Damiano's mate
A queen and pawn deliver checkmate with the king trapped against the edge after being lured out.
Damiano's mate is named after Pedro Damiano, a Portuguese chess writer who described it in 1512 in one of the earliest printed chess books. The classic version involves a queen giving check on h7 with a pawn on g6 blocking the king's escape and the white king cutting off g5.
The setup often involves a rook sacrifice to lure the king out of its hiding spot, after which the queen and pawn create an inescapable net. The elegance is in the forced march: once the king is drawn to the edge, a queen and a single pawn are enough to seal the checkmate.
Qh7# - Damiano's mate with queen and pawn
White's queen on h7 delivers checkmate. The black king on h6 cannot escape: g7 is blocked by the black pawn, g6 is occupied by the white pawn (also protecting the queen on h7), and g5 and h5 are covered by the white king on g4. The queen is untouchable - the g6 pawn guards it.
Rh8+! - rook sacrifice to lure the king
White can play Rh8+!, sacrificing the rook. The black king must take (Kxh8). Then Qh1+, and after the king moves, the queen swoops in for Damiano's mate pattern. The rook sacrifice removes the g8 defender and forces the king into the mating net. Look for this whenever a rook can be given up to drag the king to h8.
Key chess terms
Related mating patterns
See all checkmate patterns →See mating patterns in YOUR games →
Free. Chess2EZ finds every checkmate you missed or delivered and explains each in plain English.
Analyze my games →