Back-rank Checkmate - Introduction

Introduction

Back-rank mates occur quite often in games at fairly low levels, as it occurs out of carelessness. This is because beginners typically lack the skill to realize that such a fate could occur based on the laws of the game. At higher levels of play, though the mate itself does not occur very often, play is often affected by the possibility of it—the fact that a player has to spend time guarding against the mate may leave him vulnerable to other tactical ideas.

Back-rank mates are often guarded against simply by virtue of a friendly rook or queen protecting the back rank. However, it may be possible for the attacking side to deflect one of these pieces away from defensive duties. In the example shown to the left, White can play 1.Qxc6 and black cannot reply 1...Rxc6 because of 2.Rd8+ Rxd8 3.Rxd8# with a back-rank mate. Black therefore loses his bishop for no compensation-and Black has no good continuation because of the threat to chew up more material with Qxa8 or Qxc8. For example, 1...Qa6 2.Qxa8! Rxa8 3.Rd8+ Rxd8 4.Rxd8#. If Black tries to defend the back rank so that White's queen and bishop are skewered, White can keep an extra piece, for example 1...b5 (defending d8 with the queen) 2.Qf3! keeping the rook on c8 stuck to the defense of the rook on a8, or 1...g6 (creating luft) 2.Qf6! and Black still can't take on pain of a back-rank mate. Examples such as this, where a rook cannot leave the back rank because of mate threats, are relatively common in chess.

Back-rank threats can be guarded against more permanently by moving one of the pawns in front of the king to give the king a flight square (such a move is sometimes said to "give the king some luft"). If it were Black to play in the example to the left, he could counter White's threat with (among other moves) 1...g6, giving the king a square on g7 to which he could safely move. Note, however, that 1...h6 in this example would not do the job, as after the d3 rook moves the h7 square is guarded by the white bishop.

It is often not a good idea to play such pawn moves unless there is a pressing need to do so, as they can represent a loss of time. In many chess openings, however, they are often played for some other purpose, before any back-rank threats have emerged (...h6 is often played to bother a white bishop on g5, for example. Also see Fianchetto).