Basic Checkmates
This is a quick guide to a video series:
In this series, the beginning chess player will learn the basic checkmates. Learning to checkmate with King and Queen (video 1) is one of the first things a student of the game should learn! The King and two Rooks checkmate is also for beginners (0-400). All of these mates should be practiced many times until the student is confident that they can do it (links to practice with the computer are included below for each mate). They can try doing them faster and faster for fun, and to demonstrate their mastery!
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King and Queen: The most fundamental checkmate to know for any chess player: since at the end of the game you can often make a new queen with your last pawn, this is the one checkmate every chess player must know! This mate can be practiced here.
Nowhere to Hide: Checkmate with King and Two Rooks: Learn the most common checkmate of them all, the Rook Roller! Then practice it here.
Those are the practical checkmates the beginner needs to know. A player over 400 would also do well to learn the next three:
Closing the Box: Checkmate with King and Rook: This is not at all an easy checkmate, but it will teach the student the concept of zugzwang, and it will show them how to use their rook better and deepen their understanding of checkmating. And of course, PRACTICE!
King and Two Bishops: This checkmate is also pretty tricky, but very useful even though the two bishop checkmate doesn't come up often. From this video, the student will learn a lot about their bishops, for example why they work nicely as a pair. Practice this one here.
King, Knight, and Bishop, On the Edge 1 and King, Knight, and Bishop, On the Edge 2: This is a very tricky checkmate to learn, and these two videos just cover the first part of it: coordinating the king, bishop, and knight to drive the king along the edge of the board from the wrong corner to the right corner. The student will learn some very important fundamentals of coordinating a knight and bishop. And here is the position to practice.
*End of this series!*
