Back rank mate puzzles
The king is stuck behind its own pawns on the first rank, and a rook or queen delivers checkmate along the rank.
About back rank mate puzzles
The king is stuck behind its own pawns on the first rank, and a rook or queen delivers checkmate along the rank. One of the most common checkmates in real games.
How to spot it
- Look at the enemy king on its home rank with pawns in front of it. If no square is free, a check on the rank is mate.
- Check whether a defender is overloaded. If the piece guarding the back rank must also do something else, capture or lure it.
- In your own games, make a luft: move a pawn so the king has an escape square.
A common mistake
Missing that one of your own pawns is blocking a flight square, or that a defender can block the check.
A worked example
K
R
Q
Q
B
K
R
NBlack to move. White has just played c7. Find the best move.
Solution: 23... Qxa1#
Qxa1# attacks the pawn on a3. The last move is checkmate: the king has no safe square and nothing can block or capture. The idea: The king is stuck behind its own pawns on the first rank, and a rook or queen delivers checkmate along the rank.
The highlighted squares show White's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (949 rating).
Cats vs Dogs Chess: 3d chess with cats and dogs
Cats vs Dogs Chess is a 3D chess game with five computer levels, a pass-the-phone mode and a daily mate puzzle. Free in your browser.
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Questions
How do I avoid back rank mate?
Give your king an escape square by moving one pawn in front of it, or keep a rook or queen on the back rank.
Where do these puzzles come from?
They are real puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database, which is free to use under the CC0 license. Each one was built from a real game and tested by many players. We picked well-rated ones with good popularity scores.
Are the puzzles free?
Yes. There is no signup, no limit and no ads on the puzzles. Your progress on this page is not saved after you leave.
What do the difficulty levels mean?
Beginner puzzles are rated under 1250, intermediate 1250 to 1749 and advanced 1750 and up, using the rating Lichess players earned on each puzzle.