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Treasury of mating patterns · From a game

Opera mate

Rook on the back rank, bishop covers

Paul Morphy – Duke Karl & Count Isouard, Paris 1858

The mating move

319 puzzles with this mating pattern →

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All mating patterns

From a game

1620 Greco’s miniature After the queen sacrifice the bishop mates via f7 – the king’s own pieces take every other square See the pattern → 1750 Légal’s mate Knight and bishop, after the queen bait See the pattern → 1851 Minor-piece mate Three small pieces against the whole black army See the pattern → 1852 The Evergreen mate The bishop takes on e7 with check, protected by the pawn on f6 – the second bishop takes e8 from the king See the pattern → 1858 Opera mate Rook on the back rank, bishop covers See the pattern → 1910 Réti’s mate Double check, then the bishop See the pattern → 1912 King hunt The king is driven all the way to g1 See the pattern → 1956 Fischer’s net Rook, bishop and knight surround the king See the pattern →

Very common

Very common Back-rank mate The king is stuck behind its own pawns. See the pattern → Very common Smothered mate The knight mates, the king’s own pieces block every escape. See the pattern → Very common Kiss of death The queen stands right in front of the king and is protected – here by the white king. See the pattern → Very common Corridor mate The king is shut in on one file, its own pawns block the side. See the pattern → Very common Epaulette mate The king’s own rooks sit beside it like epaulettes. See the pattern → Very common Swallow’s tail mate Like the epaulette mate, only diagonal: the king’s own rooks block the squares diagonally behind it. See the pattern →

Rook, knight, bishop

Rook, knight, bishop Arabian mate Rook and knight, already known in the old Persian and Arabic manuscripts. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Anastasia’s mate The knight blocks, the rook strikes along the edge. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Hook mate Rook, knight and pawn: the rook gives check, protected by the knight, which the pawn protects. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Morphy’s mate The bishop gives check on the long diagonal, the rook closes the file beside it. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Pillsbury’s mate The rook gives check on the file, the bishop cuts the king off from the corner. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Boden’s mate Two bishops cross in front of the long-castled king. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Blackburne’s mate Two bishops and a knight: one bishop mates, the knight protects it, the other holds the long diagonal. See the pattern → Rook, knight, bishop Anderssen’s mate The rook mates on the edge, protected by a pawn, which the king protects. See the pattern →

Named classics

Named classics Damiano’s mate The queen mates, protected by a pawn – the king is shut in by its own pieces. See the pattern → Named classics Greco’s mate The bishop closes the diagonal, the queen mates on the edge file – the king’s own pawn shuts it in. See the pattern → Named classics Lolli’s mate Pawn and queen break into the fianchetto: the queen mates, protected by the pawn. See the pattern → Named classics Max Lange’s mate The queen mates, protected by the bishop, which also holds an escape square. See the pattern → Named classics Cozio’s mate The queen mates diagonally beside the king, two of its own pieces block its escape. See the pattern → Named classics Mayet’s mate The rook mates on the back rank, protected by a bishop from afar. See the pattern → Named classics Vuković’s mate The rook mates, protected by the king, the knight holds the escape squares beside the king. See the pattern → Named classics David and Goliath mate A pawn mates the king – the smallest piece beats the greatest. See the pattern →