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Checkmate with king and rook

The rook cuts the board, the kings face each other, and the rook checks.

Beginner · Basic checkmates · 3 steps. On Chess Castles, Chess Guru reads each step aloud in English, Hindi or Marathi while the moves play on the board, and you can practise any position against the engine.

Step 1

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The position

King and rook against king is also always a win, but it takes teamwork. The rook cuts the enemy king off on one side of a line. Your king walks toward it. When the kings face each other, a check from the rook pushes the king back one row.

Step 2

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The position before the moves

Moves: 1.Ke2 Kd4 2.Rc1 Kd5 3.Kd3 Ke5 4.Ra1 Kf6 5.Ke4 Ke7 6.Kf5 Kd7 7.Re1 Kc6 8.Re5 Kd6

See how the rook keeps its wall while the white king marches up. The black king loses one row at a time.

Step 3

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The position before the moves

Moves: 1.Ke2 Kd4 2.Rc1 Kd5 3.Kd3 Ke5 4.Ra1 Kf6 5.Ke4 Ke7 6.Kf5 Kd7 7.Re1 Kc6 8.Re5 Kd6 9.Ra5 Kc6 10.Ke6 Kb6 11.Rh5 Kc7 12.Rc5+ Kb7 13.Kd6 Kb6 14.Re5 Kb7 15.Rb5+ Ka6 16.Kc6 Ka7 17.Kc7 Ka6 18.Rd5 Ka7 19.Ra5#

On the edge, the kings face each other and the rook gives checkmate along the last row.

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