In Chess, How many moves does the king have to move out of checkmate?

Question

This might be a little confusing. Say for example, the only pieces left in the board are a light king and a dark queen (or rook), and two pawns that are way out of the way of the king and queen.

The queen has the king in check. The king can obviously move one space to get out of check. But then the queen can also move one space to check again. Then the king can move again.....

What happens in this situation? Does the king have to be safe from checks by a certain number of moves before it is game over?

Answer 1

In most tournaments, it's a stalemate if the same set of moves are repeated three times in a row. Since the object of chess is capture of the king, a stalemate is usually a good way out of "losing" since neither players "win". So if your opponent "stalls" by moving the king back and forth, and you don't want a stalemate, then back up and corner the king. Checkmate can be done with just a rook and a king, but if your opponent is good then it can take a while.

Answer 2

You have fifty moves to checkmate your opponent.  Counting begins anew everytime a pawn moves.  Two bishops and king can force a win.  A bishop, knight and king can force a win.  Two knights and king cannot force a win.  You can get out of check by moving out of check, by blocking with another piece except you cannot block a knight.  You can capture the attacking piece.  

Answer 3

There is something called the 50-move rule.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_move_...

Also, there is another rule called Perpetual Check.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_c...

And, Repeating the same position 3 times

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threefold_r...

You can claim a draw by any of the above rules if you satisfy the requirements of each.

PS:

A stalemate is a slightly different concept. It has nothing to do with repeating the position or making a certain number of moves. A stalemate happens when your King is not in check and you cannot make any legal move.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalemate