u/Morjman

I can't checkmate K+Q vs K+R.
For reference, I'm 2000 rapid on 2 chessdotcom accounts and 2100 on my lichess alt, I've watched multiple youtube videos on this. I just don't get it and I'm scared one day it's going to come back and bite me in a game.
Please help.
(I also can't do K+N+B vs K but I've seen grandmasters say they've only ever had that 1 or 2 times their whole lives, I think I can live with those odds)

I'm only plat 2 but here's what I understand so far. There are three parts to this game:

1. Player mechanics (How good you are with the character you control): This is governed primarily by how good you are with your controller/kb&m. Aim and combos matter most here. Keybinds are also really important as some combos are quicker if the keys make more sense in your head.

2. Game Sense (How good you are at understanding what is going on): This is the part most people, including me, struggle with. Essentially it's about knowing when to engage/disengage, where to stand, target selection, and things of that nature. This is hard to learn unless you choose to watch improvement guides/get coaching.

3. Matchups (How good your team's characters are vs their team's): This is easy to understand but hard to use in-game because of all the one-tricks. If you're playing jeff into black panther, that's a matchup nightmare. If you're playing with no shield tanks and they are playing with a good squirrel girl, you will suffer. Things like that. There's only so much you can do if you have a spidey main on your team that refuses to swap despite accomplishing nothing. This part is on your team in that sense.

In my opinion, once you get all three down, you can make at least high diamond. Just from what I've seen. Thoughts?