King and rook vs king
Cut the enemy king to a smaller and smaller box until mate on the edge.
Rook-and-king versus lone king is a forced win but takes more moves than queen checkmate. The technique is the 'box method': use the rook to draw an imaginary box around the enemy king and shrink it one rank or file at a time.
The key principle: every time the rook cuts the enemy king to a smaller box, bring your own king closer to help. Your king and rook work together - the king prevents the enemy king from approaching the rook, and the rook keeps cutting.
Once the enemy king is pushed to the back rank, your king comes in to force the final checkmate. This process takes 10-16 moves with best play but is completely forced.
Examples
Rook cuts off the king on the sixth rank
White plays Ra6, cutting the Black king to the first five ranks. The king on c3 cannot cross the sixth rank. Now White brings the king forward: Ke2, Ke3, Kd4. Each step the rook moves up one rank to shrink the box further until the Black king is mated on the back rank.
King advances to support the rook
White plays Ke2, marching the king toward the action. Once White's king reaches d4 or e4, the rook can cut to the seventh or eighth rank and the Black king is cornered. The box gets smaller every few moves until back-rank checkmate.
Key terms
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