Chess Matrix: How to Finish a Chess Game With the Ladder Checkmate (Part 1)
Welcome to the first installment in the Chess Matrix series!
Before we start, let's go over your path to chess improvement:
First, we will be learning some chess mate tricks. You cannot win if you do not know how to checkmate.
Second, we will view some tactical patterns and how to use them. These will be important to get to a winning position.
Third, some basic positional ideas and endgame strategies will be covered. This is to ensure you will be able to win without having extra material.
Clarification: When I refer to "pieces", I mean any piece that is not a pawn (aka a knight, bishop, rook, queen, or king.).
Let's get started!
This is an ideal setup for White because the queen can always protect the rook without risk of losing the rook.
What if we DON'T get that ideal setup?
Yes, the checkmate is slightly longer and not exactly the same, but sometimes we have to adapt our plans to our opponent's moves.
Rook and rook vs. lone king may be the most challenging due to the many ways one can blunder. Again, if you lose one of the rooks, you can still win, but it is degrees harder to win with a lone rook than it is to win with two rooks (vs. a lone king.)
Alright, that is it for the lesson portion! Here are some exercises to train your skills. You earn 1 point per exercise, so the maximum score is 5/5. Let me know what score you get in the comments below!
By the way, if you find an alternative line, feel free to suggest it in the comments. Please note that there are many alternate solutions, but the main solutions are based on the Ladder Checkmate motif.
That's all for this issue! Please follow me to be notified for the next blog, and please share this blog with friends and family! See you in the next one!
