Fine Chess Academy
Back Rank Mate
White mates with Rxf8#
A rook or queen checks the king along its back row, and the king's own pawns block every escape.
Start here
The first patterns every new player should learn.
Smothered Mate
White mates with Nf7#
A knight checks a king that is completely boxed in by its own pieces, so it has nowhere to go.
Ladder Mate
White mates with Rh8#
Two rooks work together: one guards a row, the other checks on the next row, pushing the king to the edge.
Fool's Mate
Black mates with Qh4#
The fastest checkmate in chess. After 1.f3 and 2.g4, Black's queen mates on h4 on move two.
Scholar's Mate
White mates with Qxf7#
Queen and bishop team up on f7, Black's weakest square, for mate in four moves. Every beginner should know how to stop it.
Core patterns
The named mates that come up again and again in real games.
Anastasia's Mate
White mates with Rh8#
A knight and a rook or queen trap the king on the side of the board, with one of its own pieces in the way.
Arabian Mate
Black mates with Rg1#
A rook and knight mate the king in the corner. The knight guards the rook and covers the last escape square.
Boden's Mate
White mates with Bxe6#
Two bishops on criss-crossing diagonals mate a king that is blocked in by its own pieces.
Epaulette Mate
White mates with Rf8#
The king's own pieces sit on both sides of it like shoulder pads, so a check from the front is mate.
Swallow's Tail
White mates with Qxf7#
A protected queen checks face to face, and the king's own pieces block the two diagonal squares behind it.
Dovetail Mate
White mates with Qxd6#
A protected queen mates from a diagonal right next to the king, whose only two escape squares are blocked by its own pieces.
Hook Mate
White mates with Rxe8#
A rook mates next to the king, protected by a knight that is itself protected by a pawn. An enemy pawn cuts off the escape.
Corner Mate
Black mates with Nxf2#
A rook or queen keeps the king stuck in the corner, and a knight delivers the check.
Opera Mate
White mates with Rxf8#
A rook checks the king on its back row, a bishop protects the rook, and the king's own pieces block the escape.
Légal's Mate
White mates with Nd5#
A famous trap: White gives up the queen, Black grabs it, and the knights and bishop deliver mate.
Advanced patterns
Rarer teamwork mates. Great for players who know the core patterns.
Pillsbury's Mate
White mates with Re8#
A rook delivers the mate while a bishop helps cut off the king's escape squares.
Morphy's Mate
Black mates with Bxg7#
A bishop delivers the mate while a rook helps trap the king.
Blind Swine Mate
White mates with Rhxh7#
Two rooks team up deep in the enemy camp and mate the king inside a small 2-by-2 box.
Kill Box Mate
White mates with Rf8#
A rook checks from right next to the king, protected by a queen that covers the escape squares. Together they trap the king in a 3-by-3 box.
Double Bishop Mate
Black mates with Bxc3#
Two bishops on side-by-side diagonals mate a king that is blocked in by its own pieces.
Triangle Mate
White mates with Qh6#
A queen and a rook, each a square or two from the king on its row or column, form a triangle with no way out.
Vuković Mate
Black mates with Rg5#
A protected rook mates the king on the edge while a knight covers the escape squares.
Balestra Mate
White mates with Bxe6#
A bishop delivers the mate while the queen covers the king's remaining escape squares.
Checkmate techniques
Endings where you need a method, not just a pattern. Watch the lesson, then try it yourself.
Bishop + Knight Checkmate
The hardest of the basic checkmates
With just a bishop, a knight and your king, you can force mate, but only in a corner your bishop controls, and you must do it within 50 moves. Perfect play needs at most 33.
- Bring your king to the center first. It leads the attack.
- Drive the enemy king to the edge with all three pieces working together.
- If it runs to the wrong corner, push it along the edge to a corner of your bishop's color. Many coaches teach the knight's route here as the "W" maneuver.
- Mate in that corner. Watch out for stalemate.