This mating pattern is called the Killbox Mate because it creates a 3 squares by 3 squares "box" on the board, from which the enemy King cannot escape.
The pattern involves a Queen and a Rook attacking a King on the edge of the board. The Rook, protected by the Queen, delivers mate from a square adjacent to the King. It is a great demonstration of how a Queen and a Rook can work together very efficiently. In the simplified example shown in the diagram above, White uses the pattern and wins with 1.Rh7#.
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When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on the Killbox Mate. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this checkmate pattern.
This YouTube short by the Caleb Denby channel (unfortunately not very active right now) is a very good and efficient introduction to the Killbox Mate. Enjoy it.
This is the second video of a great series by the Complete Chess YouTube channel. The Killbox Mate and its corresponding method are presented in the context of many other mating patterns.
Have a look at this game by Chess Goals. It’s a nice game that ends with a Killbox Mate, it’s well-analyzed, and the context is motivating (spoiler: he did make it to 2000!).
Regardless of your age, this book by Murray Chandler is a fun and efficient way to learn all of the most important checkmate patterns, including the Killbox Mate. Highly recommended.
This book is an adaptation of the exceptional work that Raf Mesotten a.k.a. CraftyRaf originally did for his much-beloved Chessable course. Complete and extremely well organized.
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