Check and mate

The ultimate goal of the game is to checkmate one's opponent. This can be attained by checking the enemy king in such a way that any possible move by the king would put it in another check. A king can escape a check in one of three ways: moving into a position that is not being attacked by the opponent's pieces, capturing the attacking piece either with the King himself or another piece, or blocking the attackers path with one's own pieces. The king can never be captured or otherwise eliminated from the game, since once a checkmate position is achieved the game is effectively over.