Checkmates

Intro-What is a checkmate pattern and checkmate?

A checkmate pattern is a particular and recognizable arrangement of the pieces that deliver the checkmate. You can further improve your chess tactics by studying all the different checkmates that commonly occur in chess games.

A checkmate is any game position in chess in which a player's king is in check and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is never actually captured. Instead. the player loses as soon as the player's king is checkmated.

List of some of the most basic checkmates:

Fool's Mate-In chess, the fool's mate, also known as the two-move checkmate, is the checkmate delivered after the fewest possible moves from the game's starting position. It can be achieved only by Black, giving checkmate on the second move with the queen.

Scholars Mate-In chess, a scholar's mate is a four-move checkmate in which you use your white-square bishop and queen in a mating attack targeting the opponent's f-pawn(s) (f2 if white and f7 if black). The f-pawn is considered among the weakest pieces on the chessboard because it is only defended by the king.

Legal's Mate-The Legal's Trap (Trap; is trap because Black has to accept it) or Blackburne Trap is a chess opening trap, characterized by a queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice.

Back Rank Mate-In chess, a back-rank checkmate is a checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along a back rank in which the mated king is unable to move up the board because the king is blocked by friendly pieces.

Smothered Mate-In chess, a smothered mate is a rare checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded by his own pieces. The mate is usually seen in a corner of the board, since fewer pieces are needed to surround the king there.

Anastasia's Mate-A knight and rook team up to trap the opposing king between the side of the board on one side and a friendly piece on the other.

Boden's Mate-Boden's Mate is a checkmating pattern in chess characterized by bishops on two criss-crossing diagonals, with possible escape squares for the king being occupied by friendly pieces or under attack by enemy pieces.