How to Checkmate in Chess: Basic Mates Every Player Must Know
Learn how to checkmate: the back-rank mate, the queen and rook ladder, king and queen against king, and king and rook against king, with free interactive drills.
Checkmate ends the game. The enemy king is attacked and has no legal way out: it can't move to a safe square, the attack can't be blocked, and the attacking piece can't be captured. Here are the patterns that win most games.
The three questions of checkmate
Whenever you give check, ask whether the opponent can:
- Move the king to a square that isn't attacked?
- Block the check by putting a piece in between?
- Capture the piece giving check?
If the answer to all three is no, it's checkmate.
The back-rank mate
The most common checkmate in real games. The king is stuck behind its own pawns on the back rank, and a rook or queen gives check along that rank. Nothing can block, and the pawns stop the king from escaping.
The ladder mate (two rooks)
Two rooks (or a rook and a queen) push the king to the edge rank by rank: one rook checks, the other covers the next rank, and they take turns until the king runs out of room. It's the easiest mate to learn and works in countless games.
King and queen against king
With just a queen, you can force checkmate against a lone king:
- Use the queen to shrink the king's box, staying a knight's move away from it.
- When the king is on the edge, bring your own king closer.
- Deliver mate with the queen, protected by your king.
Watch out for stalemate: if the enemy king has no moves but isn't in check, the game is a draw.
Practise the queen mate against Stockfish
King and rook against king
It takes longer but follows the same idea: cut the king off with the rook, walk your king up, and use the "opposition" (kings facing each other) to push it back one rank at a time until the rook can mate on the edge.
Smothered mate
A beautiful knight checkmate where the king is surrounded by its own pieces and a knight delivers the final blow. Look for it when the enemy king sits in the corner with no free squares.
How to find checkmates in your games
- Look at every check first, even ones that look silly.
- Count the enemy king's escape squares.
- Solve a few mate in one puzzles and mate in two puzzles every day: pattern recognition is what makes mates appear in your games.
FAQ
What is the fastest checkmate in chess?
The Fool's Mate: 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#. Black mates in two moves. It only happens when White weakens the king badly.
Can you checkmate with only a king and a bishop?
No. A king and one bishop (or one knight) can't force checkmate, so the game is a draw by insufficient material.
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
In checkmate the king is in check with no escape, and the game is lost. In stalemate the player has no legal move but is not in check, and the game is a draw.