it

Look for a battery — rook, bishop or queen behind one of your own pieces, aimed at the king — where the front piece can move and give check itself.
Ignore whether the checking pieces are defended: on a double check, captures are impossible anyway.
Count the king's escape squares first. Double check plus no flight squares is mate.
In sharp positions, check every knight and bishop move for a double check before calculating anything slower.

Practise this pattern

Play the winning move on a real board in verified double check positions, with hints and worked solutions.

Start the exercises

How to defend against it

Give the king a flight square before the battery is aimed at it.
Do not let two enemy lines cross at your king's square; break one of them with a pawn.
Trade off the piece that would deliver the front check.
Once double check lands, calculate king moves only — nothing else is legal.

Common mistakes

Playing double check when a quiet move wins more; forcing is not always best.
Forgetting that the king may capture one of the checking pieces if it stands next to it and is undefended.
Chasing the king with checks without a mating net, and letting it escape to safety.

Frequently asked questions

Can you block a double check?: No. One block or one capture only stops one of the two attackers, so the king is still in check. Only a legal king move can answer it.
Can the king capture a checking piece on a double check?: Only if that piece stands on a square adjacent to the king, is undefended, and the capture also escapes the second check. That is rare, which is what makes double check so strong.
Which famous games feature a double check?: Reti-Tartakower 1910 finishes with a queen sacrifice into a double check, and Lasker's 'windmill' against Torre in 1925 runs on repeated discovered and double checks.