Expert: Len Molden - 12/22/2009

Question
can a king kill when in check or does it have to move? or if i have a  bishop and move next to him can he kill me ? please answer thanks!

Answer
Hi Albert,

When the King is in check, I'll quote this from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_(chess)

"Check and checkmate
====================

If a player's move places the opponent's king under attack, that king is said to be in check, and the player in check is required to immediately remedy the situation. There are three possible methods to remove the king from check:

1) Moving the king to an adjacent non-threatened square.

2) Interposing a piece between the king in check and the attacking piece in order to break the line of threat (not possible when the attacking piece is a knight, or when in double check).

3) Capturing the attacking piece (not possible in double check, unless the king captures)
If none of these three options are possible, the player's king has been checkmated and the player loses the game."

So the answer to your question is yes, provided it's not double-check (check from two pieces at the same time) or the attacking piece is not protected.

Regards,

Len Molden