Ever played a smothered mate or an Anastasia’s mate in a real game? Here are 5 beautiful mating patterns you can learn and look for in your own games!
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1. Anastasia’s Mate
Anastasia’s Mate is a checkmate pattern where the opponent’s king is trapped against the edge of the board, often near a corner. A knight controls two escape squares, while a rook or queen attacks the king on an open file. The king’s remaining escape square is blocked by one of its own pieces, completing the elegant mate.
Fun fact: Anastasia’s Mate is named after a checkmate pattern that first appeared in a 19th-century novel called Anastasia und das Schachspiel (“Anastasia and the Game of Chess”) by the German author Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse.
Full lesson in Noctie: https://app.noctie.ai/themes/68954f82-be0f-4855-97ff-aa8c6f5ca7e1?aff=q9yKD
2. Vukovic’s Mate
The Vukovic Mate is named after IM Vladimir Vukovic, who introduced this checkmating pattern in his book The Art of Attack in Chess. This elegant motif highlights the powerful coordination between a rook and knight, which together with a supporting piece deliver a beautiful checkmate.
Full lesson in Noctie: https://app.noctie.ai/themes/b77abe4d-748b-4b7f-9980-ba3d12923844?aff=q9yKD
3. Arabian Mate
The Arabian Mate is an elegant checkmate pattern involving just a rook and a knight. It typically occurs when the opposing king is trapped in a corner, with the rook delivering checkmate while the knight defends it and blocks the king’s escape square.
Full lesson in Noctie: https://app.noctie.ai/themes/23b6be74-9498-4ac7-bf41-6bd6670834de?aff=q9yKD
4. Greco’s Mate
Greco’s Mate is one of the earliest known checkmating patterns, named after the Italian chess player Gioachino Greco. It features a queen or rook delivering checkmate along the edge of the board, with the enemy king trapped in the corner—its escape cut off by a supporting bishop.
Full lesson in Noctie: https://app.noctie.ai/themes/47576499-2af4-4e06-91bf-6e0adc5f75e8?aff=q9yKD
5. Smothered Mate
The smothered mate is one of the most elegant and satisfying checkmates in chess. It occurs when a lone knight delivers the final blow to a king completely surrounded by its own pieces, leaving no escape.
Full lesson in Noctie: https://app.noctie.ai/themes/7f0d68d2-f0c3-44d0-a25a-bf0a74650eba?aff=q9yKD
0:00 Anastasia’s Mate
07:24 Vukovic’s Mate
11:28 Arabian Mate
15:02 Greco’s Mate
18:58 Smothered Mate