Back rank mate

A back rank mate is checkmate by a rook or queen on the first or eighth rank. The king is trapped there by its own pieces, most often a wall of pawns on the rank in front of it.

Before you take material, look at the opponent's back rank. If the king has no flight square, a single rook check can end the game.

Source database: 208,093 puzzles with this tag. This trainer: 180.

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Puzzle rating 828 · played 15,987 times in the source set

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beginner149,351 in the source database · 36 on the pageeasy46,871 in the source database · 36 on the pageintermediate10,129 in the source database · 36 on the pagehard1,572 in the source database · 36 on the pageexpert170 in the source database · 36 on the page