Win the endgame.
When most of the pieces have gone, the game is far from over. Learn the checkmates every player must know, how a king walks a pawn home, and why rook endings matter so much.
- Improving
- Lesson 5 of 8
- 2 videos · 15 boards
Basic checkmates
Win a queen or a rook and you should win the game. These three mates turn that extra piece into a full point. Start with the easiest: two rooks.
Two rooks: the ladder
The simplest mate to learn. The rooks take turns: one checks the king, the other guards the row so he can’t come back. Rung by rung, he is pushed to the edge.
Two rooks mate
Finish the ladder
Queen and king
Once you can mate with a rook, the queen is easy. She can drive the king to the edge all by herself, using the shrinking box. Then bring your own king over to help.
Queen and king mate
Four ways to win
Rook and king
Two things to remember when you mate with one rook:
- The king can only be mated on the edge of the board.
- Your king and rook must work together as a team. The rook makes a box, the king helps squeeze it.
The shrinking box
Close the box
Play video: Rook and king against king
King and pawn endings
King and pawn against king comes up all the time if a game is played out. Whether it is a win or a draw often depends on one move. Learn these and you will never throw away a won ending.
Your king walks in front of the pawn and shepherds it home. A pawn on its own usually gets caught.
Kings face each other with one square between them. Whoever does not have to move has the opposition, and usually wins the fight.
A pawn on the a- or h-file is much harder to win with. The defending king hides in the corner.
Pushing the pawn too early can leave the enemy king with no moves. That throws the win away.
An easy win
Endgame 1: the king escorts the pawn
White wins, whoever moves first
2a: Black to move
2b: White to move
Where most players go wrong
Now you are Black, the side trying to draw. Only one move saves the game. Can you find it?
Save the draw
3a: the right way
3b: the wrong way
The rook’s pawn
Endgame 4: stuck in the corner
Taking the opposition
Grab the opposition
King and c6 pawn: the full line
Rook endings
As you play stronger opponents, more of your games will be decided in rook endings. You may not meet many yet, but once you start playing in leagues and weekend congresses that will change.
In a complicated middlegame you will often get the chance to swap pieces and head for the endgame. Many times that will be a rook ending, where the pawns and the position of the kings matter just as much as the rooks.
Rook rules
- The rook is a long-range piece. It needs open files and ranks to be strong.
- Rooks go behind passed pawns: behind your own to push them, behind your opponent’s to stop them.
- Cut the enemy king off. A rook on a file or rank can keep the king away from the action.
- Check from a distance. Long-range checks stop the king or pawn advancing and can force a draw by repetition.
- Defend from the third rank. Blocking on your third rank is often the way to make your opponent push their passed pawn one step too far.
Challenge: bishop and knight mate
The hardest of the basic mates. You can only force mate in a corner the same colour as your bishop, and you have 50 moves to do it. Try this once you are confident with the others.
Play video: Checkmate with king, bishop and knight against a lone king
Try it over the board on Saturday.
Our coaches go through these ideas in every session. Bring your questions, and your notation sheet.