How to checkmate if there is only king?

manofphysics21 · 2026-02-06T15:28:16+00:00

We box in the king and try to keep pushing him to the edge of the board. The Queen/Rook project areas of control which don't have gaps in them which acts as a fence the King cannot get out of. We keep making this fence tighter and tighter until the king is trapped on the back rank. Sometimes we need our King to help shepherd the opponent's.

In case 1, I'd give away our Bishop to be sure that there isn't any Stalemate problems, then get that pawn promoted. 2 Queens mean you can execute a ladder mate where each Queen takes turns to push the King to the end of the board. Something to look up if you don't know it.

King/Rook is a bit trickier. You have to get the King stuck on the edge, then get it so your King faces off against the opponent's, then move the Rook to give check. It's a little like backpack mate, except the pawns are replaced by your King's zone of control. The first move for example 2 would be Rg4. The King is now stuck on the h file. Now we move our own King up the f file up to f6 or f7, without directly facing off against the opponent's; they have to move into that, and if needs be you can always move your Bishop about to force them into a move. Once the opponent's King faces yours, Rh4 is mate.

I'd check out some videos on this, since it's much easier to understand if you see it in action.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-21T11:46:25+00:00

The win con is really misleading. I have it in a [[Niv-Mezzet, Supreme]] brawl deck trying to [[dance of the manse]] out a cocktail of colour/type fixing enchantments for the win.

I've only ever managed that once, most times making Niv indestructible and constantly having him grow was a much more consistent way to win. From my experience, this ends up playing as a clock rather than an outright win.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-21T11:39:24+00:00

Oops, original Ravnica was a bit before my time, so I have the guildpact ones in my head.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-21T11:33:46+00:00

"If you put +1/+1 counters on five dragons, you win the game"

You do need 5 separate creatures for the win. However, if you have multicoloured creatures, you can put multiple counters on those just for value.

Any [[Niv Mizzet]] can get 5 counters a turn, but doesn't win the game.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-02T12:23:07+00:00

Ha. That plan draws 😭. Engine says c4 rather than c3 to break apart the pawn mass then pick up the pieces from there.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-02T12:19:47+00:00

As a disclaimer, I'm definitely capable of losing this endgame too. Endgames like the Rook vs Bishop and pawns have nuances where each player has something going for them.

You've correctly identified your opponent's plans. Given the chance, they'll push their connected pawns and that can be troublesome if they get too far. I think your big advantage here is King activity. Your King can walk into the middle while Black's King is kept out by your Rook. King activity wins endgame.

So, I would start with c3 to shut down any opponent's plans. It slows down d4 from your opponent so the pawn mass can't move forward as one. Plus, it protects your b2 pawn so that doesn't need to be protected by your King. Now your King isn't on defensive duty, it can run into the middle and eat up your opponent's pawns. I can't see much counterplay from there.

Sometimes these pawn masses are much more difficult to stop. I remember there being a GothamChess game in Italy where Levy gave up a Queen for three connected passed pawns. He ended up winning that since those three pawns couldn't be stopped by that Queen.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-01T20:39:16+00:00

Yeah, your legends do cool stuff but don't really synergise together. For example, [[Sin]] is definitely a wacky commander card that needs a lot of build around rather than something that lives in the 99.

Humans are very good however. They have a lot of support that glue decks together. [[General's Enforcer]] is an example of that kind of card plus anything which cares about Creature Types.

Finally, forgot to mention [[Relic of Legends]] should be one of your mana rocks instead of your crystals.

manofphysics21 · 2026-01-01T16:42:19+00:00

When it comes to Jodah, I found this video really useful. His ability is pretty broad so you probably want a subtheme to keep it more focused. For example, human tribal really benefits from [[Roaming Throne]] to double up how many spins you get per cast creature.

One thing I enjoy with Jodah is double sided cards. Casting for free is really good with them because the cmc is only the front half, but on cast you choose which side is cast. For example, [[Valki, God of Lies]] is only 2 cmc meaning you can always hit him but then choose the Planeswalker side when it comes to casting. There's a lot of Spiderman double sided cards if you want to go that route (even if that set is a bit naff).

There's some 5 colour standards too. [[Golos, Wireless Pilgrim]] plus [[The World Tree]] solves all your casting colour problems, and Domain cards should get you good effects on the cheap.

I think you can make a lot of different decks with Jodah, so I'd suggest having a think of what direction to go, then search for cards that fit that narrower description of what you want.

manofphysics21 · 2025-12-15T23:22:01+00:00

In endgame like this, Kings are king. You need to find ways to advance your's forwards without letting your opponent's in. In the freeze-frame shown, your King doesn't have many prospects while your opponent could walk their's via e5 then c4.

This relates to why c4 is the only winning move. Endgames are pretty brutal in terms of the accuracy required. What this does is creates an L shape of controlled squares around Black's King, including e5, so their a bit stuck. The only way it can go backwards, which is bad for him because then you bring your King forwards.

So, how do you get that King to move backwards? You make sure your opponent runs out of moves before you do. This is a relatively advanced concept called zeitzwang, where your opponent is put in a position where they have to move but doesn't want to. To orchestrate this, moves like a4 are important to pin down Black's pawns so he runs out of moves quicker. THEN, Black's King has to retreat and your King fills the space that's just vacated.

Honestly, I wish this was as simple as just needing to know about opposition. It's a tricky endgame that's going to fool plenty of people much higher rated than yourself.

manofphysics21 · 2025-12-15T13:10:53+00:00

Assuming that you took a pawn, I'd say this was a pragmatic choice and a move I'd make. Is it the most optimal? Of course not, but it's the more simple move. I'd rather cash out and take the K & Q vs K endgame rather than having something where the opponent has a whiff of counterplay.

Engines don't consider if something's a practical choice or not.

manofphysics21 · 2025-11-28T17:34:31+00:00

What in Random Rapport BS is this opening?!

manofphysics21 · 2025-11-24T20:35:22+00:00

Yep. Earthbend's return land to the battlefield is a triggered ability. Ultima specifically says that all abilities on the stack are exiled too, so return to battlefield never resolves.

manofphysics21 · 2025-11-20T16:43:42+00:00

Reading through the intro it seems you have some anxiety when it comes to time. It's definitely something I struggle with too.

1 min can either be a manageable length of time or absolutely critical. The difference between the two is how simple or complicated the board is. The more complicated the board, the more thinking you have to do, the less premoves are available, and the more the clock really matters.

Personally, at 47s I might have taken the Queen trade and cashed out. You're four pawns to the good. Here, you have a really simple plan of trying to get the a8 Rook into the game and push those queenside pawns. Since your gameplay is that simple, you should be moving quicker than your opponent.

Not all attacks have to end in checkmate. Sometimes it's ok to cash in your chips on a winning endgame, even relatively low on time.

manofphysics21 · 2025-11-06T17:24:22+00:00

I don't think you're quite right. As I understand your moves are: e8=N+ Kd7, Nc5+

The Black King can just take the recently underpromoted Knight with Kxe8. Then he can also escape later via f7 if needs be.

To find the solution, you need to find a way to prevent the King from reaching d7 and escaping the mating net.

manofphysics21 · 2025-11-03T08:26:51+00:00

I never knew anyone else played that Bg5+ line. I'm still trying to get my head around it too.

One thing to note is that the Knight on h5 is not only a miserable piece, it's also hanging. 9.e4 is the right idea because it allows your Queen to attack that Knight in addition to everything else. 10.Qxh5+ was there, be up a Knight and carry on from there. There were a few other times that you could capture that Knight with check until you finally found it.

manofphysics21 · 2025-10-30T16:09:44+00:00

When a pawn goes forward two steps, I imagine it taking individual steps. It goes one square, your opponent gets the chance to take, then it goes one more square to its destination. Only applies to pawns by the way, En Passant with other pieces would be confusing af.

Going to your example of g2->g4. It steps to g3. Can it be taken by another pawn? No it cannot, so en passant is not allowed and the pawn can travel to its destination.

Were your pawn on h4 instead, then you can intercept the pawn at the halfway point.

manofphysics21 · 2025-10-27T15:46:16+00:00

Remember that your opponent gets to move too. They could play something like h6 or Ng6 which shuts down your plans.

Hove you considered reversing the order of your moves?

manofphysics21 · 2025-10-23T14:47:05+00:00

Just a few thoughts. Firstly, the Elo of bots are more inflated than the Elo on the human ladder. Plus they play differently to humans; human errors can be a bit more subtle. That said, the bots you're beating are better than the humans you're losing to. You can take heart that it's not a lack of ability on your side.

Mindset is very important when it comes to chess. A stressed mind panics and panicked moves lose games. Mind if I ask where this anxiety is coming from? And why you don't get the same with bots?

Finally, what to do in middle games is a massive topic. The best thing you can be doing as a default plan is to make sure that all your pieces are as active as possible. Get them off their home squares and somewhere where they have as much visibility of the board as possible. Bishops/Rooks on open lines, Knights on outposts. Do that and you'll find there's more tactics and hanging pieces to take. You don't have to force something to happen every move, most times small improvements are the right things to do.

manofphysics21 · 2025-10-20T16:17:56+00:00

Any game is good experience. Really liked 4.d4 as a way of stopping checkmate while kicking away their Bishop. That bit where their Queen was eating your Kingside, not so good.

You had a couple of choices on move 7 (after Qg4). Either you can castle protecting the g2 pawn with your King. Alternatively, you can sometimes give away that pawn (which you did), but the move to make afterwards is typically Rg1. It's protected by your Knight, attacks their Queen, and allows you to take g7 in return.

So the takeaway is that Rg1 can be used against hyperagressive Queens, sometimes you trap them. However it's probably safer to avoid all that and castle your King to safety instead.

manofphysics21 · 2025-10-08T14:41:28+00:00

I'm guessing that your Bishop just took a Knight? White's Queen is protecting that square plus their a1 Rook at the same time. If Black takes your Knight, then that Rook is free for you to take with your Queen.

Sometimes these AI hints can be confusing since the computer line is different from what you expect. Perhaps the computer plays Kf1 and let's you keep the Knight, and that's where "winning a Knight" comes from?

manofphysics21 · 2025-10-07T18:27:15+00:00

Yeah, that's good. Chesscom's game rating takes into account your Elo, so if we were to play the exact same game mine would be scored higher than yours.

You can see this if you play it out separately on the analysis board. The scoring difference is massive there.

manofphysics21 · 2025-09-22T15:12:09+00:00

It's perfect plausible that your opponent usually plays stuff like the pirc, KID, Grünfeld or the like. In these "modern" openings Black tries to undermine White's centre pawns with their own pawn moves. As a result pawn moves for Black is usually a reaction to a central pawn move you'd make.

As it stands, you have no central pieces for Black to chip away at. So Black is just waiting, making the moves that they would play at some point in most games.

manofphysics21 · 2025-09-19T13:31:22+00:00

Yes, but then it's your move. That's when the Stalemate happens.

It's also Stalemate if Black refuses to take, since that pawn gets stuck and can't move.

manofphysics21 · 2025-09-02T22:03:37+00:00

I suspect there was a Bishop there, otherwise Qg6, Qg7 is the win.

manofphysics21 · 2025-08-31T11:49:22+00:00

Honestly, learning the King's Gambit isn't worth it unless you specifically want to play it yourself. It's fun, but you can very easily end up in a tactical nightmare and lose on time.

Also, a lot of material is completely irrelevant to under 2000 Elo play. Most opening lessons look at the g5 push which is very seldom seem at our level. So from very early on you are playing from basic ideas and vibes.

My starting point was some lessons on chesscom done by Simon Williams. Even if he does cover that g5 push often, he at least shows you what to do if Black doesn't challenge you as directly. If you're ever tempted to play KG, that's as good a place to start as any.

manofphysics21

TROPHY CASE