King & Rook vs King
The first checkmate every player must own. Use the rook to cut the king off and walk your own king up to force the lone king to the edge.
What you'll learn
- The "box" method: cut the lone king off and shrink its cage rank by rank
- How to use the opposition to force the king to the edge
- Delivering the ladder / back-rank mate with king and rook
The technique, move by move
Every line below is verified against an endgame tablebase — perfect play, no guesswork.
The rook tempo — mate in 3
1.Rh1 Kf8 2.Rh8#
A rook "waiting move" to the far side — it hands the move back to Black and stays well clear of the king.
Take the opposition — mate in 7
1.Rc7 Ka8 2.Kc5 Kb8 3.Kb6 Ka8 4.Rc8#
Pin the king to the a-file — the rook builds a wall it cannot cross.
The box method — full technique
1.Ra7+ Kd8 2.Kd5 Kc8 3.Kd6 Kb8 4.Rc7 Ka8 5.Kc5 Kb8 6.Kb6 Ka8 …
Cut the king off. With the rook on the 7th rank, Black is trapped on the back rank.
From the centre
1.Rd2 Kf6 2.Re2 Kg5 3.Rf2 Kg6 4.Rf3 Kg5 5.Ke2 Kg6 6.Rf4 Kg7 …
Confine and march (d-file)
1.Ra5 Ke4 2.Kd1 Kf4 3.Kc2 Ke4 4.Kc3 Kf3 5.Ra4 Ke3 6.Rd4 Kf2 …
Cut on the rank
1.Re2 Kg5 2.Rf2 Kg6 3.Rf3 Kg5 4.Ke2 Kg6 5.Rf4 Kg7 6.Kf3 Kh7 …
Queenside box
1.Rc2 Kb6 2.Rc3 Kb7 3.Rc4 Kb8 4.Kd2 Ka8 5.Rb4 Ka7 6.Rb1 Ka8 …
Kings already advanced
1.Re2 Kc5 2.Re5+ Kd6 3.Kd4 Kc6 4.Rd5 Kb6 5.Rc5 Kb7 6.Kc4 Kb6 …
Drive to the h-file
1.Rg2 Kh6 2.Rg1 Kh7 3.Kd2 Kh8 4.Kd3 Kh7 5.Ke4 Kh8 6.Ke5 Kh7 …
King in the far corner
1.Rg2 Kh7 2.Kd2 Kh8 3.Kd3 Kh7 4.Ke4 Kh8 5.Ke5 Kh7 6.Kf6 Kh8 …
King near the edge
1.Ra4 Kf3 2.Kd2 Kg2 3.Ke2 Kg3 4.Rb4 Kg2 5.Rb3 Kh1 6.Rg3 Kh2 …
Back-rank finish
1.Rh8#
Drill the King & Rook vs King
Practice randomly served positions and play them out against a perfect tablebase until you convert the win every time.
Open the Endgame Trainer →Related endgames to master
Box the lone king toward a corner with the queen a knight's-move away — and never stalemate. The fastest of the basic mates once the technique clicks.
Two Bishops vs KingCoordinate the bishops into a wall and herd the king to a corner. Trickier than it looks and a classic test of piece harmony.
Bishop & Knight MateThe hardest basic mate — the king can only be mated in a corner matching the bishop's colour. Learn the W-manoeuvre and the 50-move clock stops scaring you.
King & Pawn vs KingThe single most important endgame there is. Master the opposition and key squares and you will win — or save — countless games.