<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Sasha Bordeaux in the foreground and Mr. Terrific watching over in the background.

Checkmate is a fictional multinational espionage organization owned by DC Comics that has its own comic book series and has been part of the back story in many of the DC superhero comic books. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 (March, 1988). It was created by John Byrne, Paul Kupperberg and Steve Erwin.

It has been re-organized (and given its own comic book) since the "OMAC Crisis" and the "Infinite Crisis" in 2006. Checkmate is now answerable only to the United Nations Security Council. Its charter is to "identify isolate, and eliminate metahuman threats on a global and political level."

It is known for its unusual organizational structure. There are two executive groups with in the organization, one called "White" and the other "Black". There is a Black King and Queen as well as a White King and Queen. Each of the four "Royals" has a Bishop to advise and them and a Knight to run logistics and coordinate covert actions. They also command hundreds of "pawns", undercover field agents, in many different capacities.

Every spy organization needs an evil organization to battle, and Checkmate's is the international group of terrorists and fanatics known as Kobra.

Checkmate has a number of bases from which they operate. They're main headquarters is their Castle Compound in the Swiss Alps.

The thing about Checkmate, is there is a certain amount of turnover among the cast of characters, as they have to combat both "threats from without and politics from within" to achieve their goals. Despite this turnover, Michael Holt, known as the superhero Mr. Terrific, has maintained his staus as White King for the last couple of years. Sasha Bordeaux, a former bodyguard who received some training by Batman, is a long time agent and now serves as the Black Queen. Valentina Vostok, a former superhero associated with the Doom Patrol, now an experienced espionage agent, has the White Queen designation. The Black King's Knight is Beatriz Dacosta, the superhero formerly known as Fire, who was a member of the Justice League some time back.

In addition to its covert agents, Checkmate has been known to employ superheroes and coordinate with the superhuman community on major threats. In the past, they have worked with superhero organizations like the Justice League of America, The Justice Society of America, the Outsiders, and the Global Guardians.