Checkmate pattern: Difference between revisions

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|An archetypal bishop and knight mate

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The ''bishop and knight'' mate is one of the four [[Basic checkmate|basic checkmates]] and occurs when the king works together with a bishop and knight to {{chessgloss|forced move|force}} the opponent king to the corner of the board. The bishop and knight endgame can be difficult to master: some positions may require up to 34 moves of(if perfectboth sides play perfectly) before checkmate can be delivered.

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The ''blind swine mate'' pattern's name is attributed to Polish master [[Dawid Janowski]] who referred to {{chessgloss|doubled rooks}} on a player's 7th rank as "swine".<ref>MacEnulty, David, ''The Chess Kid's Book of Checkmate'', chap. 21 – The Blind Swine Checkmate, pp. 29–30, Random House Puzzles & Games, 2004, {{ISBN|0812935942}}, 9780812935943</ref>

In the first diagram with White to play, White can force checkmate as follows:

:'''1. Rxg7+ Kh8'''

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:'''3. Rbg7{{chessAN|#}}'''

ForIn thisthe typefirst ofdiagrammed mateposition, the rooks on White's 7th rank can start on any two files from {{em|''a}}'' to {{em|''e}}'', and although black pawns are commonly present as shown, they are not necessary to deliver the mate. The f8-rook is necessary to stop the king from escaping if the attacking side does not already have a piece controlling that [[flight square]]. The second diagram shows the final position after checkmate. (In the book ''[[My System]]'', Nimzowitsch refers to this type of mate as: "The seventh rank, absolute.")

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|Checkmate with a king and two knights, but it cannot be forced.}}

In a [[two knights endgame]], the side with the king and two knights {{em|cannot}} checkmate a bare king by {{chessgloss|forced mate|force}}. This endgame should be a [[draw (chess)|draw]] if the bare king plays correctly. A mate only occurs only if the player with the bare king [[blunder (chess)|blunders]]. In some circumstances, if the side with the bare king instead has a pawn, it is possible to set up this type of checkmate.

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==Max Lange's mate==

{| align="right" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"

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{{Chess diagram small

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| White mates in 4 moves

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| | | | | | | |kd

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|ql| |bl| | | | |

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| 1.Qe8+ Kh7 2.Bg8+ Kh8 3.Bf7+ Kh7 4.Qg8#

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{{Chess diagram small

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| An archetypal Max Lange's mate}}

| | | | | | |ql|

| | | | | |bl|pd|kd

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| Final position after 4 moves}}

|An archetypal Max Lange's mate}}

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''Max Lange's mate'' is a less common method of checkmating. The checkmate is named after [[Max Lange]]. It works by using the bishop and queen to checkmate the king.

{{Chess diagram small

| tright

| Anderssen vs. Lange, 1859

|rd| | | |kd| | |

|pd|pd|pd| | |pd|pd|

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| | |bd|pd|pl| | |pl

| | | | |qd| | |

| |bl| |pd| |ql| |

|pl|pl|pl|pl| | |pl|

|rl|nl|bl| | | | |kl

| 17...Qh4+ 18.Qh3 Qe1+ 19.Kh2 Bg1+ 20.Kh1 Bf2+ 21.Kh2 Qg1#

}}

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''Max Lange's mate'' is named after [[Max Lange]], who first used it in a game against [[Adolf Anderssen]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Anderssen vs. Lange, 1859 |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1019074 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 April 2025}}</ref> In this mating pattern, the queen delivers the check, supported by a bishop that both defends the queen and covers an escape square.

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''[[Smothered mate]]'' is a common method of checkmating. It occurs when a knight checkmates a king that is smothered (surrounded) by his friendly pieces and he has nowhere to move nor is there any way to capture the knight.{{sfn|Renaud|Kahn|1962|p=35}} One common checkmating pattern finishing with a smothered mate is known as ''Philidor's Legacy'' after [[François-André Danican Philidor]], though its documentation predates Philidor by several hundred years.<ref name="Golladay2007">{{cite book|author=Sonja Musser Golladay|title=Los Libros de Acedrex Dados E Tablas: Historical, Artistic and Metaphysical Dimensions of Alfonso X's "Book of Games".|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aImR3uIw0kwC&pg=PA278|year=2007|isbn=978-0-549-27434-6|pages=278–}}</ref>

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*[[==Stamma's mate]]==

{{chess diagram-fen

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|header=Stamma's mate

|footer=White wins with either side to move.

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|Stamma's mate

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|White wins with either side to move.

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Stamma's mate (named for [[Philipp Stamma]]) is a rare endgame pattern in which a player is able to force mate with only a king and knight, due to the opponent's king being trapped in front of an advanced rook's pawn.

In the diagram, White to move wins:<ref>{{harvnb|Emms|2004|p=122}}</ref>

: '''1. Nb4+ Ka1'''

: '''2. Kc1 a2'''

: '''3. Nc2#'''

White also wins if Black is to move first:

: '''1... Ka1'''

: '''2. Nc1 a2'''

: '''3. Nb3#'''

==Suffocation mate==

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|An archetypal Vuković's mate}}

''Vuković’s mate'' is a mate involving a protected rook which delivers checkmate to the king at the edge of the board, while a knight covers the remaining escape squares of the king. The rook is usually protected with either the king or a pawn.<ref name="Vuković">[https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1030348] Chess Games, Vuković Mate Examples</ref>

This pattern was famously used by 13-year-old [[Bobby Fischer]] in 1956 to checkmate [[Donald Byrne]] in what is now commonly known as the [[Game of the Century (chess)|Game of the Century]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361 |title=Donald Byrne vs. Robert James Fischer |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }} </ref>

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*[[Fool's mate]]

*[[Scholar's mate]]

*[[Stamma's mate]]

==References==

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|publication-place = New York

|publication-date = 1953

<!-- |isbn = 0-486-20106-6 -->

}}

*{{cite book

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|url-access = registration

|url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofch00schi

}}

*{{cite book

|last = Emms

|first = John

|author-link = John Emms (chessmaster)

|year = 2004

|title = Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames

|publisher = [[Everyman Chess]]

|isbn= 1-85744-359-4

}}