After learning the rules and basics of chess, there are various concepts that beginners should learn in order to keep improving. Some of these concepts include opening principles, middle game concepts, endgame fundamentals, and strategy.
In this handbook, we’ll focus on endgame fundamentals. You’ll learn about some common checkmate patterns for beginners and how you can recognize these patterns more easily to increase your chances of winning.
This handbook is not for absolute beginners. You should understand these concepts before proceeding:
How to identify each chess piece.
How to set up a chess board.
How each piece moves.
Some basic chess terms like “capture”, “castling”, “check”, “checkmate”, “piece promotion”, “fork”, “pin”, and so on.
If you’re new to chess, or you’re not yet familiar with the prerequisites, then this free resource is a good place to start.
In the first chapter, you’ll learn about algebraic chess notations. You’ll learn about files and ranks, how to identify and denote each square on a board, and how to record chess moves using algebraic chess notations.
In the second chapter, you’ll learn about some checkmate patterns like queen and king vs king, two rooks vs king, opera mate, Anastasia’s mate, and so on.
I’ve provided some exercises in different sections to help you practice. You can find the answers to each exercise at the end of the handbook.
I’ve also included some practice positions for each endgame pattern. To use them, click on the link provided for each exercise, then click on “CONTINUE FROM HERE” in the options at the bottom-right of the page. That is:
This will let you practice the positions against an engine. The engine has varying levels of strength, so you should try beating each level. You can find links for all the practice positions at the end of the article. You can also use the board editor from the links to set up your own positions.
You can watch the video version of this handbook here:
Table of Contents
How to Use this Handbook
This handbook is not meant to be read and understood just once. If you’re a beginner, then chances are high that you’ll reference it multiple times in order to understand certain concepts.
In order to get the best out of this resource, you’ll need a chess board. You can use either a physical board or an online chessboard. I recommend using Lichess if you’re going to use the latter option.
You should try and replicate the moves as you read. Remember, you’re not meant to understand everything the first time you read it, so it’s totally fine to go over one concept again and again.
Chess books can be boring, but don’t let that hinder your progress. It gets interesting when you’re able to understand, practice, and see improvements from what you’ve learned.
Let’s get started!
Chapter 1: What are Notations in Chess? Algebraic Chess Notation Explained
You can use chess notations to record chess moves, and this handbook will rely heavily on them to teach you difference concepts about chess as a beginner. The first time you learn about writing or reading notations may seem overwhelming, but don’t worry – with constant practice and studying, you’ll get the hang of it.
What are Chess Notations?
To put it simply, chess notation is a method of recording moves in a chess game. In a physical chess game, it usually involves two players writing down moves as they’re played.
While there are other forms of chess notations like descriptive, coordinate, numeric, and so on, we’ll focus primarily on algebraic chess notation.
What is Algebraic Chess Notation?
Algebraic chess notation is the standard way of recording chess. Each notation shows the move number, the piece moved, and the position of the board where the piece was moved to. In some cases, the notations also show an action being performed, like a check, a checkmate, castling, and so on.
For example:
e4 d5
d4 dxe4
Nc3 e6
These may look strange if it’s your first time looking at notations. But don’t worry, you’ll understand how to write and read/interpret them as we progress.
In online games, they’re recorded automatically:
The image above shows a chess game played on lichess.org. On the right side of the image, you can see the notations of the game as each move was played, along with numbers corresponding with the moves. We’ll talk more about the numbers later.
Now that you know what notations are, let’s talk about why they’re needed.
What are Chess Notations Used For?
Here are some of the uses of chess notations:
Competitive/Professional Chess
Algebraic chess notation is the standard way of recording a chess game in tournaments. In over the board tournaments, each player is given a piece of paper with columns for writing each move played. Note that this involves recording their opponent’s moves as well.
Studying and Teaching Chess
You can think of chess notations as the language of chess, and to learn about something, there has to be a way to pass and communicate information.
Communication
With chess notations, you can communicate moves and share games with players across the world without needing a physical board.
How to Write Algebraic Chess Notations
Algebraic chess notation makes use of the board coordinates and the pieces to denote moves.
Let’s start with the coordinates:
The image above shows a chess board without the pieces. On the right edge of the board are numbers 1 to 8, and the bottom edge of the board has letters a to h. You can use these numbers and letters to refer to a particular position of the board.
Each vertical column (top to bottom) in a chess board is called a file, while each horizontal row (left to right) is called a rank. You can also associate them with the letters and numbers: the letters can be used to reference files, while the numbers can be used to reference ranks.
Files a to f
There are eight files in a chess board. Another way to say this is that, from top to bottom, there are eight vertical lines (stack of squares from top to bottom) in a chess board. Each vertical line is associated with a letter, which is usually written at the bottom edge of the board. That is:
To help you understand files, let’s try and identify some of them separately. The image below shows the a-file:
We can tell that this is the a-file because the all the squares in that vertical column fall under the part of the board labelled “a”. Remember that files go from top to bottom.
Here’s another example:
This arrow runs from top to bottom, but on a different part of the board. To know what file this is, simply look the the letter associated with the vertical column. Using that, we can say that the arrow is on the the f-file.
Here’s an exercise for you (you can find the answers to each exercise at the end of the handbook):
In the image above, using the letters on the board, what file is the arrow on?
Ranks 1 to 8
Just like files, we have eight ranks in a chess board. These are the eight horizontal lines (stack of squares from left to right) in a chess board. That is:
Let’s identify some of the ranks separately.
Using the position of the arrow, you can tell the rank. The arrow run from left to right on the part of the board with the number 4, so we can say that it is on the fourth rank.
Here’s another example:
You may confuse files and ranks here since you can see the letters at the bottom. Remember, we’re dealing with ranks here, and they go from left to right, not top to bottom. From left to right, in the image above, we can see the letter 1. So the arrow is on the first rank.
Here’s an exercise for you:
In the image above, using the numbers on the board, what rank is the arrow on?
How to Identify Squares on a Chess Board
Now that you know what files and ranks are in chess, let’s see how you can use them to identify a square. Identifying a square is important when writing notations. Each notation is made up of the move number, the piece moved, and the coordinate. In the case, a coordinate is the combination of a file and a rank.
Let’s start with this image:
In the image above, we have a circle on a random square. The goal here is to identify that square, that is, to refer to it as “something”.
To identify the square, you have to trace its file and the rank. Let’ start with the file.
Using the arrow, we can see that the circle falls under the e-file. Next, let’s trace the rank.
Great! We can tell that the circle is on the fifth rank.
So we can say that we have a circle on the e-file and the fifth rank. Using notations, you can write it as e5.
In the next example, we’ll identify the position of chess pieces. In order to do that, you need to know the letters that represent each piece on a board:
King = K
Queen = Q
Rook = R
Bishop = B
Knight = N
Pawn = no letter (denoted by the square they move to).
In our last example, we identified the square as e5. If you replace that square with a chess piece, then the the notation would start with the letter of that piece, followed by its position on the board. Here’s an example:
Now we have the queen on the e5 square. The notation will look like this: Qe5. This way of writing the letter of the piece, followed by the coordinate of the square applies to other pieces, except the pawns. For pawns, you only write the coordinate.
If you had a rook on e5, the notation would be Re5, Ke5 for a king, Ne5 for a knight, Be5 for a bishop, and e5 for a pawn.
How to Write Algebraic Chess Notations
We stated earlier that algebraic chess notations show the move number, the piece moved, and the position of the board where the piece is moved to. In our examples, you’ve seen how to write the piece moved, and where it was moved to using coordinate (files and ranks). In the examples for this section, we’ll add the move number to complete the algebraic chess notation.
By move number, we simply mean the turn count. Each move number is associated with one White and one Black move. For instance, the first move of the game will have a move number of 1. Let’s look at some examples.
Each piece on the board is in its starting position. Let’s make the first move for White:
White has moved a pawn to e4. To record this, you’d start with the move number, followed by the piece and coordinate. That is:
- e4
Next, Black’s move.
Black responded by moving a pawn to e4. Since this is Black’s first move, it’ll also be recorded under move number 1:
- e4 e5
If you look at the algebraic notation above, you can see that both notations are written on the same line, and are both associated with move number 1. To interpret this, the first coordinate belongs to White, while the second belongs to Black.
To make this even clearer, let’s continue the game. It’s White’s turn to play.
The white knight was moved to f3, which can be denoted by Nf3. Since this is White’s second move, it’ll be recorded under move number 2:
e4 e5
Nf3
Now Black has to respond with a second move.
Black played Nc6 (knight to c6). Remember that this is the second move for Black, so it has to be recorded in move number 2, right after the notation for White’s second move. So we’ll have this:
e4 e5
Nf3 Nc6
This system of recording chess moves is known as algebraic chess notation. Here’s a summary of how it works:
You write the move number.
You write piece moved (omitted for pawns).
You write the coordinate (file and rank) that the piece moved to.
With this information, you can easily read and write chess notations! But we’re not done yet. How do you write checks, checkmates, castling, and pawn promotions?
How to Write a Check Notation in Algebraic Chess Notations
You can use the + symbol to denote a check. This comes after the move notation. That is, you write the notation as you would for any other move, and then add the + symbol at the end. Here’s an example:
Here, the queen moves to e7 to check the king. So the notation would be Qe7+. The + at the end denotes the check by the queen. If you write it as Qe7, without the check symbol, then you’d have an inaccurate notation of the move.
How to Write a Checkmate Notation in Algebraic Chess Notations
A checkmate is denoted by the # symbol. It also comes after the move notation. That is, you write the notation as you would for any other move, and then add the # symbol at the end. Here’s an example:
In the image above, the rook moved to g8 to win the game. The notation would be Rg8#. The # symbol denotes the checkmate.
How to Write a Castling Notation in Algebraic Chess Notations
In a chess game, castling can either be to the kingside or queenside. Kingside castling is denoted using O-O, while queenside castling is denoted using O-O-O. Note that the symbol is not a zero. Rather, it’s an O, as in orange.
How to Write a Capture Move in Algebraic Chess Notations
Capture moves are denoted using the x symbol. Here are some different variations:
Qxg6 means that the queen captured a piece on g6.
Qxg6+ means that the queen captured a piece on g6 and checked the king.
Qxg8# means that the queen captured a piece on g8 and checkmated the king.
dxe4 mean that a pawn captured a piece on e4.
In a case where you have two pieces that can move to the same square, you have to include the file of the piece that was moved. Here’s an example:
In the board above, we have two knights: one on the f-file and another on the h-file. Both knights can capture the rook on g8, and it may be confusing for someone reading your notations if you don’t specify which knight was moved.
To denote this, you have to add the file from where the knight was moved in your notation. So, if you capture with the knight on the f-file, you’d have Nfxg8 (knight on f-file captured a piece on g8). On the other hand, capturing with the knight on the h-file will result to a notation like this: Khxg8.
This is not only specific to capturing pieces. If you have two knights that can move to the same square, then you’d have to include the previous file of whichever knight that is moved. So, assuming that we didn’t have a rook to capture on g8, you’d have Nfg8 to denote that the knight on f-file moved to g8, and Nhg8 to denote that the knight on the h-file moved to g8.
How to Denote Piece Promotion in Algebraic Chess Notations
You can use the = symbol to denote the promotion of a pawn. That is:
e8=Q means that pawn moved to e8 and got promoted to a queen.
e8=Q+ means that pawn moved to e8, got promoted to queen, and checked the king.
e8=Q# means that pawn moved to e8, got promoted to queen, and checkmated the king.
e8=N means that pawn moved to e8 and got promoted to a knight.
Here are two exercises for you:
How do you write the notation if a pawn moves to d1 and gets promoted to a rook?
How do you write the notation if a pawn moves to b8 and gets promoted to a bishop?
And here’s the main exercise for this chapter. Show the final board position using these notations:
e4 e5
Nf3 Nc6
Bb5 Nf6
O-O Nxe4
Re1 Nd6
Nxe5 Be7
Bf1 Nxe5
Rxe5 O-O
d4 Bf6
Re1 Re8
c3 Rxe1
Qxe1 Nf5
Bf4 d6
a4 Qe7
Na3 g5
Bd2 Qxe1
Rxe1 Bd7
a5 Kg7
Chapter 2: Checkmate Patterns for Beginners
Before we look at the common checkmate patterns, let’s talk a bit about what a check means. We’ll do this using the attack pattern or capture method of the pieces.
What is a Check and Checkmate in Chess?
The main goal of a standard chess match is to capture your opponent’s king. You can do this in multiple ways, with different combinations of pieces.
A check is simply an attack on a king. When the king is in check, it must move to a safe square. A safe square for a king in chess is a square where the king is not under attack.
This is an example of a check:
The king in the image above is being threatened by the queen. You can deliver checks based on how a piece moves and captures other pieces. A rook can deliver a check like this:
A bishop can deliver a check like this:
Same applies to the knights and pawns – they can check the king based on their movement and mode of attack.
So what is a checkmate? Well, a checkmate happens when the opponent’s king has no safe squares to move to after a check. This can be the result of the king being trapped by its own pieces, the king being unable to move to another square because its opponent has control of all the possible squares it can move to, or not having any piece to block the attack on the king.
In this sections that follow, you’ll learn about different checkmate patterns using a combination of different pieces.
Checkmate Patterns
How to Play the Two Rooks vs King Checkmate Pattern
This endgame pattern usually involves two rooks against a king. It is one of the easiest checkmate patterns, but it’s also easy to get carried away as a beginner. Here, you’ll learn how to effectively mate and end a game with two rooks.
Consider this position:
White can end this game in six moves. Here are some things to keep in mind when you have a position like this:
Restrict the opposing king’s movement by cutting off squares where it can move to.
Keep your rooks away from the opposing king or/and close to each other.
Let’s see how each step works using the position above.
Restrict the King:
Looking at the initial position above, you can see that the king is on the f-file. Our goal here is to isolate the king and restrict its movement. One common move for beginners would be to check the king with Rf2+. But this allows the king to move closer to the rook on d4. That is:
While this is still a winning position, you’ll spend more moves trying to restrict the king’s movement. If you’re playing a timed game, you may end up with a forced draw, losing a rook, or even losing the game, depending on the pieces on the board. This makes it important to know where and when to move your rooks.
So, back to the starting position:
- Re2 Kf5.
Playing Re2 cuts off the e-file, meaning that the black king can no longer get on any square in that file. Since the king can not pass through or get on the e-file, it means that the a to e files have become inaccessible to it. It is now left with the f to h files.
The king responds with Kf5, an attempt to get closer and capture a rook. At this point, you’d want to stay away from the king.
Move Your Rooks Away From The King:
This is the current position:
Be careful not to play Re5+, confusing the d-rook for a supporting queen. This forces you into a one rook and king checkmate endgame (you’ll learn about that in the next section) after Kxe5. This is a better move:
- Rd8
Which brings us to this position:
This keeps your rooks far away from the black king. Since the king is limited to one square per move, it’ll have a long way to go before getting close to either rook. And in the process of getting close, you can continue limiting which files it can get on.
The king has five possible moves here: Kf6, Kf4, Kg6, Kg5, Kg4. The only thing these moves have in common is that they lead to nowhere. But let’s assume the black king has some sort of miracle to perform here.
- … Kg6
The king moving to g6 gives you the opportunity to occupy the f-file with:
- Rf8
You have the f-file, but your rook is closer to the king:
- … Kg7
The king moves closer to challenge the rook. Unfortunately, a checkmate is still inevitable. At the point, you’ve not only restricted the files that the king can move to, you’ve also lured it all the way to the seventh rank.
Keep Your Rooks Closer to Each Other:
- Rf1
With one rook on f1 and the other on e2, you’re far away from the king and have both rooks closer to each other:
With this position, it will take the king at least four moves to get to your rooks.
- … Kg6
All that’s left is to do now is keep pushing the king away from accessing other files:
- Rg2+
Checking the king with the g-rook forces it to the h-file. Since you have a rook occupying the e-file, the king can’t go there.
… Kh5
Rh1#
There are multiple ways to checkmate the king from the starting position, and in some cases, you may already have enough space to bring your rooks together and trap the king, instead of trying to restrict it to a part of the board first.
Consider this position:
The black king is already in a bad position. If you move the b-rook to b6, the game ends after Ra7+ and Rb8#. This did not require you to restrict the king.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your rooks must not always be close to each other to win games like this. Here’s another position:
Here, the king is already limited to only the sixth and seventh rank, and you have enough squares/space between it and the rooks to win. There’s no need to avoid the king by moving one rook to a different part of the board.
Playing Rh7+ forces the king into the eighth rank and Ra8# checkmates the king.
You’ll also notice that the white king did not participate in these moves. Its contribution was staying out of the way of the rooks. In some cases, the king can be helpful in delivering a checkmate. But if it’ll block your rooks from restricting an enemy king, then you should keep your king away.
Here’s a replay of the moves, along with the notations:
Re2 Kf5
Rd8 Kg6
Rf8 Kg7
Rf1 Kg6
Rg2+ Kh5
Rh1#
You can replicate them on your own if you weren’t doing so already, and practice with the positions provided below.
Practice Position for Two Rooks vs King Endgame/Checkmate Pattern
You can practice what you’ve learned in the last section using this position:
I’ve set up the position for you here: https://lichess.org/editor/1r4k1/8/8/5r2/8/3K4/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=black. Click on the link, then click on “CONTINUE FROM HERE” to practice the position against an engine.
How to Play the King and Rook vs King Checkmate Pattern
Before we talk about how to win this game, you need to learn about the concept of “direct opposition”. This happens when two kings are facing each other on the same file or rank, with exactly one square between them. That is:
The kings in the image above are facing each other, have one square between them, and are both on the d-file. Both kings are in direct opposition.
Here’s another example:
The kings are still facing each other, they also have a square between them, but are now on the seventh rank. There are other forms of opposition like the diagonal and distant opposition, but we won’t discuss them here.
So why does direct opposition matter in our current position? Well, let’s look at how the king moves.
The black king, in the image above, can move to all the squares with a circle on them. Now, here’s what happens when the king is in direct opposition with the other king.
Now the black king has lost the ability to move to three squares in the direction of the opposition. This also implies that the black king, using the position in the image above, no longer has access to the fourth rank. So playing Ra5+ forces the black king to move to the sixth rank, restricting it, and allowing the white king to come closer and set up another direct opposition.
This is one way of winning with a rook and a king. An alternative method is the box method, which we’ll look at later in this section. Both techniques can be used together, but I think it would be helpful to learn them separately at first.
How to Use the Direct Opposition to Win with a Rook and a King
Here’s our starting position:
- Rb5+
Forcing the black king to the sixth rank.
- … Kd6
Now the king is trying to get closer and attack your rook, so you have to bring your own king closer for support.
- Kd4 Ke6
Creating direct opposition. If the black king moves backwards (seventh rank), it loses the opportunity to pass through or be on the sixth rank. If it moves to c6, it’ll have fewer squares to work with. So the best move for the black king would be Ke6.
Now we’ll use something called the box method – a technique used when playing with a rook and a king to shrink the space where the opposing king can move in. This is the current position of the game:
- Rd5
This move blocks the black king from moving to the d-file and forces it into a box that will gradually shrink if you make the right moves. Here:
The image above shows squares where the black king has been trapped in. The best move for the black king would be Kf6. Playing Ke7 or Kf7 would allow the white king to move closer. Remember, this is a lost position for black, but if you play against an opponent who wants to rely on luck to force a draw through a stalemate or timeout, then knowing exactly where to move your rook becomes very important.
Also, checks with the rook will do you no good in this position. If you check the king with Re5+, then the king will just escape to the d-file. So when you’re this close to the opposing king:
… Kf6
Re5 Kf7
Kd5 Kf6
The black king has gotten closer to your rook again. If you check it, it escapes through the fifth rank. When you have all three pieces in a similar position, move your king instead of a check. This forces the opposing king to remain boxed in.
Kd6 Kf7
Rf5+ Kg6
Ke6
Providing support to the rook and ensuring that the black king remains in a smaller space. This is what the box looks like now:
… Kg7
Rg5+ Kh6
Kf6 Kh7
Rh5+ Kg8
Rh6 Kf8
Rh8#
Here are things to keep in mind when playing with a king and rook against a king:
Cut off the enemy king with your rook.
Bring your king closer to support the rook and push the enemy king.
Shrink the box using the two points above.
Force the king to the edge of the board (first rank, eight rank, a-file, h-file). Checkmate is only possible when the enemy king is at the edge of the board and in opposition with your king.
This can be overwhelming for beginners, so don’t worry if you don’t fully understand the process from start to finish. With constant practice, it should become easier and faster for you to recognize the patterns. I’ll also provide some puzzles to help you practice.
Here’s a replay of all the move and the notations:
Rb5+ Kd6
Kd4 Ke6
Rd5 Kf6
Re5 Kf7
Kd5 Kf6
Kd6 Kf7
Rf5+ Kg6
Ke6 Kg7
Rg5+ Kh6
Kf6 Kh7
Rh5+ Kg8
Rh6 Kf8
Rh8#
Practice Position for One Rook and King vs King Endgame/Checkmate Pattern
You can practice what you learned in the last section using this position:
I’ve set up the position for you here: https://lichess.org/editor/6k1/8/8/5r2/8/3K4/8/8_w_-_-_0_1?color=black. Click on the link, then click on “CONTINUE FROM HERE” to practice the position against an engine.
How to Play the Queen and King vs King Checkmate Pattern
We’ll start with this board:
There are a couple of ways to play endgame like the one in the image above. A lot of beginners struggle with this checkmate pattern because they often end in a stalemate or just chase the king around the board until they or their opponent runs out of time.
We can approach this endgame using the direct opposition and box method like we did in the previous section, but there’s a more efficient and straightforward way of winning this position, with minimal effort from your king.
We’ll use the knight move method. This implies that your queen should only move to squares that imitate a knight attack on the enemy king. Using this method, you can push the king towards the edge of the board.
Here are the possible squares where the queen can go to in order to imitate a knight attack:
Let’s start with the closest square:
- … Qd6
This brings us to this position:
We’ve pushed the king into a box. Now, no matter what the king plays, try to follow up with moves that imitate a knight attack (the L), and do not play a move that allows the king leave the shrinking box.
- Ke3 Qd5
The keeps the king in the box and brings the queen closer.
Ke2 Qd4
Kf3 Qe5
The box has gotten smaller:
No checks. No direct opposition. Just follow the king with the queen, as though you were playing as a knight.
Kf2 Qe4
Kg3 Qf5
Kg2 Qf4
Kg1 Qf3
Kh2 Qg4
Kh1
You’ve successfully pushed the king to the edge of the box. At this point, don’t be in a hurry to play another knight attack move with the queen – this will lead to a stalemate.
The queen’s job is almost done. The white king only has two squares to move to: h2 and h1. It time to push the black king forward to support the queen in a checkmate. Since you’ve trapped the white king, it will continue to move between the two possible squares until the black king arrives.
… Ke7
Kh2 Kf6
Kh1 Kf5
Kh2 Kf4
Kh1 Kf3
Kh2 Qg2#
Here’s a replay and all the notations:
… Qd6
Ke3 Qd5
Ke2 Qd4
Kf3 Qe5
Kf2 Qe4
Kg3 Qf5
Kg2 Qf4
Kg1 Qf3
Kh2 Qg4
Kh1 Ke7
Kh2 Kf6
Kh1 Kf5
Kh2 Kf4
Kh1 Kf3
Kh2 Qg2#
Practice Position for Queen and King vs King Endgame/Checkmate Pattern
You can practice what you learned in the last section using this position:
I’ve set up the position for you here: https://lichess.org/editor/1r4k1/8/8/5r2/8/3K4/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=black. Click on the link, then click on “CONTINUE FROM HERE” to practice the position against an engine.
For this position, choose to play as black before starting the game:
Checkmate Patterns II
In this section, we’ll deal with checkmate patterns that can happen at any point. That is, you don’t have to be in an endgame position/situation to play them.
In some cases, these positions can happen by chance, and in other cases, you have to plan and set them up yourself. The main objective here is to get used to recognizing patterns.
Opera Mate
An Opera Mate usually involves the following:
A rook or queen delivering a check along a back rank or file.
A bishop covering a diagonal escape square.
A king trapped by its own pieces or the edge of the board.
Here’s an example:
In the position above, black played Bg7, threatening the white rook. But if we look closely at the position, white can deliver a checkmate by moving to c8.
With Rc8#, the king can’t capture the rook because the bishop is protecting it, the king can’t move to d7 because the bishop is attacking that square, and unfortunately for the king, its own pawn is blocking it from escaping through e7.
Here’s another position:
Let’s assume that it’s white’s turn to play again. Would it still be checkmate if the rook moves to c8? Yes it would – the position hasn’t really changed: the bishop is still protecting the rook on c8 and attacking the d7 square, and the pawn on e7 is still blocking the king.
Let’s look at an example from Lichess:
This game still looks alive, as though both players are still setting up their strategies. It’s black’s turn to play. At this point, we’ll assume that black has discovered a possible opera mate.
The black bishop is attacking the d1 and e2 squares, while the queen can check the king on d1, with additional support from the rook on d8. But, a closer look will reveal something: white has a bishop protecting the d1 square.
So, do you go on to attack or play it safe and find a different strategy? Well, let’s evaluate the position, keeping the d1 square in mind.
For black:
Queen can attack d1.
Rook can support and attack d1.
Bishop can support d1.
For white:
- Bishop is protecting d1.
From this evaluation, you can see that black has a very good advantage. In order to win this game, you must sacrifice the queen. Beginners often avoid sacrifices because we learn chess with the idea that the most power pieces must stay on the board. In this case, it’s the only path to victory.
So:
- … Qd1+
That brings us to this position:
Black has two options here:
Capture the queen with the bishop.
Resign.
Let’s go with capturing the queen.
- Bxd1
And now, we have this position:
Remember the rook on d8?
- … Rxd1#
The rook captures the bishop and wins the game. The king can’t capture the rook because it has support from the bishop on g4, it can’t escape through e2 because the bishop is attacking that square, and the pawn on f2 is blocking the king.
This shows that you don’t have to play until the endgame to win in chess. If you get better at recognizing patterns, you’d be shocked at how many chances you’ve missed to increase your advantage or win a game.
Anastasia’s Mate
Anastasia’s Mate is a checkmate pattern that involves a knight and a queen (or rook) working together to trap the opposing king. It involves the following:
The rook or queen delivering a check.
The knight blocking the king’s escape squares (usually two escape squares).
The opposing king trapped by its own pieces.
Consider this position:
From the look of things, white has a stronger position. That would be totally true if black didn’t have a mate in two opportunity. When black plays Ne2+, it sets up the pattern for Anastasia’s mate. That is:
The king has two possible squares to move to: h1 and h2.
… Ne2+
Kh2
Is the king safe?
- … Rh5#
The game ends:
The e2 knight blocks the king from going to either g1 or g3, while the rook attacks the h-file. It’s easy to miss this pattern for beginners, because we’re often used to endgame patterns that involve more “offensive” attacks.
Here’s another example from Lichess:
It’s not very obvious that this position leads to an Anastasia’s mate. You have a bishop attacking the queen, and the queen can capture it and gain more material advantage. But what happens when you sacrifice the queen by capturing the h7 square?
You’ve sacrificed the queen to force the king to the h7 square, setting it up for Rh5#.
So, even though you may recognize what the Anastasia’s Mate looks like, you may have to intentionally lose some pieces to achieve it. This is also applicable to other aspects of chess. Sacrificing pieces can be a perfect way to force your opponent into dangerous situations.
Back Rank Mate
This is a checkmate pattern that you’ll encounter a lot in your chess journey. It involves trapping the king behind the pieces in front of it. That is:
From the image above, you can see the white king trapped behind the three pawns in front of it. To avoid this, you should always remember to create space for your king at some point after castling.
Here’s an example from Lichess:
It’s white’s turn to play, and the black king still has three pieces blocking it. The white queen and the rook are both attacking the e8 square, so you can force an exchange that ends the game:
Rxe8+ Rxe8
Qxe8#
After the trade, you’ll have the queen on e8, forcing a checkmate because the king has nowhere to escape to.
Smothered Mate
The smothered mate is a checkmate pattern where a knight delivers mate to the enemy king, which is completely trapped/surrounded (or “smothered”) by its own pieces.
Here’s what it looks like:
This is a checkmate pattern that shows how powerful the knight can be in endgames. With any other piece, it would be difficult for black to make any significant moves in this situation. But since the knight can jump over pieces when moving and attacking, it can be used in unpredictable ways.
Let’s look at an example from Lichess:
Again, we’ll be sacrificing a piece to gain an advantage. You can sacrifice the white queen with:
- Qxh7+
This forces the black queen to capture:
- … Qxh7
The problem with this is that the king is now trapped:
As beginners, it’s often easier to capture a powerful piece than to analyze a position for potential mate patterns. It wouldn’t be surprising to see someone new to chess capturing the queen with the knight.
The best move here is Nf7#:
The king is under check and can’t escape because it has been trapped by its own pieces.
Conclusion
The handbook showed you some of the common checkmate patterns in chess. But these are not all of them, and not all checkmate patterns are easy to understand for beginners.
While you improve other aspects of your game like strategy and tactics, opening principles, solving puzzles, and so on, it becomes easier to understand certain concepts that seemed too hard at first.
One way to test your understanding of different concepts is by playing against other people or engines. A good place to do this is on Lichess. It’s free, has an active community, and a ton of tools to help you improve your game.
I hope this handbook has been helpful for you on your chess journey. You can find me on Lichess @ IHECHIKARA.
You can watch the video version of this handbook here.
Exercise Answers
Here are the answers to the exercises and practice positions:
Files a to f Exercise
The arrow is on the c-file. You can tell by looking at the alphabet that corresponds with the vertical line.
Ranks 1 to 8 Exercise
The arrow is on the eight rank. You can tell by looking at the number that corresponds with the horizontal line.
How to Denote Piece Promotion in Algebraic Chess Notation
The notation for a pawn that moves to d1 and gets promoted to a rook is d1=R.
The notation for a pawn that moves to b8 and gets promoted to a bishop d1=B.
Here is the final board position for the given notations:
Practice Position URLs
Here are the links for all the practice positions:
Two Rooks vs King Endgame/Checkmate Pattern URL: https://lichess.org/editor/1r4k1/8/8/5r2/8/3K4/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=black.
One Rook and King vs King Endgame/Checkmate Pattern URL: https://lichess.org/editor/6k1/8/8/5r2/8/3K4/8/8_w_-_-_0_1?color=black.
Queen and King vs King Endgame/Checkmate Pattern URL: https://lichess.org/editor/1r4k1/8/8/5r2/8/3K4/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=black (choose to play as black).
Practice many checkmate patterns here: https://lichess.org/practice/checkmates/checkmate-patterns-i/fE4k21MW/9rd7XwOw. Click on “Practice list” to access more patterns.
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