Two rooks, a queen, or a rook with the king can force checkmate against a lone king. The method is always to shrink the king's box and drive it to the edge.
Key principles
- Two rooks take turns cutting off one rank at a time (the ladder)
- With the queen, stay a knight's move away from the king to shrink its box
- With a rook, bring your king in front of the enemy king and check from the side
- Mate always happens on the edge of the board
Common mistakes
- Leaving a rook where the enemy king can take it
- Stalemating with the queen in the corner
- Checking aimlessly with the rook instead of bringing the king