ChessCoach
Play
Live
Ranks
Train
Freeplay
Dashboard
Lessons
Profile
Settings
Checkmate patterns
Learn to recognise the classic mating pictures. Find the checkmate in one move for each.
Back-rank mate
A king trapped behind its own pawns is mated along the back rank by a rook or queen.
Smothered mate
A king hemmed in by its own pieces is mated by a knight — nothing can block a knight check.
Two-rook (ladder) mate
One rook cuts off a rank while the other delivers mate on the next — the staircase mate.
Queen + king mate
The queen, supported by its king, boxes the enemy king against the edge.
Scholar's mate
The classic four-move attack: the queen takes f7, defended by the bishop on c4.
Arabian mate
Knight and rook combine to trap a king in the corner — one of the oldest known mates.
Dovetail mate
The queen mates a king whose only flight squares are blocked by its own pieces.
Queen corner mate
With the king supporting from g6, the queen delivers mate on the back rank corner.
Epaulette mate
The king's own rooks sit on its shoulders like epaulettes, blocking every escape.
Bishop + rook mate
A long-range bishop covers escape squares while the rook mates on the back rank.