Chess checkmate patterns
15 mating patterns that decide real games, each explained in plain English with a board diagram. Learn to spot them before your opponent does.
Back-rank mate
A rook or queen delivers checkmate on the opponent's back rank because the king is trapped behind its own pawns.
Smothered mate
A knight delivers checkmate while the king is completely surrounded by its own pieces.
Scholar's mate
A four-move checkmate targeting the f7 square with a queen and bishop.
Fool's mate
The fastest checkmate possible - two moves, exploiting a badly weakened king diagonal.
Ladder mate (two rooks)
Two rooks take turns giving check, marching the king to the edge where it runs out of room.
Queen and king mate
The queen and king work together to force the lone king to the edge of the board for checkmate.
Anastasia's mate
A rook and knight trap the king against the edge of the board when a pawn blocks the escape squares.
Boden's mate
Two crisscrossing bishops deliver checkmate on an open diagonal when the king is blocked by its own pieces.
Arabian mate
A rook and knight work together to trap the king in a corner, with the knight guarding the rook and covering the escape square.
Greco's mate
A bishop protects a queen that delivers checkmate to a king cornered by its own rook.
Legal's mate
A queen sacrifice followed by three minor pieces delivering a smothering checkmate in the centre.
Damiano's mate
A queen and pawn deliver checkmate with the king trapped against the edge after being lured out.
Hook mate
A rook, knight, and pawn combine in a hook shape to trap the king in the corner.
Epaulette mate
A queen delivers checkmate while the king is flanked on both sides by its own pieces - like epaulettes on a uniform.
Two bishops mate
Two bishops on adjacent diagonals force the king to the edge and corner it for checkmate.
See mating patterns in YOUR games
Free. Chess2EZ finds every checkmate you missed or delivered and explains each in plain English.
Analyze my games →