3 move checkmate4/2/2023 The important point is not that they have names, but that they represent mating patterns which arise frequently in real games. Our list of Checkmates with Names is not exhaustive. The White Bishops cooperate to cover all of the Black King's escape squares. Our example is a position which could have happened in a game (Nimzovich - Alekhine 1912) from an early Russian championship. Our last mating pattern, named after Samuel Boden (1826-1882), is a disaster befalling a King castled on the Queenside. The Black King's escape squares are again blocked by its own pieces. White wins with 1.Rxf6+ gxf6 2.Qg8+ Ke7 3.Qf7 mate. Some writers prefer the colorful term Swallow's Tail Mate. Since guéridon means pedestal table, let's just call it the Pedestal Mate. Similar to the Epaulet Mate is the Mat du Guéridon (guéridon mate), another mating pattern with French origins. The unfortunate Rooks reminded someone of military epaulets and the name stuck. White wins with 1.Rf8+ Qxf8 2.Rxf8+ Rxf8 3.Qxg6 mate. The Epaulet Mate (also known as the Epaulette Mate) is a mating pattern where the King is hemmed in by its own Rooks. White's 5th, 6th, and 7th moves are typical of the many similar variations. ![]() and continued 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5 mate. Legall's name is taken from his only recorded game, which started 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6. The mate can follow different variations. ![]() Legall tutored Philidor and is sometimes considered to have been an unofficial world champion before his protégé assumed the title. Named after the Frenchman Legall De Kermeur (1702-1792), Legall's Mate (accent on the second syllable of Legall) is more commonly known as Legal's Mate, where Legal rhymes with beagle. The sequence of White's 3rd, 4th, and 5th moves is in every good player's arsenal of tactical tricks.Īnother corner mate is known as the Arabian Mate.īlack is helpless to prevent 1.Rc7 g5 2.Rh7 mate. White forces checkmate with 1.Qe6+ Kh8 2.Nf7+ Kg8 3.Nh6+ Kh8 4.Qg8+ Rxg8 5.Nf7 mate. Most smothered mates happen in a corner, where the King is already restricted by the sides of the board.Ī smothered mate pattern which arises frequently is illustrated in the following diagram. Here is a well known example from the Caro-Kann opening.Īfter 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Qe2, Black must be careful. The Smothered Mate is a checkmate by a Knight on a King surrounded by its own pieces. White wins with 1.Nh6+ Qxh6 2.Rxf8+ Kxf8 3.Qd8 mate. Here's another, more complicated example from a real game (Alekhine - Freeman 1924). White wins with 1.Rxd7 Rxd7 2.Rc8+ Rd8 3.Rxd8 mate.īack-rank mates are undoubtedly the most common type of checkmate to occur in practice. Our first examples were checkmates in the opening.īack-rank mates usually happen later in the game after many of the pieces have been developed. If Black defends properly, White's opening advantage will disappear quickly and the initiative will pass to Black when the Queen is attacked by a timely. White's move Qd1-h5 violates the opening principle that the Queen should not be developed too early. The initial moves 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 are typical.įinally, Black ignores the attack and is mated by, for example, 3.d6 4.Qxf7 mate. Then the Queen and Bishop move to attack the natural weakness at f7. First, the e-Pawn moves to make way for the White Queen and Bishop. The Scholar's Mate has different variations which all follow the same pattern. The game is also known as a Fool's Mate when Black is mated the same way. ![]() The position in the diagram occurs after 1.g4 e5 2.f3 Qh4 mate. ![]() White cooperates by opening a narrow road to the White King. The Fool's Mate is the shortest possible checkmate starting from the initial position. Here are some of the best known mating patterns. Some checkmates are so notorious or so common that they have been given names. Some mating patterns are seen so frequently that they have names.
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