How to mate with rook

 INTRODUCTION

In the prevous post we have learned the elementary queen checkmate. Therefore, it is time to move one step forward. Since the rook is the second strongest piece, (remember basic chess rules), learning the rook checkmate next  is  quite logical.

 MATING PICTURE

First of all, in order to understand the mating mechanicsm, it is important to know the basic mating picture. Because knowing which position  you are aiming for might make your moves more purposeful.

Despite the fact that “it’s all about the hunt, not about the kill”. Since in chess one is very fond of killing the enemy king as fast as possible.

its-not-about-destination-its-about-the-jounrey
Another version of “hunt – kill” phrase that has no relation to chess whatsoever

As shown by diagrams below, the rook checkmate mating picture is the same as a certain variation of the queen checkmate. The basic condition stays the same. The mating takes place either in the corner or on the edge of the board.

It is important to note that it is also possible to stalemate the opponent, if one is not careful enough.  Since there is only one possible stalemate picture with the king on the edge of the board, it is not so hard to avoid it.

Naturally, due the to rook’s limited mobility compared to the queen, there are less possible mating pictures.  Nevertheless, due to his two-direction movement, the mating process is still relatively easy.

In the further course of this post two different mating mechanicsm will be demonstrated.

Initially, we will consider the slower method, because it is more “user – friendly.” Afterwards, we will demonstrate another technique, which is somewhat faster and which might be especially relevant while playing blitz games over the internet.

MATING MECHANISM #1

The first mating mechanicsm is rather plain simple. The basic idea is to repeat the mating picture along the files or ranks of the board. Every time White (note again that White will be the stronger side) “mates”, the Black king is forced back untill finally he is forced to the edge of the board.

Probably the reader will get a better visualisation of the everything written above if we consider the following diagram:

Naturally, the demonstrated mechanicsm is rather painful and hopefully you won’t be “brute forcing” the checkmate like this in your own games.

Because there is much more efficient way of mating that includes simultaneous action by king and rook.

MATING MECHANISM #2

The second proposed mechanicsm eliminated the need of the “long” rook moves to the other side of the board. Instead, White uses his king to support his rook when it is attacked, and therefore eliminates many superfluous moves.

Let us take another look at the starting position.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, feel free to use the comment section below, or send me an email. 🙂

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