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Surprise Checkmate: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
In reality, the endgame of
In fiction, checkmate more often than not comes as a complete surprise, leaving the losing player baffled and the winning player smug about his intellectual superiority. Often paired with a handsome remark ("I believe, sir, that this is checkmate"). This works very well if the work is emphasizing the loser's obliviousness, but quite a few works use this trope to emphasize the winner's skill and foresight, no matter how unrealistic that might be. (Also, giving the audience a clear view of the board is only optional.)
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In the ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' episode "Bohemian Rhapsody", Edward is completely surprised when her opponent puts her in checkmate. Her opponent is also surprised when Ed announces a move that will one-mate him, but then decides to not do it. Of course, Edward is an idiot savant with no formal chess training and her opponent is senile, so either of them being surprised at the other isn't really that surprising.
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* In the ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' episode "Overdrive", Cyborg is able to checkmate Raven who freezes in shock.
* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in the ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' episode "Oil in the Family," in which [[Brilliant but Lazy|Raimundo]] and an [[Rule of Cool|intelligent, British-accented T-Rex]] play a game of chess with giant, dinosaur-themed pieces. The T-Rex isn't playing to win: it's trying to trap/knock out Raimundo with the giant chess pieces so it can eat him. Raimundo, meanwhile, is focusing on the checkmating the T-Rex to win the showdown.
* In ''[[Men in Black (animation)|Men in Black]]'''s animated series, Jay loses at least twice to an imprisoned [[You Will Be Assimilated|Alpha]], but this may have been because Jay was trying to pump Alpha for information and not focusing on the game. This becomes a [[Chekhov's Skill]]
* In one episode of ''[[Futurama]]'', two robots are playing chess. All the pieces are in their starting position, and the robot playing white announces a checkmate in some large amount of turns. The astounded robot playing black exclaims that he's lost again and offers the robot playing white a rematch.
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** And sometimes, it's a surprise to BOTH players, like in [http://turneringsservice.sjakklubb.no/viewgame.aspx?TID=TromsoBymesterskap2012-TromsoSjakklubb&GROUP=&gameno=43 this game]. White wins a piece in move 14, but opens up the opportunity for a four move checkmate.
* Obviously occurs far more often when one player is a new to the game.
** The Fool's Mate<ref>
** The [[wikipedia:
* Although it's rare, there have been games at the master level where a check was answered by a checkmate. [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1009425 Chessgames.com] lists six such games between 1850 and 2002.
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