Skybound Chess
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Beginner · 8 lessons

Basic Checkmates

The mating patterns every player needs by heart — the back rank, and driving a lone king to the edge with a queen, a rook, or two rooks.

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  1. 1The back-rank mateStart hereA king hemmed in by its own pawns is mated by a rook or queen on the back rank.→
  2. 2Queen and king vs kingShrink the box with the queen, march your king up, then mate on the edge.→
  3. 3Rook and king vs kingThe rook cuts off a rank; your king does the pushing. Mate comes on the edge.→
  4. 4Two rooks — the ladderAlso called the lawnmower: the rooks alternate checks and walk the king to the edge.→
  5. 5Mate in oneFour positions, four patterns. Find the checkmate in each.→
  6. 6Smothered mateA knight checks a king that its own pieces have walled in — the one mate a knight can force alone.→
  7. 7The Arabian mateRook and knight trap a king in the corner — the rook covers two escape squares, the knight covers the third.→
  8. 8Anastasia's mateA knight on e7 seals the g-file squares; a rook swings to the h-file and mates the king against the edge.→