Rook vs Rook and Bishop: Getting Your King Off the Edge

Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.

This rook and bishop against rook position is a draw, but the defender's king is close to the edge, and one careless king move there can allow mate.

The mating squares. On the edge, a single check from the rook can be mate when the bishop covers the escape square. Before each king move, look for that check.

Step away. When the attacking king comes close, the defending king moves away from it, in the opposite direction.

The trade offer. A rook placed next to your king, on the same line as his rook, offers the exchange. If the attacker takes, only the bishop is left, and a bishop alone cannot mate. In this variation he declines with Rh8+, and your king steps off the edge with Kg5.

In this drill you defend a position from a real game. The drill follows the game moves, then a stronger alternative to the rook move played: the trade offer. Then your king leaves the edge.