Chess - Rook Forces Checkmate

King, Queen, Bishop, Knight,
Rook, Pawn

We saw how the Queen forces checkmate in CheckMate - Definitely. Now let's see how the chess piece Rook, forces Checkmate.

White Queen Checkmating

In the diagram you will see a Rook checkmating the King. It is a foolproof position. Look closely to find out why this is so. If, in the first diagram, you replace the White Queen with the White Rook, there is no checkmate. The Black King can move easily away and avoid capture. This is because the Rook can only move vertically or horizontally. If the King moves to a square diagonal to the Rook, the Rook chess piece can not capture the opponent King.

Now we can find out why, in this next diagram, the Rook has the King in a strong checkmate position that the King can not get out of. It is truly Checkmate.

Black Rook Forces Checkmate

The Black Rook has the White King "in check." (Remember, "in check" is not the same as Checkmate.) The White chess pieces can not capture the Rook and no white chess piece can block the Rooks "in check" position. No chess piece interrupts the line of attack.

The White King can not move out of check. Anywhere the White King moves in the last row, he can not get out of the range of the Rook. The White King can not move to the second row, because the second row is controlled by the Black King. There are only 3 squares that the White King can move to in the second row, straight or diagonal. The White King can be captured in all three squares, which are the only moves that the White King can move to in the second row.

Whew! So here we have a definite position of checkmate:
Black won the chess game!


Explanation:
There are basic checkmates, and the vulnerable King (the one to get checkmated), must be forced to a side row.

With the opposite Queen and Rook positions, it does not matter which square the King is on, as long as it is in the side rows. It has to be an outermost row.

But we will see a different situation with the Bishop Checkmate!



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