Checkmates

A game is won when the king is attacked and has no way to escape. These guides show you how to finish, one pattern at a time.

1. 1Basic checkmate patterns every player must knowThe five checkmate patterns that finish most games: queen and king, rook and king, the two-rook ladder, the back rank, and smothered mate.
2. 2How to checkmate with a queen and kingMate a lone king with a queen and king using the box method, in ten moves or fewer, without ever giving stalemate.
3. 3How to checkmate with a rook and kingMate a lone king with one rook and your king: build the wall, take the opposition, use a waiting move, and mate on the edge.
4. 4Two rooks checkmate (the ladder mate)The ladder mate with two rooks: one rook holds a row while the other checks, until the king reaches the edge.
5. 5How to checkmate with two bishopsTwo bishops and a king can force checkmate against a lone king. Learn the wall, the corner drive and the stalemate trap, with a full playable study.
6. 6Bishop and knight checkmateA king, bishop and knight can force mate, but only in a corner of the bishop's colour. Learn the W manoeuvre step by step, with a playable study.
7. 7Back-rank mate: how to give it and stop itWhy a castled king gets trapped by its own pawns, how to deliver the back-rank mate, and the one pawn move that stops it.
8. 8Scholar's mate and how to stop itScholar's mate is a four-move checkmate on the f7 square. Learn the moves, the one defence that stops it, and how to answer it as Black.
9. 9Smothered mate and Philidor's legacyA smothered mate is checkmate by a knight when the king is blocked by its own pieces. Learn the queen sacrifice that sets it up, with puzzles.