Line #22 PlayingWith/SurpriseCheckMate


1	'''Basic Trope''': A chess player is surprised at being checkmated.
2	* '''Straight''': Whitney and Blake are playing chess. Whitney surprises Blake by checkmating him.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Blake has a massive advantage and has been taunting Whitney about her "inevitable loss" for half the game. Then he checks Whitney... and she responds by checkmating him.
5	** Blake, who's supposed to be a skilled player, falls for the Fool's Mate and genuinely did not see it coming.
6	* '''Downplayed''':
7	** Before he was checkmated, Blake knew that he was losing. He just thought he could last a few more moves than he did.
8	** Whitney makes a move, and Blake suddenly realizes that he just stepped into a mate in four.
9	** Whitney is in a losing position, but surprises Blake with a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindle_(chess) swindle]] that salvages a draw.
10	* '''Justified''':
11	** Blake didn't foresee Whitney's attack because he wasn't paying attention and/or just sucks at chess.
12	** Blake was in serious time trouble, and failed to notice one of Whitney's mate threats.
13	** Whitney pulled a brilliant [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindle_(chess) swindle]] that Blake missed the point of.
14	** Blake has spent most of his time playing against professionals and thus hasn't [[BestedByTheInexperienced dealt with the amateur/novice]]/[[FlatWhat wtf]] [[BestedByTheInexperienced moves employed by Whitney in way too long]].
15	** A very awkward board position makes Blake miss an incoming checkmate.
16	** Whitney is a chess hustler who sometimes manipulates the board when her opponent isn't looking. Blake didn't notice what she had done before it was too late.
17	* '''Inverted''':
18	** Blake makes a random move, and is shocked when he discovers that he just checkmated Whitney.
19	** Blake is relieved after Whitney misses an obvious mate-in-one.
20	** Whitney accidentally stalemates Blake.
21	* '''Subverted''':
22	** Whitney claims she has checkmated Blake. He's surprised for a few seconds before discovering that it's not checkmate. He breaks the check in his next move, and they keep playing.
23	** Whitney responds to Blake's check with a checkmate. Blake was expecting it; the checking move was one last desperate attempt to get out of his hopeless situation.
24	* '''Double Subverted''': Whitney's next move checkmates Blake for real.
25	* '''Parodied''':
26	** Whitney, who has a losing position, makes a move and excitedly proclaims "Checkmate! I win! You lose! Hahaha!". Blake then tells her that (1) her move was illegal, and (2) even if it were legal, it ''still'' wouldn't be checkmate.
27	** The entire chess game is a comedy of errors, culminating in both players missing a mate-in-one for ten consecutive moves. Blake is shocked once Whitney finally spots it.
28	* '''Zig Zagged''': ???
29	* '''Averted''':
30	** Blake knows his position is lost well before he's finally checkmated.
31	** Blake realizes his position is hopelessly lost and resigns.
32	* '''Enforced''':
33	** The original script featured a more realistic game between two competent players, but the [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling executives]] thought it would be more "dramatic" to "[[SmartPeoplePlayChess illustrate Whitney's skill and foresight]]" by having her checkmate take Blake by surprise.
34	** The script called for one or a few games of chess happening in the background: the one in question had a genuine SurpriseCheckmate during take 14 that [[ThrowItIn the produces decided to keep]] [[FunnyBackgroundEvent for levity]].
35	* '''Lampshaded''': "You really didn't see that checkmate coming?"
36	* '''Invoked''': ???
37	* '''Exploited''': ???
38	* '''Defied''': Blake calculates and finds a move that prevents Whitney from checkmating him.
39	* '''Discussed''': "No thanks, I don't want to play chess. I suck so much that I'd probably end up falling for a simple checkmate."
40	* '''Conversed''': "How come the idiots on TV never seem to see a freaking mate-in-one coming?"
41	* '''Played For Laughs''': Blake throws a tantrum and launches into OcularGushers after losing the game he was so sure to win.
42	* '''Played For Drama''':
43	** The chess game is used to illustrate Blake's crippling lack of foresight.
44	** Blake is playing ChessWithDeath and thinks it's going well, only to suffer a surprise checkmate.
45	----
46	Back to SurpriseCheckmate
47	----
48	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
49	%%
50	%%* '''Implied''': ???
51	%%* '''Deconstructed''': ???
52	%%* '''Reconstructed''': ???

Context PlayingWith / SurpriseCheckMate