MiniChess

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Mate with King + Rook

Real chess

You play White with just your King and Rook. Your job is to checkmate the lonely black king.

A rook can't do it alone — you have to use your king too, walking it up to take squares away while the rook cuts the black king off.

This one uses the real rules of chess, so watch out for two things:

  • Stalemate: if the black king can't move but isn't in check, the game is a draw — always leave it a square!
  • Don't give your rook away: if the king can capture it, King vs King is a draw. Keep your rook defended or far away.

We ignore the three-fold repetition rule, so shuffling back and forth won't draw a game you're winning. But you must checkmate within 50 moves, or it's a draw!

Checkmate with King and Rook

You play White with a king and a rook. Checkmate the lone black king within 50 moves to win. This is real chess against a real engine, and it is harder than the queen version because a rook can't do it alone.

The idea is to use the rook to cut the black king off, then walk your own king up to take squares away, and repeat until the black king is on the edge. Keep your rook defended or far away, because if the king captures it the game is a draw.

Stalemate is a draw too, so always leave the black king a square until the mating move. The three-fold repetition rule is ignored.