How To Checkmate With A Rook And A Bishop?

The most common way chess matches end is through checkmates. If you are not familiar with the term, a checkmate is a situation in which the opponent’s king is trapped and, whatever move it makes will result in capture.

By the rules of chess, set down by the International Chess Federation, or FIDE, once the checkmate is confirmed, the king is considered captured.

The first and most important objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king so, once the checkmate happens, the game is over and the player whose king was in checkmate is defeated.

There are other ways in which a chess match can also end, but let’s leave that for another article.

What Are The Best Pieces To Use For Checkmates?

It seems to be unanimous that the queen is the best piece to use to achieve checkmate.

For that matter, even if you are the one facing an imminent checkmate, a queen can be the best possible defensive piece as well. That is because the queen has, of all pieces on the chessboard, the largest range of moves.

So, if you’re approaching a checkmate situation, whether seeking or avoiding it, keeping your queen safe should be a smart move. Other pieces are also highly valuable when attempting to checkmate.

Knights, for instance, which can jump over other pieces, may be extremely useful in case your opponent still has quite a few pieces on the board. The bishop, due to its vertical movement, can fly through the ranks and quickly reach the other side of the board.

Last but not least, the rook can also be a great ally in endgames, even though they are normally the last major pieces to be ‘set free’ on the board.

Moreover, the rooks, such as the knights, are pieces that are normally more involved in defensive stances. The rook, for one, is highly efficient in defending the king with the castling move.

How To Checkmate With Rook And Bishop?

If all your opponent has left is the king, then any two major pieces should be enough to checkmate it. However, some pieces, such as the queen and the bishop, are considered more efficient for checkmates due to their higher mobility.

There is no rule that establishes which pieces can or cannot achieve checkmates, with one exception: the king.

Since one of the golden rules of chess is that the king can never intentionally be put in danger, it cannot be used to checkmate the opponent’s king. However, a rook and a bishop deliver a great combination in that situation.

Called the Greco Mate, named after Gioacchino Greco, an Italian player and writer of the 17th century, this pattern allows a checkmate to be promoted using no more than a rook and a bishop.

In that combo, which can’t really be made if the king is not trapped and exposed on the edge of the board, the rook offers a direct threat to the king, while the bishop covers the possible horizontal escape.

As you can imagine, the Greco Mate will only work if the diagonal square closest to the trapped king is occupied by another opponent’s piece that cannot move diagonally.

If that is not the case, then the free square can help the king escape the threat, at least for a few moves. However effective, the Greco Mate is normally formed more than once during the endgame.

That is because, normally, your opponent shouldn’t have so few pieces that both the rook and the bishop can be positioned in such a stance.

So, if your luck is running dry and all you have on the board, apart from the king, of course, is a rook and a bishop, worry not.

Those are extremely valuable pieces for attacking purposes and even if your opponent still has quite a few pieces, let the rook and the bishop run through the board and capture as many as they can.

Soon your opponent’s morale will be compromised as the apparently material disadvantage you had, move by move, turns into a strong and promising build-up to the final Greco Mate!