A defensive save where a player in a losing position manages to deliver an infinite loop of inescapable checks to the enemy King, forcing an automatic draw by repetition.
Why it matters
A perpetual check is a draw taken by force. The checks never stop, the enemy king can never escape, and the position repeats until the rules call it a draw.
It is the standard way to save a lost position with an active queen: material stops mattering entirely if the king can never get out of check.
See it on a board
A lone queen chasing a king on the edge: with squares this scarce, checks can often be repeated for ever, which is a draw however much material is missing.
Checked: the position really has the feature described.
How to play it
- White plays Qe8+, forcing Kh7, then Qh5+, forcing Kg8, then Qe8+ again.
- Because Black cannot block the checks or hide the King, the game ends in a draw, turning a loss into half a point.
At each level
The same idea, said the way it is taught at each age.
Knight · ages 4–6
If you are losing, look for a piece that can check the enemy king again and again. If the king can never get away, the game is a draw.
Bishop · ages 5–7
Perpetual check needs two squares your queen can check from, both safe. Find those two squares before you start giving the checks.
Rook · ages 6–9
Judge perpetuals before sacrificing into them: the question is whether the king has any square that stops the loop, not whether the checks look scary.
What goes wrong
- Starting a checking sequence without a second checking square, and running out after one.
- Taking a perpetual in a position that was actually winning.
Questions people ask
- How is perpetual check a draw?
- By repetition. The same position appears three times, or fifty moves pass without a capture or pawn move, and either rule ends the game as a draw.