King and Rook Checkmate: Practice Drill
White to play and win
PlayThe rook cuts the king off, and the kings fight for opposition. When the kings face each other, the rook gives check, and the box gets smaller.
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King & Rook Checkmate
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
Rook endings are the most common endings in chess, so K+R vs K is the conversion you will execute most often in your life.
The box method. The rook draws a fence the enemy king cannot cross. Your king walks up until the kings face each other with one square between them: the moment of opposition. Then the rook checks, and the defender must retreat one line. The box shrinks rank by rank until the king stands on the edge, where the same check becomes mate.
Waiting moves. When the defending king refuses to stand opposite yours, make a small rook slide along the fence (staying on the cut): a tempo move. The defender runs out of dodges quickly.
Watch for. Keep the rook far from the enemy king when possible: a king touching your rook wins it. And as always near the corner, beware stalemate.