Tactic · intermediate
Arabian Mate in chess
Rook and knight trap a king in the corner.
touch_appSolve it yourself. A wrong move gets explained, not just marked wrong.
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What a arabian mate is
Rook and knight trap a king in the corner.
In the Arabian mate the knight guards the rook and the corner escape square, while the rook gives check right next to the king. It's over a thousand years old!
The puzzle, solved
The Arabian mate (intermediate, White to move)add
Rook and knight trap a king in the corner. Solution: 1.Rh7#. Rh7#. The knight protects the rook and covers g8; the rook covers g7. No escape.
How to spot it in your games
- The knight on f6 already protects h7.
When players miss it: "Missing checkmates"
When the coach analyses your games, missed arabian mate are counted under "Missing checkmates". When the enemy king is short of squares, look at every check first. Checks are the most forcing moves.