Across the families that descend from chaturanga — Perso-Arabic shatranj, Western chess, shōgi, xiangqi, makruk, and many others — the same scene repeats: a king, mounting threats, and several ways a game can end. Because rules and objectives differ, it helps to first name what we can see before any ruleset decides what it means. This post offers a compact, rule-agnostic vocabulary for three observable king states, with a tri-lingual mapping (Persian, French, English) and a pointer to the Sashité status spec.

A brief historical thread

Chaturanga to Shatranj. Early sources allow the actual capture of the king; some also treat the bare king — a king left alone — as decisive or at least critical.

Into medieval and Renaissance Europe. The Persian phrase shāh māt (the king is without recourse) becomes Old French eschec mat, then English checkmate. Etiquette and codification trend toward an abstract terminal: we stop when capture is unavoidable rather than physically taking the king.

Modern plurality. Conventions diverge. In Western chess, stalemate is a draw; in shōgi and xiangqi, stalemate typically loses for the side without a legal move. Other families invert goals (e.g., antichess). Same state, different value.

Three states, three names

Rooted in Persian, here is the compact mapping used in this article. English provides reader-friendly counterparts.

Checkmate

From Persian Shāh Māt (شاه مات) to French Échec et mat to English Checkmate.

The king is under attack and has no legal escape. Modern convention typically ends the game at this moment of inevitability — before the king is physically captured.

Note: The Persian root māt conveys helplessness or being defeated rather than death, though folk etymology often links it to the Arabic verb māta (died). This distinction reflects chess's evolution from direct capture to abstract terminal positions.

Bare king

From Persian Shāh Tanhā (شاه تنها) to French Roi nu to English Bare King.

A side is reduced to its king alone, stripped of all supporting pieces. Whether this constitutes a decisive end or merely a vulnerable position depends entirely on the game tradition.

Note: Some rule systems (like historical Shatranj) treat the bare king as an immediate terminal state. Others (like Xiangqi variants) allow play to continue, as the lone king may still participate in delivering checkmate. What counts as bare may also vary — for instance, whether pawns alone suffice to avoid this designation.

Captured king

From Persian Shāh-mar (شاه مر) to French Roi tu to English Mare King.

The king is physically captured and removed from the board — not merely trapped as in checkmate, but actually taken. This occurs in two scenarios: when etiquette doesn't pre-empt a checkmate position, or when game rules permit leaving one's king in check, allowing direct capture on the next move.

Note: The English term Mare King is a modern coinage for CGSN, intentionally echoing nightmare to evoke the finality of capture. The French Roi tu uses the archaic past participle of tuer (to kill), lending a stark, poetic quality. Both describe the same observable fact.

Etiquette, stalemate, and plural endings

Resignation versus capture. In many circles, it's courteous to resign once mate is inevitable, sparing the choreography of a king's capture. Elsewhere, actually taking the king remains valid — especially where checks may be ignored by rule.

Stalemate isn't universal. Western chess treats stalemate as a draw. In shōgi and xiangqi, stalemate typically loses for the side with no legal move. Identical state, opposite value.

These contrasts are precisely why a small, shared lexicon helps: we name the state first (checkmate, bare king, captured king) and let the ruleset declare what it's worth.

Where this lands in Sashité

If you're recording or exchanging games, the Chess Game Status Notation (CGSN) lists standardized, rule-agnostic status identifiers — e.g., checkmate, bare_king, mare_king — that capture observable facts without assigning competitive outcomes. It cleanly separates what happened from who won, so different traditions can interpret the same record according to their own rules. See the specification: sashite.dev/specs/cgsn/.