The king in chess is never technically "killed." Instead, the game ends when the king is in checkmate.
Here's a breakdown of what that means:
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Check: The king is under attack by an opponent's piece. The player whose king is in check must immediately address the threat.
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Checkmate: The king is under attack (in check), and there's no legal move to remove it from attack. This includes:
- Moving the king to a safe square.
- Capturing the attacking piece.
- Blocking the attack with another piece.
If none of these options are available, the king is checkmated, and the game is lost. The king is not captured or removed from the board. The checkmate position simply signifies the end of the game.
In essence, the king's vulnerability and the inability to escape attack leads to checkmate, which ends the game. The king itself isn't captured or killed in the literal sense.
