The rook cuts the board into a box and shrinks it rank by rank while your king supports it. When the kings stand opposite each other, a rook check drives the enemy king back, until it is mated on the edge.
Key ideas
1The rook builds a fence: place it so the enemy king is confined to a small box.
2Use your king to take the opposition; only then check with the rook to push the enemy king back a rank.
3When the enemy king attacks the rook, move the rook to the far side of the board on the same rank (a waiting move).
4Mate happens on the edge with the kings facing each other and the rook checking along the edge.
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About this endgame
The rook mate takes longer than the queen mate and asks for more patience. The black king sits on e7, your rook on a1 and your king on e1. The trap is not stalemate; it is checking before your king is ready, which lets the enemy king slip back towards the centre. Eighteen moves is the budget.
What you will learn
01How one rook move on the sixth rank shuts the black king into the top two ranks.
02Why a rook check only gains a rank when your king stands directly opposite the enemy king.
03What to do when the black king walks up to attack your rook.
The technique
Start with Ra6. The rook owns the sixth rank and the black king cannot cross it. Do not check yet. Bring your king up through d2, d3 and d4 until it stands on the same file as the black king with one square between them, say d5 against d7. With you to move in that picture, Ra7+ pushes him to the eighth rank. Repeat one rank higher and the last check along the edge is mate.
Two details save moves. When the black king steps next to your rook to attack it, slide the rook along the same rank to the far side of the board: the fence stays and he has wasted a move. When he refuses to stand opposite your king, make a waiting move with the rook along its rank instead of chasing him.
How to practise it
You play White. Play Ra6 first and spend the next moves on the king alone; resist the urge to check until the kings stand opposite. Mate inside eighteen means you used the method rather than chasing. If you run out of moves, ask for the hint and look at where your king stood when you checked.
How many moves does king and rook versus king take?
With best play the longest mate is sixteen moves from the worst starting position. This drill allows eighteen, so a couple of inaccuracies are fine; pointless checks are not.
Why does my rook check keep letting the king escape?
Because your king was not opposite the enemy king when you checked. A check with the kings offset lets him step diagonally towards the centre. Set the king first, check second.