It is a well known and in many ways a deserved reproach, cast by the German erudite, that the mind of the Anglo-Saxon is not properly developed, that it is able to act correctly only when dealing with known quantities, and is inadequate for the elucidation of indeterminate things.
In consequence, they say, the argumentative attempts of the Anglo-Saxon are puerile; the natural result of a mental limitation which differs from that of monkeys and parrots, merely in ability to count beyond two.
Surely it would seem that a very young child readily would sense that:
A Chess-piece, which by law is debarred from movement, is, by the same law, necessarily debarred from capturing adverse material; inasmuch as in order to capture, a piece must move.
Nevertheless consensus of opinion today among children of every growth and whether Anglo-Saxon or German, universally countenance the paradox that:
A piece which is pinned on its own King, can give check i.e., threaten to move and capture the adverse King.
To argue this question correctly and to deduce the logical solution, it is necessary to revert to first principles and to note that:
It is a fundamental of Chess mathematics that the King cannot be exposed to capture.
Furthermore, it is to be noted as equally fundamental, that: