One of the first things a new chess player must learn is how to finish off the checkmate when you have won the game. Often this boils down to one of the basic checkmates: King and Queen v. King, or King and Rook v. Rook. I previously gave some rules about how to checkmate with King and Queen against King, and you might want to review that if you’re unsure how to finish that mate.
This article is about how to finish the mate with King and Rook against King. This mate is slightly more difficult than the one with the Queen, but relatively easy once you see the method and understand the concepts.
I will have three posts about this checkmate: the first shows the checkmate patterns with Rook and King against King, the second has rules and tips for mating with a King and Rook against King, and the third will show a 15-move checkmate from a difficult starting position to the final checkmate.
The checkmate patterns
There are three, and only three, patterns for checkmating with King and Rook v. King. The first pattern is the checkmate on the side of the board. This checkmate can occur on any edge of the board on any square that is not a corner square. The Kings stand opposite each other and the White Rook checks the Black King along the side.
In the diagram above, the Rook gives check along the rank, and could be anywhere on that rank except c8 or e8. (If the Rook were on c8 or e8, the Black King could get out of check by capturing the Rook.)
The second and third patterns occur with the Black King in the corner. In this next one, the Black King is in the corner with the White King a Knight’s-move away and the White Rook checking from the side. Again, the White Rook can be anywhere along the 8th rank, provided he’s not right next to the Black King on b8.
The third pattern is really just a variation of the first and second patterns; the Black King is in the corner and the White King stands directly opposite the Black King.
If you know these patterns, you will have a goal to reach for your King and Rook v. King checkmate. The video has examples of how you might reach these positions, and my next post will give rules for reaching these checkmate positions.
Pattern is excellent. It is really useful for beginners. I really enjoyed in the basic pattern. This system i will follow in my academy. Thank you very much for providing this wonderful material in the net. All the best.
Sakthi Prabhakar, B.
FIDE Developmental Instructor
FIDE Arbiter
Thanks for the entertaining read! Alright playtime is over and back to school work.
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I enjoyed checking out your blog today and I will be back to check it more in the future so please keep up your good quality work. I love the colors that you chose, you are quite talented!
hi
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You are the man ! Good luck for you
Do you havw twitter account ? i will follow you . Thanks
Yes, I have a Twitter account: http://twitter.com/steve4chess
You can also click the Twitter “Follow Me” button that appears in the left-hand nav bar.
I am facing this situation currently and am in the Black King side of the board. I’m trying to find a way to avoid getting Check Mated and will certainly avoid getting into the positions described here. Thanks
Nothing can make me more excited about Chess than when I can see those liltte beautiful moves that win a whole game, but nothing can turn me down as losing and finding out later that I could totally have won the game! Haha!But it makes the game what it is!
I’m a little surprised at how interesting your content is. I think you should make an ebook out of this information. Thank you for sharing.
Nice video.. Helps a lot to the beginners who are not able to finish of a game..
This is a wonderfully written article. You must have done a lot of research in this area. You have made this topic easy to read, interesting and easy to understand.
Nice one, i bookmarked this page on Digg under “King and Rook v. King Checkmate Patterns”. Kudos!
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Nice post I’ve bookmarked it on Digg under “King and Rook v. King Checkmate Patterns”. Kudos!