Elementary Checkmates with Heavy Pieces

We'll now turn our attention to the basic heavy piece checkmates against a lone King (the heavy pieces are the Queen and the Rook). This is essential knowledge, as these mates are very common in beginner games.

How to Learn the Mates: The best way to learn the mates is to practice them yourself! We've shown you what the final mates look like. Now try setting up a random position on the board with the same pieces and playing against yourself, trying to achieve checkmate with the white pieces. You can also practice against a computer program if you prefer.

There are a large number of different move orders and variations leading to checkmate. The best way to understand all the nuances is to dive right in and study the positions yourself.

Mating with a Queen and a Rook

A Queen and a Rook vs. a lone King is the most basic checkmate. The diagram to the right shows how this mate looks. The Queen and rook guard consecutive rows, blocking in the King and delivering mate.

You can achieve this mate by driving the King back to the edge of the board with alternating checks from the Queen and Rook. Notice that the Queen supports the Rook from behind. This wards off any potential counterattacks by the enemy King as he is driven to the edge of the board.

Mating with Two Rooks

Two Rooks can mate in the same way that a Rook+Queen mate. The key difference here is that the Rooks don't protect each other. You must be careful against counterattacks by the enemy King as you drive him back.

Mating with a King and a Queen

Mating with a Queen is a bit more tricky. In this case, your King must help out. As shown in the diagram, the white King supports the Queen, who delivers mate along the edge of the board. The King and Queen must work together to drive the enemy King back to the edge of the board before mating.

Mating with a King and a Rook

The final mate we'll look at is the hardest (but really - not that hard) to achieve of the four. The Rook checks the King and controls the spaces on the edge of the board, while the King blocks the spaces on the adjacent row.

The King and the Rook must work together to drive the enemy King back to the edge. Try it out yourself to learn the technique - it takes a little practice.

Note: You could substitute a Queen for the Rook and also mate utilizing this pattern.