Editing Perpetual check (section)

{{Short description|Chess situation in which one player can force a draw by repeatedly checking}}

In the game of [[chess]], '''perpetual check''' is a situation in which one player can play an unending series of [[check (chess)|check]]s from which the defending player cannot escape. This typically arises when the player who is checking feels their position in the game is inferior, they cannot deliver [[checkmate]], and wish to {{chessgloss|forcing move|force}} a [[Draw (chess)|draw]].

A draw by perpetual check is no longer one of the [[rules of chess]], but will eventually allow a draw claim by either [[threefold repetition]] or the [[fifty-move rule]]. Players usually [[draw by agreement|agree to a draw]] long before that.<ref>{{Harvcol|Burgess|2000|p=478}}</ref>

Perpetual check can also occur in other [[chess variant|forms of chess]], although the rules relating to it might differ. For example, giving perpetual check is not allowed in [[shogi]] and [[xiangqi]], where doing so leads to an automatic loss for the giver.
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