Method of Checkmating with a Rook

Beginning Chess

Beginning students--children and adults--do better if their learning process begins with few pieces. This principle guides the approach of Jose Capablanca in Chess Fundamentals (1921), a book that in my view remains the best single text for helping someone new to the game of chess build a foundation for lasting success. My self-published Five Days to Better Chess (2018) was created as a workbook for a summer youth chess camp and follows the approach charted by Capablanca.

Capablanca begins with basic checkmates, then moves on to simple pawn endgames, then some tactics such as one encounters in the middle game, and only after these three, offers comments on how to open the game from the starting position. In the opening, he confines himself to general principles illustrated through opening systems that he played in competition. He then repeats this sequence at a slightly more advanced level and finishes with illustrative games from his own practice, highlighting his own instructive losses before showing games that he won.

This week in my school clubs, I will be teaching students how to checkmate with a rook. Capablanca teaches this skill well in Chess Fundamentals and Bruce Pandolfini does so in Pandolfini's Endgame Course (1988). Positions from Pandolfini have been a staple of my teaching for at least 26 years.

Nine years ago, I wrote about different ideas chess players and teachers have expressed concerning the first lesson a student should have (see "Lesson One"). There, I extolled a book published in 1822: William Lewis, Elements of the Game of Chess. Lewis also teaches well the elementary ending of checkmating with a single rook.

This week, I will be using positions from Lewis, Elements.

Lewis's book is not friendly to the modern reader. Instead of diagrams, positions are described in prose. Chess notation, also, is archaic. Lewis's manner of writing also differs from what today's readers find clear. Elements of the Game of Chess in my view offers excellent instruction, but requires much labor to bring to today's students.

Two pages in Lewis, Elements

Here, then, are the six instructive positions offered by William Lewis.

White to move

Lewis articulated the basic principles that must be understood to accomplish this checkmate.

It is absolutely necessary, in order to checkmate with the rook, that you force the adversary's king to one of the sides of the board; your own king must moreover be in opposition to his, that is, with only one square between them. As his king may attack your rook, it will be necessary to have your own king near in order to guard it, therefore, the king and rook must cooperate in compelling his king to the last line. (52)

1.Rc8# 

Lewis points out that if White had a queen in stead of a rook, the same move would be the only checkmate from the position. If White's rook were on g6 instead of h6, the same move still checkmates. But, Lewis notes, if Black's king were on g8 and White's on h6, then Rc8+ forces Black's king off the back rank.

Lewis's second position emphasizes bringing the king into the correct position.

White to move

1.Kf6

As this move is the only one that confines the king to the back rank, Lewis finds it obvious.

1...Ke8

But, for the second move, Lewis observes that errors are frequent by those who have not mastered the principles of this checkmate. Some players check the king on the second move. Giving check at every opportunity is common among young scholastic players. I watched such a game last week in a school club. Another common inefficient approach is to keep moving the king.

The correct approach is to force the defending king back onto the square in front of one's own king.

2.Rd4 Kf8

And now we can deliver the checkmate that is akin to that in the first position.

The third position is identical to one I found in Pandolfini's Endgame Course. Pandolfini's explanation, "any rook move", is similar to Lewis, "your first move should be the rook to any one of the eleven squares it attacks."

White to move

1.Rg5 Kf8

Now, to drive the defending king back in opposition with our king, we simply keep our rook on the g-file.

2.Rg1 Ke8 3.Rg8#

The fourth position offered by Lewis resembles the one that Capablanca uses to explain the principles of how the rook and and king work together to accomplish this checkmate.

White to move

1.Ra7

First, by taking control of the seventh rank, we confine the opponent's king to the back rank.

1...Kg8 2.Ke2 Kf8 3.Ke3 Ke8 4.Ke4 Kd8 5.Ke5 Kc8 6.Kd6 Kb8

White to move

As the rook is attacked, it must move to safety. 

7.Rc7

This move is best as the rook is protected by the king and from this square, Black's king faces maximum containment.

7...Ka8 8.Kc6

We must move our king into position.

8...Kb8 9.Kb6 Ka8 10.Rc8#

In the fifth position, Black's king is in the center of the board. Lewis attempts to show the technique for driving the defending king to the edge of the board. From his position, checkmate can be forced in 16 moves, which is the longest distance to mate with this material. His solution took 18 moves. I managed to do it in 17 against Stockfish 19 using less than twenty seconds.

White to move

1.Re8

This move is one of nine possible perfect moves in the position.

1...Kd5 2.Kg2 Kd4 3.Kf3 Kd5 4.Re4 Kd6 5.Ke3 Kd5 6.Kd3 Kc5 7.Rd4 Kb5 8.Rc4 Kb6

White to move

Up to this point, Stockfish cannot improve upon the moves offered by Lewis.

9.Kd4

9.Kc3 leads to checkmate in fewer moves.

9...Kb5 10.Kd5

Again, Kc3 was a better move.

10...Kb6 11.Rc5 Kb7 12.Rc6 Kb8 13.Kc5 Kb7 14.Kb5 Ka7 15.Rc7+ Ka8 16.Kc6 Kb8 17.Kb6 Ka8 18.Rc8#

These days, it is possible to practice this checkmate by playing against the computer. One can also set up this position on a chessboard and play both sides, as I did in my youth with this and the other elementary checkmates. Or, one can practice against a friend, taking turns having the stronger side.

Lewis offers as a final position in this chapter of Elements of the Game of Chess a position from which checkmate can be forced in four moves moving the king only once, offering the solution, beginning with 1.Kc6. He also notes that checkmate can be forced in four moves beginning with a rook move, but leaves it to the student to work out the solution.

White to move

Try it.

After 1.Kb6, White moves only the rook.
Then, start with a rook move and force checkmate on the fourth move.

Attitude Adjustment

Endless online play can affect one's mental health. Playing mostly game 10 arena on chessdotcom, I become suspicious that many of my opponents are cheating. Some are. Over a period of several years, 15% of those I lost to had their accounts closed. Nonetheless, it is clear from the games that many of them did not cheat when they played me. It is also quite clear that some occasional cheats remain on the site. One player, currently rated in the 900s, was just under 1200 when he destroyed me with subtle bishop maneuvers and less than .06% inaccuracy (think of Magnus Carlsen on a good day). I've found no evidence that he has cheated in other games. 

My suspicions of one frequent opponent appear unfounded on closer examination. Since 2024, we have played 11 games. I won seven of the first eight. The one loss resulted from my terrible blunder on move three on the White side of a King's Gambit. Three of our four games in 2025 were 50 moves or more and every one was a victory for me. These were hard fought games.

He won the first game we played in 2026, which was 6 October, having played a far better game than I expected (94% accuracy on the website's postgame analysis). When I faced him again on 15 October, I assumed that I was facing a cheater and felt a sense of despair throughout the game. My suspicions interfered with my focus on the position. He won.

Postgame analysis revealed that neither of us played particularly well, but my play was far worse.

An hour later, we were paired again and my suspicions still lurked in my thinking. But, I knew that he was capable of error. I resolved to play my best and the battle seemed close to equal until late in the game. Maybe I had some initiative.

After my 32nd move, his clock stood at 4:59 and mine at 5:41 (it was game 10).

Black to move

32...b6

This move complicates the contacts among our forces where the battle is taking place on the queenside. According to Stockfish 19, 32...Qg4 was the only move that maintained equality. My opponent used 23 seconds for his move.

33.cxb6

I did not consider 33.Ba4, which is Stockfish's alternate choice. Both moves have approximately the same evaluation. My move took less than 8 seconds. His reply came quickly.

33...Rxb6

Here I felt the need to calculate and thought that I was in serious trouble. My former suspicions lingered in the back of my mind as I tried to find the correct move. I found the only move that doesn't lose after 1:46, but I didn't yet perceive that I had any sort of advantage.

34.Bxc6

Black to move

34...Qc7??

This move loses to the combination that I found. I expected 34...Rxb4 35.Bxd7 when White has an extra piece.

34...Rxc6 was necessary. I would have played 35.Ra8+ when 35...Kh7 loses to the same combination played in the game. 35...Kf7 is more challenging.

35.Ra8+

Played quickly in under ten seconds.

35...Kh7

35...Kf7 holds out longer

36.Qxe7!

I saw the move instantly, but spent 47 seconds verifying that I wasn't missing anything.

36...Qxe7 37.Ng6 and Black resigned.

After this game, I reviewed all eleven games that I've played against this particular opponent. I should be happy when we are paired and should approach the game with attention and confidence. I have eight wins and three losses against him. Two of those losses were this month. I also reviewed his overall performance during twelve years on the site. Like me he has been over 2000 in rapid and has dropped from there into the 1600s, and sometimes lower. During our games two years ago, his rating ranged from 1543 to 1703. When he beat me 6 October this year, he was 1927.

His graph shows that his lows drop lower than mine, but also that he was rated consistently higher than in the time we have been playing.

Fears of cheating greatly exceed instances of foul play. Of course I will face cheaters if I play game 10 arena daily. The website will close some of these accounts, and a few will escape consequences. My suspicions should not be permitted to affect my play.

Problems in the Evans Gambit

Three Thompson -- Morphy Games

Following the First American Chess Congress, which Paul Morphy won, Morphy played a number of casual games against the other participants. Against James Thompson, whom Morphy defeated in the first round of the tournament, Morphy had Black in the three games that have been preserved.

The first two in the order presented in Geza Maroczy, Paul Morphy: A Collection of His Games with Detailed Notes, trans. Robert Sherwood* began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3 Qf6 8.O-O d6

White to move

A few games have continued as did game 53 in Maroczy.

9.cxd4 Bb6 10.e5 dxe5

White to move

White has scored poorly. Stockfish sees an advantage for White after 11.Nc3. This move does not appear in the ChessBase databases. Lichess, however, has 18 games with a 78% score for White.

An interesting game that ChessBase does have was won by Samuel Mieses against his teacher, Adolf Anderssen in 1862. According to the engine, White was losing until Black's error on move 22.

That game continued 11.Re1, a move that has not been repeated as far as I can tell, 11...Nxd4 12.Rxe5+ Ne7 13.Bxf7+ Qxf7 14.Nxd4 Bxd4 15.Qa4+ Bd7 16.Qxd4 O-O-O 17.Qxa7 Nc6 18.Qa8+ Nb8 19.Be3 Bc6 20.Nc3 b6 21.Qa7 Qg6 22.Rg5 Qc2 (22...Qf6 maintains Black's advantage) and White went on to win.

Thompson -- Morphy continued 11.dxe5 Qg6 12.Ba3 Be6 13.Nbd2 Nge7 14.Bxe6 fxe7

White to move

Black is already somewhat better and here Thompson seizes upon a plan that Morphy quickly refutes decisively.

15.Rae1

15.Bxe7 seems White's only chance to stay in the game.

15...O-O 16.Ne4

Maroczy comments that Nc4 would have been "somewhat better" (59). Stockfish prefers Nh4, which I briefly considered this morning, but then decided to look for improvements earlier in the game and found 15.Bxe7.

16...Rad8 17.Neg5

Black to move

17...Rxf3!

The game lasted another 25 moves, but Morphy was in full control.

The Next Game

In game 54, White deviated on move 9 from the previous page (see diagram at the top of the page).

9.e5 dxe5

White to move

10.cxd4

The year after this game, Morphy had White's position in a blindfold simul. He played the best move: 10.Re1 Nge7 (10...Nh6 was better) 11.Bg5 Qg6 12.Bxe7! Nxe7 13.Nxe5+- and Morphy won in 29 moves.

10...exd4 11.Nbd2 Nge7 12.Bb2 O-O 13.Ne4 Qg6

Black is in full control.

As I am going through Morphy's games using the database offered some years ago on Tim Krabbe's site,** my first time through each game is often very fast. I don't always look at the players and seeing White's aggression thought Morphy was White. However, as the attack proved to be going nowhere and Black began to counterattack, I looked at the players

Several moves later, White fatally weakened the e3 square with f2-f4 and Morphy demonstrated how to exploit such a weakness.

The Third Game

The third Evans Gambit battle with James Thompson as White against Paul Morphy began with more conventional moves to reach a standard position that previously appeared on Chess Skills in 2019 (see "A New Book and a Morphy Game").

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4

Maroczy's move order differs from what I find in the database, but reaches the same position. Maroczy has 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d6

8.cxd4 Bb6

White to move

This is position number 1 in Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions, as discussed in the 2019 link mentioned above.

9.d5

Engqvist prefers 9.Nc3 and I am increasingly convinced that he is correct that the knight move is a better developing move. It is more flexible and dynamic.

9...Nce7

9...Na5 is far more common.

10.e5 Ng6

Four moves have been played here. As White, Morphy faced 10...exd5 in 1859.

White to move

11.Ng5?

Maroczy calls this a "senseless attacking move" (61).

Morphy had White at least three times in this position, played 11.e6! each time, and the results were a win, loss, and draw. His win was in a blindfold simul. The other two games proceeded for a few moves as a later game Merian,A--Mason,J. 1870, which Merian won. 11...fxe6 12.dxe6 N8e7 13.Ng5 (Nc3 is probably better) 13...O-O 14.Qh5 h6 15.Nf7

Black to move

White's pieces appear actively placed, but with correct defense, Black should be better. Merian also won a game with 11.Bb2

After Thompson's premature Ng5, Morphy quickly seized the initiative.

11...N8e7 12.Re1?

12.e6 is White's best chance for advantage, likely transposing into the line given above after 11.e6

12...O-O

12...Nxe5 and Black is already clearly better with two more pawns and no exploitable weaknesses.

13.Qh5 h6

Had the pawn advanced to e6 first, this attack might appear stronger.

14.Ne4 Nxe5-+

White to move

Morphy went on to win in 26 moves.

Morphy was fond of the Evans Gambit and did well playing it. From the Black side, he also had several instructive victories that show how Black should defend.

.

*Sherwood's translation was published in 2012 by Caissa Editions and then in 2026 by Russell Enterprises. I have the latter.

**A better PGN database was offered later, twenty years ago, via Batgirl's blog. It is better, containing fewer corrupted games as well as some notes on sources. Perhaps chessgames.comchessgames.com is the best generally available source.

What a Mess

I had White in this position with the move in a three minute online blitz game yesterday. We had each used just over a minute getting here.

White to move

Black has two extra pawns, both passed, but perhaps White's piece activity balances matters somewhat.

27.Bxf8??

Simplification into a major piece ending does not help when two pawns down, but what else was White to do?

The immediate 27.f5! was a consideration, but the optics of an exchange on d6 gave me pause.
Attacking the queen with 27.Rc7 was also worth considering.

27...Rxf8-+ 28.f5 gxf5?

28...exf5 was best

29.gxf5 Qg5+ 30.Kf1??

Here, simplification into a rook ending was the correct idea. 30.Qg3 Qxg3 31.Kxg3 and Black's extra pawns have little prospect of advancing.

Black to move

30...Qc1+??

Black does not perceive that he has the advantage. 30...Rfc8 shows that White's king lacks protection. After the subsequent 31.Rg2 Rc1+ 32.Kf2 Rc2+ 33.Kg1 Qxg2+ 34.Qxg2+ Rxg2+ 35.Kxg2. Black's extra pawns are decisive.

31.Kg2 Qg5 32.Kh1 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 Qh6+ 34.Qh3 Qxh3+ 35.Kxh3

Black to move

Are rook endings ever simple?

35...a4??

35...exf5 36.Rxf5 a4=

36.f6??

White thinks that this move helps confine the king when, in fact, it allows Black to pursue an attack with Rab8. 36.Rg2+ leads to checkmate.

36...Kh7= 37.Rb4 Rh8??

Black must think that his king escapes check with a discovered check.

37...Rab8 and White's only recourse is a perpetual. 38.Rh4+

38.Rg2!

Cutting off the king. 

Black resigns

A few of the positions in this game and in the analysis should prove useful for the young players whose after school chess club begins this afternoon.