Learn chess · Checkmates
Checkmate patterns you should know
Most games are won by a handful of mating patterns. Learn each one on a board, see it in real games, then solve puzzles at your level.
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touch_appStart with one: Back Rank Mate.
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Every checkmate pattern, by level
First steps:
Beginner:
Improver:
Smothered Matearrow_forwardA smothered mate is a checkmate by a knight against a king that is completely surrounded by its own pieces.Arabian Matearrow_forwardThe Arabian mate is one of the oldest checkmates: a rook gives check next to a king in the corner, and a knight both protects the rook and covers the king's last escape square..Anastasia's Matearrow_forwardAnastasia's mate traps a king on the edge: a knight covers the squares in front of it, the king's own pawn blocks another, and a queen or rook gives check down the edge file..Boden's Matearrow_forwardBoden's mate is checkmate with two bishops on crossing diagonals, usually against a king that castled queenside.Hook Matearrow_forwardThe hook mate is a chain: a rook checks right next to the king, a knight protects the rook, and a pawn protects the knight.
Intermediate:
How to find mates in your games
- Look at checks first: every mate starts with one. Count the king's free squares after each check.
- Notice which squares the king's own pieces block: most mating patterns use them against it.
- If a check fails by one square, look for a sacrifice that takes that square away or drags a defender onto it.
Where these mates come from
The worked examples are the app's own lessons, every move checked by Stockfish. The rated puzzles are real games from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0), checked again by Stockfish when we imported them; a pattern without its own Lichess theme is picked by a rule checked with chess.js on the mating move.