The ladder mate with two rooks
Two rooks can checkmate a lone king without help, taking turns to push it to the edge. Learn the ladder mate step by step. Checkmate patterns · lesson 3 of 3.
The lesson in words
The ladder mate: one rook guards a row, the other gives check on the next row up. The king is pushed back one row at a time until it reaches the edge.
Here the rook on h5 already guards the 5th row.
Climb the ladder: check on the 6th row, then the 7th, then the 8th.
Try it: Give check on the 6th row.
Two rooks climb the ladder in turns. The same idea works with a queen and a rook.