Simple checkmates · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Simple checkmates

Chess · Chess basics · ages 8-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A back-rank mate can be given by a rook along the king's own back row.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. What is checkmate?

    • A check with no way out
    • A check you can block
    • A draw

  3. How many rooks work together in a two-rook ladder mate?

    Answer: ______________

  4. To finish a checkmate, what do you need to do?

    • Take away every escape square
    • Leave the king one safe square
    • Trade the queens first

  5. At checkmate the king is actually taken off the board.

    Circle one:   True   False

  6. In a back-rank mate, the king is often trapped by its own pawns.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. In the two-rook ladder, what do the rooks do to the king?

    • Push it to the edge of the board
    • Let it escape to the center
    • Capture the king

  8. The king is in check, cannot move, cannot block, and the checking piece cannot be captured. What is this?

    • Checkmate
    • Check
    • A normal move
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Simple checkmates W1-ct_JP-fgSJrY6U-s1

  1. True · A rook on the back row with the king boxed in gives mate.
  2. A check with no way out · The king is in check and cannot move, block, or capture to escape.
  3. 2 · The two rooks take turns checking and guarding.
  4. Take away every escape square · If even one safe square is left, it is check, not checkmate.
  5. False · The game ends at checkmate, before the king is ever captured.
  6. True · The pawns in front block the king's escape squares.
  7. Push it to the edge of the board · Each check drives the king one row closer to the edge.
  8. Checkmate · A check with no escape at all is checkmate.
Worksheet · LightMySky