Hardest Mate

amiraz: yes, you're right, Q+K vs R+K is a much harder endgame to win, but it doesn't fall under what I call a 'basic' mate - i.e. when the opponent has no material.

I think I could probably work out B+N vs K if I sat and had a think, but Q v R is completely beyond me. How to force the king and rook to the right position at the edge of the board is an incredibly mysterious process.

Just as a point of education for you guys, here is what you should be aiming for:

Interesting !

cool!

Yeah, I don't get its remarkableness with K+R. So the king has two squares and you wait for it to occupy the right one so you can mate him. Lame zugzwang.

yup! but in a tournament game it was hard for me to accomplish it then!

That would be a case of a mate being hard *for you* as opposed to being objectively hard.

It won't take much practice for K+R v. K to be very very easy for you.

yep , but i assumed it was the hardest because in the game i had a Pawn, King , and Rook vs.King so i had to lose the pawn or stalemat so it was hard to get the mate in that position btw the it was a rook pawn

HAHA LOL i dont have that diagram but have a bishop knight diagram-

Hi jrfitzgerald, this is one of the more simple NN vs P ones:

yes~!

R+B vs R is usually theoretically drawn, but it often occurs (even at GM level) that the R+B side achieves a winning position. However, conversion is still hard, check out the move list for a different line on move 8 or so:

yes and Q +K  vs. Q+K is a draw

wait what about a Knight Pawn?

Easy as pie because it is only two moves

yes, but i think it knight plus Bishop and KIng, vs.. King

Probably Rook and King vs. Knight and King...But the Bishop, Knight and King vs. King is pretty hard!

... the HARDEST and also UNSOLVED mate you can find here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLiwJ3qe_M

... write here at chess.com or at youtube.com the FIRST 8 moves , if you can ...

knight + bishop + king vs. king                                                                      it is hard to set up