Ladder Mate

Two heavy pieces — rooks or a queen-and-rook pair — work together to push the enemy king to the edge of the board, one rank at a time.

Two rooks or queens work together to push the enemy king to the edge of the board by cutting off adjacent ranks or files. They take turns delivering checks and restricting escape squares, walking the king down like climbing the rungs of a ladder.

Starting position

For experienced players

This is usually one of the first theoretical endgames a player learns, but in practical play it often appears as a middlegame attacking theme when heavy pieces invade an open file or rank.