Rook and king mate

The key idea

The rook cuts off and locks in; your king pushes. Mate arrives when the two kings stand face to face and the rook comes in with check along the edge.

Example 1 · The box

The rook draws a wall and the enemy king is locked in. With every move, the box gets smaller.

1. Rh5+ The rook cuts off the fifth rank with check. From this moment the black king lives in the top half of the board: that's its box.
2. Kd6 The black king retreats. It can't cross the rook's rank.
3. Ke3 And now the part almost everyone skips: the white king climbs to help. The rook alone can't deliver mate; your king is the other half of the team.
4. Ke6 The black king tries to hold the center.
5. Ke4 Step by step. Notice the white king advances safely: it never goes where the black king could bother it.
6. Kd6 Black waits. There's no better plan.
7. Rh6+ Once the white king is close, the rook shrinks the box: check on the sixth and the wall climbs a rank. The black king has less and less house.
8. Kc7 Back again. The box is closing.
9. Kd5 The white king keeps the chase close.
10. Kd7 The black king resists, but has nowhere to go.
11. Kc5 And so it goes: rook wall, king advance. The exact finish comes in the next example.

Example 2 · The finish on the edge

The black king is already on the last rank. Watch how the white king chases it head-on until the rook delivers the finishing blow.

1. Rh7+ Check on the seventh: the black king is now condemned to the last rank. The final wall.
2. Ke8 It can only move along the edge now.
3. Ke6 The white king stands opposite. This face-to-face is the key to the mate: while the kings are opposite each other, the black king can't come down.
4. Kd8 The black king slips sideways. No matter: we follow.
5. Kd6 Shadow. Wherever its king goes, yours goes too, always facing it.
6. Kc8 It keeps fleeing toward the corner.
7. Kc6 And your king, glued to it like a shadow.
8. Kb8 The board is running out.
9. Kb6 Face to face again. Now there's no escape.
10. Ka8 Last square. Watch what's coming.
11. Rh8# Mate! The rook comes in along the last rank sealing the edge, and the white king covers both escape squares. Wall, shadow, and final check: that's the whole method.

Practice

Your turn. The rook already cuts off the seventh rank and the black king lives on the edge. Chase it with your king until you stand opposite it, then finish with the rook.

1. That's it: your king stands opposite his. As long as you're face to face, the black king can't leave the last rank. Don't touch the rook yet: it's perfect cutting off the seventh. Bring your king in front of the black king.
2. Like a shadow. Wherever its king goes, yours goes too. The black king moved sideways. Follow it with your king, always facing it.
3. It has no board left. Get ready for the final blow. Keep up the chase: your king opposite his, one file further.
4. Mate! Your king covers the three squares of the seventh rank and the rook seals the last rank. This endgame falls apart with two ideas: wall and shadow. The kings are already face to face. Bring the rook in on the last rank.

Rook and king mate, mastered. It's the most frequent winning endgame there is: from today on, none of these games slip away because you didn't know how to finish.