I am playing white and it is my turn. I am currently in check.
Can I capture the pawn in front of my king to escape the check, placing his king in checkmate? Or is it illegal and therefore I lose?
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1Actually it appears that you yourself are already checkmated in the picture. That is, you have lost the game because you cannot prevent your opponent from taking your king on their next turn. That you can take their king on your very next turn is irrelevant under the official rules, but you could make a house rule (once you have a firmer grasp on the official rules).– hkBstMay 12, 2016 at 12:17
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3 Answers
No, you may not ever move your king into a position in which it is threatened ("in check"). If you did, your opponent could just immediately capture your king, and you would lose.
Reference from the FIDE Laws of Chess:
3.9. ... No piece can be moved that will either expose the king of the same colour to check or leave that king in check.
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I see thank you very much I am new to chess so sorry for the trouble ^_^ May 6, 2016 at 23:13
You can solve any such problem by pretending the rules of check and checkmate don't exist, and instead you just lose when your king is captured. In your case, if you take the pawn, black will take your king and you will lose.
The rule of check becomes unnecessary since all it says is you can't make a move that allows your opponent to win immediately, and you wouldn't want to anyway.
(Note: this way of thinking about it doesn't account for the rules about stalemates or castling through check.)
answered May 7, 2016 at 2:13
Taking the pawn places your king in check, under threat from the opponent king.
As white, you have no way of creating check on your opponent, let alone mate.
White loses.
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I see thank you very much I am new to chess so sorry for the trouble ^_^ May 6, 2016 at 23:13