Historical Names of



Checkmate Patterns

In addition to the four basic checkmates covered in How to Play Chess, twenty-five standard (named) checkmates are presented on this web page. There are other checkmates documented in chess literature. Some checkmates have more than one name, others are variations on a theme (the Cozio Mate is just the Dovetail Mate turned upside down.) The Gueridon (French for "pedestal table") Mate is also (obviously) known as the "pedestal" mate and also the "swallow's tail" mate. The ubiquitous "back rank" mate is called a "corridor" mate by many authors. The names are not important. What's crucial is understanding and memorizing these patterns so they will be recognized when they're about to occur in a player's own games. These checkmate themes are not confined to chess problems and puzzles. As will be seen, they occur in the games of grandmasters and even world champions, past and present!

Each checkmate's theoretical pattern is presented as a diagram, with an example from an actual game (live pgn viewer.) It is suggested that students set-up and play through these checkmates from black's viewpoint as well. Most difficult of all is recognizing patterns when they occur horizontally (i.e., rotated 90-degrees) from the normal orientation (the great Keres likely stumbled into a Gueridon Mate because Fischer had "upset his table" (see example.) The key to each pattern is the status of the squares surrounding the king: which ones are obstructed, which are potential flight squares that can be controlled with the pieces available. Players are advised to know these patterns forward, backward and upside down!

Novice players often complain they are unable to inflict these checkmates on their opponents, that opponents spot the threat and find a defensive move to prevent mate. Part of the reason is choice of openings; double KP openings are not popular today and the closed formations of the QP openings do not create as many open lines and potential mating attacks. Knowledge of the game and defensive skill of today's players, even at the amateur level, is much greater than what existed a hundred and fifty years ago. Players should remember Nimzovich's advice: "A threat is stronger than its execution." A threatened mate can force an opponent to make a defensive move that may compromise his position elsewhere. The knowledgeable player uses a mating threat as one more tactic to gain an advantage. Just like knowledge and skillful use of the 24 Basic Tactics in chess, a mate threat can be a potent tactical weapon in a player's arsenal.

One of the critical elements of position analysis is king safety, both one's own king and the opponent's. Armed with knowledge of checkmate patterns, players can be alert for opportunities to bring their games to a speedy conclusion (or prevent a disaster if they find themselves under such pressure). Frequently these mating possibilities occur king-side, because players typically castle on that wing, or else in the middle of the board due to a player's failure to castle. An exception is Boden's Mate, peculiar to positions involving queen-side castling.

Boden's Mate is exceptional for another reason. Apparently it should be called Horwitz' Mate, as Bernard Horwitz played the seminal game (Horwitz-Popert, Hamburg 1844) nine years before Schulden-Boden, London 1853. This historical "fact" can only be inferred, as the position had been published in the Chessplayer's Chronicle of May, 1847 with the players' names but not the game score, tournament or date. The Horwitz-Popert position (again, sans gamescore) was later found in the Schachjahrbuch (Chess Yearbook) for 1894, p. 108, which gave the playing site and date as Hamburg, 1844.

PGN Viewer courtesy of ChessTempo Horwitz-Popert, Hamburg 1844 Position after 1 ... Qxh5

A further complication is the existence of another Horwitz-Popert game score, also Hamburg 1844, a victory by Horwitz with the white pieces having absolutely nothing to do with a "Boden's Mate;" see volume two of Aus Vergangenen Zeiten (From Times Past,) pp. 167-168 by L. Bachmann (Berlin, 1922.) If Hamburg, 1844 was a double round robin, it's highly unlikely Howitz would have had the white pieces twice. Horwitz and Josef Kling co-authored Chess Studies in 1851, a classic work on the endgame. More's the pity the checkmate Horwitz first played was named after someone else. Horwitz also played a Reti Mate decades before Reti (see Schulten-Horwitz, London 1846).



Pillsbury's Mate, named after American master Harry Nelson Pillsbury, is the basis of another chess mystery. The game score (Pillsbury-Lee, London 1899) referenced in Art of the Checkmate , a classic by Renaud and Khan does not match the official tournament record. The game Pillsbury-Newman, Philadelphia 1900, coincides with Renaud and Khan's version through 16 ... Qxg2, but Pillsbury played 17. Qd2 and went on to win the game after 17. ... Qxf2+ 18. Kc1 Kh8 19. Rg1 Ne5 20. dxe5 1-0. Note Black resigns here; he is not checkmated. It turns out Renaud and Kahn merely got the date wrong; Pillsbury-Lee, London 1889 did feature Pillsbury's Mate: 17. Qf3 Qxf3 18. Rg1+ Kh8 19. Bg7+ Kg8 20. Bxf6+! Qg4 21. Rxg4#.

A new question arises: did Pillsbury forget what he'd played against Lee in 1889, or did he fear an improvement for Black? After 17. Qf3, Black's alternative doesn't look too promising: 17... Qg6?! 18. Bxf8 Rb8 19. Be7 Re8 20. O-O-O Kh8 21. Rhg1 Qh6 22. Rg2 Rxe7 23. Rdg1 Qg6 24. Qa8+ Kg7 25. Qd8 Re6 26. Rxg6+ hxg6 27. Qxd7 and Black is a queen down.

Even more disconcerting is the following game, a "Pillsbury's Mate" played more than a decade before Pillsbury was even born!

Anderssen-Suhle

Breslau 1860:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. d5 Na5 10. Bb2 Nf6 11. Bd3 Bg4 12. Nc3 c6 13. Ne2 O-O 14. Qd2 Rc8 15. Qg5 Bxf3 16. gxf3 cxd5 17. Kh1 Nc4 18. Rg1 Ne8 19. Qxg7+ Nxg7 20. Rxg7+ Kh8 21. Rg8+ Kxg8 22. Rg1+ Qg5 23. Rxg5#.

Position after 23. Rxg5#