1b) COPE--Controlling escape squares and paths through blocking files, ranks, and diagonals, by the opposing player's pieces and/or pawns.
1c) COPES--Controlling escape squares and paths through blocking files, ranks, and diagonals, by both your own pieces and/or pawns and your enemy's.
2) MATT--Attack and checkmating the opposing King at a square from which it is blocked from moving, and neither the player's attacking piece or pawn can be captured nor can the check be blocked by interposing an opposing piece or pawn between the opposing King and the player's attacking piece or pawn.
In order to most efficiently checkmate our enemy's king we need to vary our attack based on the position of the King on the board. By studying example mating combinations with the King in these different positions we can greatly improve our chess play and also increase our speed of play which is important when we play on the clock in tournaments or in blitz play. There are 5 important King Positions that we should study.
EDGEMATE: Starting position or manually moved position--King One, Queen One, Bishop One, Knight One.The opposing King must be deprived of 5 squares if it is on a square located in one of the four sides of the chessboard other than one of the four corners. The mating pattern is a rectangle consisting of six squares - two squares aligned horizontally across two adjacent files by three squares in a column vertically across three adjacent ranks (2 x 3 = 6), with the square upon which the opposing King is located at the center of the vertically aligned or horizontally aligned squares on the side of the chessboard.
See example 1 CORNER: The opposing King must be deprived of three (3) squares if it is on one of the four corner Rook One squares on the chessboard. The mating pattern or anatomy of a mate in this situation is a square consisting of four squares - two squares aligned horizontally across two adjacent files by two squares in a column vertically across two adjacent ranks (2 x 2 = 4), with the square upon which the opposing King is located being one of the four corner squares: at the lower left square (a1), or the upper left square (a8), or the lower right square (h1), or the upper right square (h8).
See example 1. CENTER--The opposing King must be deprived of 8 squares if it is on a square other than the a or h filesand other than a square located in the 1st and 8th ranks. The 8 squares are comprised of the eight squares adjacent to the square upon which the King is located. The mating pattern is a square consisting of nine squares - three squares aligned horizontally across three adjacent files by three squares in a column vertically across three adjacent ranks (3 x 3 = 9), with the square upon which the King is located at the center of the group of nine squares I call the King Side Castle, the "Winter Castle" or "The Box." To be more specific "The Box" for white consists of the squares f1, g1, h1, f2, g2, h2,f3, g3, h3. For Black it is: f8, g8, h8, f7, g7, h7, f6, g6, h6. When the King is in this area it is considered to be "safe," yet there are many ways to attack the King in the Box and the study of these attack patterns will greatly improve your game.
BOXMATE
See example 1. 1) BEDROOM--The White King moves to the Rook 1 square, he is frightened by an enemy attack and is trying to hide under his bed. This may make him vulnerable to some interesting attacks because Rook 2 is weakened by this move. 2) 3M--The Three Musketeers, the three pawns in front of the King when it is castled Kingside. While they guard the King a Back Rank Mate is aways possible if one of these Pawns are not moved forward.
3) OPENING THE WINDOW--The h2 Pawn is moved to h3. This is also known as the "Ventilation" move. 4)< A NAME="dragon">DRAGON--The King's Bishop's Knight when the King is castled King-side.
See example 1 5) SWORD OF DAMOCLES--The White Bishop at f6 or h6 or the Black Bishop at f3 or h3 when the King is at home is a dangerous position that can bring about mate easily in conjunction with the Queen and/or Knight. 6) GUN--Queen at f6 or h6 is a gun at the head of the King in the box. 7) OPEN THRONEROOM--The King is sitting in his "Winter Castle" nice and comfy in his "Throneroom" at "N1" but just be sure he's not too comfortable since the Throneroom can be blasted open. 8) OPENFRONTDOOR--When the Pawn on the Bishop's file in front of the Kingside Castled King is missing, the front door is open and assassins can sneak in. 9) AJARFRONTDOOR--When the Pawn on the Bishop's file in front of the Kingside Castled King is moved forward one square, the frontdoor is ajar. 10) OPEN BACKDOOR--When the Pawn on the Rook's file in front of the Kingside Castled King is missing, the back door is open and assassins can sneak in.
See example 1. 11) A)OPENBACKDOORSAC--A sacrifice to open the Rook's file. 12) AJAR BACKDOOR--When the Pawn on the Rook's file in front of the Kingside Castled King is moved forward one square, the backdoor is ajar. 13) DAGGER--An enemy Pawn or Bishop on the Bishop 3 square or Knight 3 or Rook 3 is a dagger aimed at the King's heart. 14) THRONEMATEQ--A mate in the 8th rank mate by the Queen. 15) CHOPPERS--Two Rooks on the 7th rank chop up the box. 16) BACKBOX--King moves back into the Box.
17) BACKBOXFORCED--King is forced to move back into the Box. 18) A NAME="corridor">Corridor--The castle corridor is a dangerous place indeed, many kings have been slain in it. Beware! Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!
The Queen Side Castle is more open to attack than the King Side Castle and so I call the Queen Side Castle the Summer Castle and the King Side Castle the Winter Castle.
QSIDEMATE--There is a special technique applied to attacking the King when it is castled queen side.
KQFAMFUN--King & Queen Mate. King and Queen acting together.
KQBACKOFF--King & Queen Mate. White moves the Queen back in order to prevent "Stalemate." KQCUTOFF--King & Queen Mate, The Cut-off. White "Cuts Off" Black's King and prevents it from escaping.
KQBAR--King & Queen Mate, The Barrier. The Queen sets up a "Barrier" beyond which the enemy king cannot move thus making him an easy target for mate.
KRWOP--King & Rook Mate, Waiting Move Plus Opposition. The "Waiting Move" forces Black's King to move into "Opposition" with White's King, and sooner or later he gets done in by the "Opposition Mate."
KRCUTOFF--King & Rook Mate, Cut-off Plus Opposition. The Rook "Cuts-off" the Black King, Forcing him to move into "Opposition" with the White King and thus be done in by the "Opposition Mate.
OPMATE--This is a type of edgemate. The King being mated is at the edge of the board and the other King is in Opposition. Mate is delivered by bringing down the Queen or Rook to the edge of the board. HOZKR--King and Rook Horizontal Edge Mate. The opponent's king is mated at the horizontal edge of the board by king and rook. Lonesome Queen Mate: The Queen can mate by itself if the victim King is "entombed"--blocked up--by its own pieces or surrounded by enemy pieces. QRTRI--Queen & Rook Triangulation Mate. You will note how the Queen and Rook maintain a horizontal or diagonal connection.
QRROLL--Queen & Rook Rolling Barrier Mate. The King is forced back by the Queen and Rook one row at a time. KQVSKR--King & Queen vs. King and Rook. The side with the Queen usually wins but not always. BISHOP ALONE--It is possible for a Bishop to mate by its lonesome provided the enemy King is "entombed." BISHOP'S LONG DIAGONAL--When the Bishop exerts its force field on The squares "R1" to "R8" aiming at the enemy King it can mate in combination with the Queen--Diagonal Battery, Rook--Morphy's Mate, Knight--The Lock or another Bishop--kriss Kross Mate or Slicer Mate.
1)BISHOP ROLL--Bishops acting together so that their side by side force fields compel the enemy King into a corner and finish him off with a Slicer Mate.
2) SLICER MATE--Two Bishops mate resulting from the force fields of the two Bishops being side by side.
3) KRISS KROSS MATE--One Bishop is on a longer diagonal and the other is on a shorter diagonal. The force field from the Bishop on the longer diagonal--restricts the movement of the enemy King and the force field of the Bishop on the shorter diagonal delivers the mate.
3a) KS KRISS KROSS MATE--King Side Kriss Kross Mate is also known as Blackburne's Mate.
3b) QS KRISS KROSS MATE--Queen Side Kriss Kross Mate is also known as Boden's Mate.
4) BNM--Bishop-Knight Mate. 5) THE LOCK--A Bishop and Knight Mating Pattern. 6) KN--King and Knight Mate--A mate delivered by King and Knight working together. 7) SMATE--Knight Mate, Smothered. The Knight attacks the King who cannot move because he is enclosed by his own pieces. Only the Knight can deliver a Smothered Mate. 1) QBM--Queen and Bishop Mate. Works only with entombment. 2) QBM2STEP--Queen and Bishop Two Step Mate. Mate in 2 made easy for you! 3)QNMO--Queen & Bishop Mate--other. QNM--Queen and Knight Mate QPM--Queen and Pawn Mate.
14) QP--Queen and Dagger Pawn Mate. This is a type of Boxmate in Which the Queen mates in conjunction with the Dagger Pawn or Bishop.See also "Damiano's Mate." In Damiano's Mate the Pawn is at the Enemy's Knight 3 square.
See example 1. RBM--Rook and Bishop Mate RN--Rook and Knight Mate. QBNM--Queen, Bishop & Knight Mate N2RM--Knight and 2 Rooks Mate. PORK CHOP--Rook, Knight & Pawn Mate, Pawn Hooks Knight RNPMPR--Rook, Knight & Pawn Mate, Pawn Hooks Rook RNPMO--Rook, Knight & Pawn Mate, Other Variations These animations and diagrams illustrate powerful mating attacks that were used effectively in the past by the greatest of the great chess masters and are worthy of study since they illustrate how the ideas listed throughout this compendium work in the real world of chess. Full game examples of many of these mates can be found at Chess.com, a free online chess database.
Anastasia's Mate Back Rank Mate--This is a simple "Edgemate" and "multintombmentmate" brought about by a Rook or a Queen. Damiano's Bishop Mate--Here again we have a "Protected" Queen delivering mate. In this mate the Queen is always protected by the Bishop and the mate always occurs at the KB1 square and is both an Edgemate and Boxmate.
In the PGN example we see White threatens a QN Mate with his first move. If Black tries to "Capture" the "Indirectly Protected" Queen white can deliver a "Back Rank Mate" by playing RxR. Black therefore Pushes Pawn to Prevent Mate." White's Queen goes into the "Gun" position, in so doing "Sacrifices his Knight" by "Failure to Protect." This was a "Clearance Sacrifice." Next comes a "Rook Sacrifice "With Check" the diagonal is "Cleared" for the "Bishop Pawn Capture with check" creating an "X-Ray Attack" with the Bishop interposing" between the Queen and the victim King. In this game the Queen could have captured the pawn with check but that would be a wrong choice since the victim King could ultimately "Run" away from mate. The "X-Ray Attack" Dovetail Mate--Protected Queen mates King with "multientombmentmate."
In the PGN example the Knight "Captures" pawn with ""Discovered Check" and the King ""Runs Away." The Queen ""Checks the King forcing him into a bad position" and "Unguards" the Knight, "Sacrificing" him EPAULETTE--Epaulette Mate occurs when the King is being checked and to escape mate must be able to move horizontally left or right but cannot do so due to his own pieces occupying the escape squares. This is a good example of a "Multientombmentmate." Fool's Mate (Barnes Opening)--White's King's Bishop's Pawn opening push is a dubious move, and was only given its name as a parallel to the Barnes Defence. Although the move can support the centre it exposes the king to the danger of an early attack. There is always a great risk when advancing a KBP too soon. Fools Mate for example. The two moves that White makes in this game are "Self Clearance" moves. The mate itself is a "Multientombmentmate"/"Center of the Boardmate by the Queen delivering a "Lonesome Queen Mate. Legal's Mate--This is a bad line for White to play altough this Bishop's opening leads to some lively action when white sacrifices his queen and mates with his Bishop and two knights. But what if they gave a mate and no one came? Black's "Defmate" 5th move [5...Be6] wins. Morphy's Mate--This is a Rook and Bishop Boxmate, a "Cornermate" and a "Multientombment mate" in which White blasts open the "Throneroom" or "N" file for the Rook and the "Bishop's Long Diagonal." with a "Queen Sacrifice" which threatens an immediate mate and so Black must accept and open the "N" file and the long diagonal. White then "Checks Forces Black's King into position." White's Bishop then "Captures the Pawn and Mates." Morphy's Concealed Mate is very similar to "morphy's Mate" above but here we have a "Windmill" added to the mix. This is a Rook and Bishop Boxmate, a "Cornermate" and a "Multientombment mate" in which White blasts open the "Throneroom" or "N" file for the Rook and the "Bishop's Long Diagonal." with a "Rook Sacrifice" Philidor's Legacy Mate Pillsbury Mate RNP Mate--Rook, Knight, & pawn Mate Scholar's Mate Smothered Mate Suffocation Mate Swallow's Tail Mate DRAGONSLAYER ATTACK--An attack in which a Queen or Rook is sacrificed for the "Dragon" in order to remove the Knight which prevents a backdoor attack. 5)DRAGONFEED--A piece is sacrificed to "feed the dragon" and get it to move to another position so that it cannot prevent the King from being mated. 1) ENTOMBMENTMATE R--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the rear escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate. 2) ENTOMBMENTMATE RDL--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the rear diagonal left escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
3) ENTOMBMENTMATE RDL--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the rear diagonal right escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
4) ENTOMBMENTMATE SL--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the side left escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
5) ENTOMBMENTMATE SR--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the side right escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
6) ENTOMBMENTMATE FL--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the front left escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
7) ENTOMBMENTMATE FR--A piece or pawn--the victim King's own--blocks the front right escape square of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
8) MULTIENTOMBMENTMATE--Pieces and/or pawns, the victim King's own, block two or more escape squares of the King so that it cannot escape mate.
9)ENTOMBMENTMATE ENABLER--A move wherein the victim King's own man moves to block an escape square and thus make it impossible for the King to escape mate.
Once a positional advantage is gained it is important to use this advantage to attack and kill the enemy. In addition to these listings see also "Boxmates," "Queen side attacks" given above. These attacks are "mix and match" that is each attack may be used with the others, for example "Morphy's Mate" is a combination of the "Long Diagonal Attack" and the "Open File Attack." Also you will find often in master games that various tactics--such as pins, forks, x-ray attacks and so forth--are often mixed in with positional attacks creating a complex and often beautiful vernacular, a poetry of ideas.
1) LONG DIAGONAL ATTACK
2) OPEN FILE ATTACKS
3) 7th RANK ATTACKS
4) 8th RANK ATTACKS
5) ADVANCED KNIGHT ATTACK--Flying Dragons.
2R CHOPPERS--Horizontal or Vertical Battery of two rooks on the 7th rank, deadly!
CAPTUREMATE--A piece is captured and the King is checkmated all in one move. OPMATE--This mate occurs when the Kings are in opposition at the edge of the board and is delivered by either the Queen or Rook. 2R SCISSORS--A mate with 2 Rooks on the edge of the board. A Horizontal Scissors Mate would be a Rook on the 7th rank and a Rook on the 8th Rank with the King on the 8th. A verticle Scissors would be with a Rook on the Knight's File and a Rook on the Rook's File. 8)THRONEMATE--The King is sitting on his throne,in his Kingside castled position when in leaps an assassin--a scurvy Rook!--who shoots him dead! Another way to describe this type of mate would be a back rank mate. WARHEAD--Rook and Queen Battery with the Queen in front!
Mating Patterns
Edge
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Corner
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Center of the Board
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Box
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The Queen Side Castled Position
Simple Mating Techniques
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RRSCI--Two Rooks Scissors Mate--Vertical and Horizontal. The opposing edges of the two Rooks' force fields form an effective "Scissors."
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Major Piece Mating Techniques
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Minor Piece Mating Techniques
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Major & Minor Piece Mating Patterns
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Mates by a single piece with a little help from entombment or such.
Mates brought about by 3 or more pieces attacking at once.
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Anderssen's Mate
Blackburne's Mate
Boden's Mate
Damiano's Mate
Damiano's Bishop Mate
Greco's Mate
Legal's Mate
Morphy's Mate
Morphy's Concealed Mate
Philidor's Legacy Mate
Pillsbury's Mate
Reti's Mate
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ROTATING ROOKSAC--First one Rook checksacs and then the other. This clears out the Rooks and allows the Queen to come out, give check and administer the coup de grace.
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Entombmentmate
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Positional Attacks
More Mating Attack Ideas
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