Section
Checkmates
Recognizable arrangements of pieces that finish the game. Each pattern is shown in several different setups so you can see how it works anywhere on the board.
Anastasia's Mate
A knight and a heavy piece trap the enemy king on the edge of the board, often after an h-file attack.
Arabian Mate
A knight and a rook coordinate to checkmate the king in the corner of the board — one of the oldest named patterns in chess.
Back-Rank Mate
A rook or queen delivers checkmate along the edge of the board because the enemy king is trapped behind its own shield of pawns.
Boden's Mate
Two bishops on intersecting diagonals checkmate a king obstructed by its own pieces.
Epaulette Mate
A king is trapped between two of its own pieces — usually rooks — that block its sideways escape squares, so a queen delivering a frontal attack is fatal.
Ladder Mate
Two heavy pieces — rooks or a queen-and-rook pair — work together to push the enemy king to the edge of the board, one rank at a time.
Smothered Mate
A knight delivers checkmate to an enemy king that is completely surrounded by its own pieces.