Checkmate (frequently shortened to mate) is a situation in chess in which one player's king is in check and there is no way to remove that threat; it is a check from which there is no legal move to remove check through either capturing the piece checking the king, moving between the piece delivering check and the king, or moving the king itself. In checkmate, the king is never actually captured—the game ends as soon as the king is checkmated. A player who is checkmated loses the game. Delivering checkmate is what all players strive for in chess, although not all games end in checkmate. Most players resign before being checkmated, or the game may end in a draw.