King and rook against a lone king is one of the first compulsory endings. White to move, and the position is won. The rook cannot mate alone - the decisive part is played by its own king, which takes away the escape squares.
Here White has the king on e5 and the rook on a7 against the king on d8. The method: the kings stand in opposition facing each other, the rook checks and pushes the enemy king one rank nearer the edge; that is how he is squeezed onto the last rank and mated.
The key technique is squeezing with your own king: without its support the rook only chases the opponent around the board. This ending is taught first because it comes up constantly.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
Build your own position in the board editor, read up on the rules of chess or run a tournament on your own positions in the free app.
Everything people usually keep in a spreadsheet is already in the app: pairings, points, tie-breaks, round order. Free, with no subscriptions and no cap on the number of players.
many players, one evening: four or five rounds are enough
the fairest format for six to ten players
not a tournament, just an evening of chess - who is free and who is playing is visible in the app
Sign up to the Vibe Chess bot on Telegram - it carries the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities we run in.
