What does 'checkmate' mean?

Answer 1

The term checkmate is an alteration or Hobson-Jobson of the Persian phrase "Shāh Māt" which means, literally, "the King is ambushed" (or "helpless" or "defeated"). It does not literally mean "the King is dead", although that is a common misconception, as Chess reached Europe via the Islamic world, and Arabic mātaمَاتَ means "died", "is dead".[1] Moghadam traced the etymology of the word mate. It comes from a Persian verb mandan, meaning "to remain", which is cognate with the Latin word manco. It means "remained" in the sense of "abandoned" and the formal translation is "surprised", in the military sense of "ambushed" (not in the sense of "astonished"). So the king is in mate when he is ambushed, at a loss, or abandoned to his fate (Davidson 1981:70-71). The term checkmate has come to mean in modern parlance an irrefutable and strategic victory. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkmate#Origin_of_the_word

Answer 2

"The king is dead" or "The king is helpless" are literal meanings of the term "checkmate." A checkmate is a situation in which the king is unable to escape capture on the next move. When such a situation is created, the game ends.

Answer 3

Checkmate - the capture of the king - is the ultimate goal in chess, arising when the king is threatened with capture, with no way to respond to that threat by either moving the king, capturing the attacking piece or interposing a defending piece between the attacker and the king.

The checkmated player loses.

Answer 4

The word checkmate in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat" which means: 'the king is dead.'

Answer 5

It means "the king is dead" in another language.

it comes from the Arabic words "sheik mat." which means "the king is dead"

Answer 6

The answer is simple, the king is being attacked by another piece, so has to move, but can't move anywhere else without being attacked by another piece again.

Answer 7

Checkmate is basically when your king is in check, and cannot get out of it by either blocking, capturing or moving.

Answer 8

The game that the term "checkmate" is typically associated with is the game of chess. Chess is a game that's been around for a long time and is a two player type of game.

Answer 9

Persian

India