Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is a position in which a player's king is in check and cannot escape—no legal move can remove the threat. Checkmate ends the game immediately; the player delivering checkmate wins. The word derives from the Persian sh?h m?t, meaning "the king is helpless." Checkmate is indicated by the symbol "#" in notation. Common checkmate patterns include back-rank mate, smothered mate, Scholar's mate, Fool's mate, and Arabian mate.