Rook + King vs. King
As I was buzzing around the forums, spreading useless and, in some very rare cases, useful information, I noticed several members of the community expressing their belief that a King + Rook vs. King Endgame is a difficult checkmate. That really shouldn't be, so I'm going to try to help in whatever way a not-so-great player like me can.
Please note: I am NOT a GM. I am NOT always right. While this article will explain how to achieve checkmate with a King and Rook, it MAY not demonstrate the quickest and most efficient ways.
First of all, in my opinion, the most important thing to remember in this type of endgame is to use the rook to restrict your opponent's king's movement. What do I mean?
But what from there? Well, always remember to get the opposition. This means that the black and white kings are lined up, to white's benefit. Because white has the opposition, white's king covers the three squares black's king could move to if the rook gives check. The opposition is key to achieving checkmate in this endgame - in all cases, the white king must be directly lined up with the black king.
If I got something wrong here, please tell me in the comments!!! This way I can change it and I won't mislead readers. I hope that you learned something from this article. Thanks for reading!