History Main / SurpriseCheckmate

* ''VideoGame/MystIVRevelation'': Atrus has been playing chess with Sirrus, hoping it will ease his captivity. If you examine Atrus' chessboard (with the memory viewer) in Tomahna you get his remark on the game: Atrus has left his queen vulnerable, but if Sirrus fails to see it's a trap and captures the queen, Atrus will win in two moves. If you examine Sirrus's chessboard in Spire [[spoiler:after he escapes]], you get his remark on the same game: he thinks his father has made a [[IdiotBall stupid mistake]] by leaving his queen exposed and [[EvilGloating gloats]] at the opportunity to capture it -- he does ''not'' notice the trap. It's a quiet indictment of his character: Sirrus [[GadgeteerGenius certainly is smart]], but [[TooCleverByHalf not as smart as he thinks]], and his bad moves lead to his defeat.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot''. Roger loves chess and invariably loses, despite his eternal hope that he'll win next time. Crowning example: he lets Jason have the first move, and Jason proceeds to rattle off a winning string of notation (The ''[[PressStartToGameOver four-move Scholar's Mate]]'', [[GeniusBonus if you're paying attention]]) without Roger setting up the board.
-->'''Roger''': Methinks my game may be getting a bit too predictable.
** The exact surprise can vary. For one Sunday comic, Roger spends multiple panels realizing the game is over no matter what he does. Andy wearily says, "Face it, Roger -- you win." He begs for one more game anyway.
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* There are many opportunities for this to occur in ''VideoGame/FiveDChessWithMultiverseTimeTravel'', largely because the way the game plays is so completely unconventional and confusing compared to standard chess that it's entirely possible to checkmate ''by accident'' due to the extra dimensions involved.
* A meta example is used ''perfectly'' in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' by [[BlackWidow Morinth]], who could be best described as a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot psychic sex]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext vampire]]. She has a chess board set up in her apartment which she loves because her favorite games are ones where "the opponent is sure they are going to win until they are gutted". This describes not only her killer methodology but also how she views other people. You can then turn the tables and "[[DeadlyEuphemism checkmate]]" her to her complete shock by resisting her seduction and bringing in Samara.

This trope's LogicalExtreme is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool's_mate "fool's mate,"]] a checkmate in two moves only possible if your opponent (a) [[GenreBlindness has never heard of fool's mate]] and (b) is unlucky/bad enough to perform the precise [[EpicFail terrible]] opening moves that make it possible.

This trope's LogicalExtreme is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fools_mate "fool's mate,"]] a checkmate in two moves only possible if your opponent (a) [[GenreBlindness has never heard of fool's mate]] and (b) is unlucky/bad enough to perform the precise [[EpicFail terrible]] opening moves that make it possible.

In fiction, checkmate more often than not comes as a complete surprise, leaving the losing player baffled and the winning player smug about his intellectual superiority. Often paired with a handsome remark ("I believe, sir, that this is checkmate"). This works very well if the work is emphasizing the loser's obliviousness, but quite a few works use this trope to [[SmartPeoplePlayChess emphasize the winner's skill and foresight]]. (Also, giving the audience a clear view of the board [[TakeOurWordForIt is only optional]].) In reality, while superior chess skills do not directly translate to superior overall intelligence, surprise checkmates do happen. Though their frequency is inversely correlated with the players' skill level, surprise checkmates may occur even among grandmasters when they are distracted by conversation or pressured by time controls.

* Barring the unusual case of "discovered check,"[[note]]A check caused not by the piece that moved, but another piece it moved out of the way of.[[/note]] if a player merely moves a friendly piece to block the attempt on their king, the attacker can probably immediately capture it, reasserting the original check and blocking the attempted counterattack (thus, not a checkmate).
* If a player moves their king to a safe square, even if this exposes a check attempt on the opponent's king by another friendly piece, the opponent can usually move their attacking piece to the recently vacated square to block the check attempt (thus, not a checkmate).
* If a player captures the attacking piece, even if this creates a check attempt on the opponent's king, the opponent will almost always have protected that square with a nearby ally who can immediately capture the player's piece in response (thus, not a checkmate) -- barring, again, cases of discovered check.

As a check attempt severely limits the opponent's available options (move their king, capture or block the attacker), a classier (and more technically accurate) version is for the player to predict the number of moves until one player is forced into checkmate -- "checkmates Black in three moves", for example. That being said, even though it is expected that any decent player should be able to see at least ''one'' move ahead (which is to say that they can accurately predict their opponent's best move), Surprise Checkmate is actually very common in real life and happens all the time in casual matches.

[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* One issue of ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'' has him facing off against the Kingpin in chess, using the game as a metaphor for their coming conflict. Kingpin gets him in check and talks about how he'll always be several steps ahead, and is then immediately checkmated. When this appeared on ''Scans Daily'' a suggestion for followup dialogue was given.
--> '''Kingpin:''' That's not checkmate. For one thing, that's a bishop. Bishops can only move diagonally. And you even put it on the wrong colored space.\\
'''T'Challa:''' Indeed. You will find that I [[BadassBoast do not play by your rules.]]
* Though not a checkmate, an example between [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony]] and [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed]] during ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}} came close enough. The two are having a debate whilst playing chess on 10 different boards or so, and at the end of the conversation, Reed's been put into check on all 10 boards ''simultaneously''.
* In "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #143", the Joker beats Ra's al Ghul at Chess using the unlikely "check, then checkmate" method.
* When ''[[Characters/IncredibleHulkBruceBanner The Incredible Hulk]]'' was offered [[spoiler:leadership of the Pantheon]] by Agamemnon, while expressing his doubts, he surprised Agamemnon by putting him in check on a board that had stood untouched in his sanctum for four centuries, underlining his pressure on Agamemnon to be a little more forthcoming. After some soliliquising in response, Agamemnon follows up with a counter-check while putting Banner on the spot.
--> '''Agamemnon''' ..by the by, I'll believe you'll find that ''you'' are now in check. ''Your'' move, doctor.