Chess Basics: Ladder Checkmate with Two Rooks

In this article, we're going to learn one of the most common but powerful checkmating patterns in chess: the ladder checkmate. Let's walk through the steps students can follow to win a game with just two pieces. 

What the Ladder Checkmate Looks Like

A successful ladder checkmate results in a position like this: 

The white rook on a8 has the black king in check and cover all the squares on the 8th rank. The other rook on h7 acts as the "wall", preventing the king from escaping anywhere on the 7th rank. Since the Black king is in check and cannot escape, it is checkmate and White has won the game. 

Though shown as a back-rank mate in the example above, this pattern can be used to deliver a checkmate on any edge of the chess board.

How To Do the Ladder Checkmate

To deliver mate, the two white rooks take turns climbing up the ranks like they’re climbing a ladder–hence the name. One starts the sequence by forming a wall on the rank beneath the black king to stop him from moving down, then the other slides onto the king's rank and places him in check. 

Each time the king moves up to escape, the rook that just had him in check turns into the piece forming the wall, and the lowest rook on the board slides up onto the king's rank and checks him again. This pattern continues until the king reaches the edge of the board, where White delivers checkmate.

If a player does not have two rooks available to use, this checkmate can be done with a rook and a queen or two queens instead.