Better Believe it Back Rank Mates

Back-rank checkmates happen more often than you may realize. Once you learn about castling, you'll see kings resting snugly behind their blanket-pawns, but don't get too cozy! Sometimes the king needs a little air (luft!) to possibly escape. These puzzles are all mate-in-twos. By, Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl).

I spy checkmate!

In this example, you might observe how the black king is already trapped on the very last row of the board (the back rank). But Black's rooks are doing a fair job of protecting, right? Nope! Lure (deflect) the rook away from the back rank with a forcing check. -

 
Here we have a back rank check followed by a back rank mate. This also uses a decoy sacrifice. Notice starting with 1. Rf8+ leads to mate with two bishops, but it would take three moves.
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Both sides have some weakness around the king. But White to move will be more forcing!
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---Here's another example of a deflection. White would like to promote the pawn on c7...
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Here's an easy one for you! You can still get back ranked even without castling. Just push the king over.  
Night-night kingy!
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Last one! Which rook? Sac and deflect to back rank mate!
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You got it! What expression do you have after you win? Remember to keep a poker face while you play, and to bow before and after game to be respectful. Even if you crush them.
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