Why Checkmate?

In chess, there is simply no better move than the checkmate. No matter how much better you are in a game, or how far behind you are from your opponent, the checkmate can serve as a quick end to any contest. So, as a chess player, it is of the highest importance to not only notice your opportunities to checkmate an opponent, but also to stay weary of your opponent’s checkmating threats. But how exactly are we supposed to quickly find the combinations that lead to a checkmate, and how to we defend ourselves against the same threats? Before getting to some specific checkmating patterns and ideas, we must discuss what leads to a checkmate and the importance of King safety.

The King’s End

The most important piece on the chess board is the King. When the King is under direct attack from an enemy piece, it is said to be in “check.” Because the King is not allowed to be captured, it is forced to move out of the line of attack, or another piece must protect it. However, when the King is in a position in which it has no “safe squares,” and no other piece is there to protect it, then the game has reached “checkmate” and the match is over.

It is typical for most players (especially when just starting out in chess) to focus simply on taking the other opponent’s pieces. While that seems like a sound plan, it can sometimes lead to catastrophic ends. For example, consider what is known as “the Legal Trap.” The moves leading up to this common chess trap might go as such (see chess notation information at the bottom).

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 d6
4. Nc3 Bg4

Here, we have reached a critical moment in this position. The next move for white, Nxe5, seems quite awkward and plain wrong. Clearly, white is leaving their Queen on d1 open to be taken by black’s Bishop. But this can serve as an example of what happens when black solely focuses on gaining material advantage rather than noticing white’s extremely dangerous, but subtle, attack. As expected, black follows up with Bxd1 and white is now ready to pounce.  White’s Bishop on c4 takes black’s Pawn on f7 and puts the black King under check! The King has no pieces to protect it, so it must move to the only safe square on e7 (d7 is occupied by the Knight and the King cannot put itself in direct attack from another piece). After this, white is ready to deliver the final blow by moving its Knight on c3 to d5, putting the black King in checkmate. The black King has now run out of all safe squares and no piece can protect it from the Knight’s attack.

It can be very common for players to fall for these kinds of traps. In the beginning, black most likely felt they had a great advantage as they managed to capture white’s Queen. However, because the point of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s King, it doesn’t matter if another player is down a Queen as long as they are about to checkmate their opponent’s King. When starting out in chess, it’s important to always pay attention and guard your King. When your opponent seems to give you something for free, take a second look and think about if they might have an overall plan to attack your King.

Simple Checkmating Patterns

Though chess is a game of almost endless possibilities and move combinations, there are many common checkmating patterns that show up. By familiarizing oneself with some of these patters, a player can have the ability to more effectively attack their opponent’s King and spot threats against their own King. Here is a just a short list of common checkmates that might arise as a person begins to play chess.

1. The Scholar’s (Fool’s) Mate – I assure you that if you’re just starting out playing chess, you will see this checkmate. I recall the first time I sat down to play chess against a friend of mine who had played for years. I started out feeling good, thinking I could have a chance against him. However, after 4 short moves, my king was put into checkmate and the game was over. I marveled and asked, How did he do that?  Turns out, it is not too hard. Here’s how he did it: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qh5 Nf6 4. Qxf7# (Checkmate). Many stronger players may try that on less experienced players, so it is important to see this threat and combat it before it becomes a problem. Black might play something like Qe7 instead of Nf6 to help keep the game moving.

   1. 

      After four short moves, the King has been checkmated.

2. The Back Rank Mate – Another common chess ending, the back rank mate is something every chess player needs to watch for. After castling, the King is sometimes stuck behind a barrier of pawns. If a rook, or even a queen, is able to infiltrate the back rank, where the King is, it may face a checkmate as it cannot escape from the pawn wall in front of it.
   

   White’s rook has checkmated black’s King. Black’s King has no room to escape.

3. The Two Rook Ending – Two rooks in conjunction can do a lot of damage to an opponent’s King. Because Rooks are long-range pieces, they are able to completely take entire ranks or files away from the King. When two rooks work together, they have the ability to back the King up to one side of the board and deliver a checkmate. The black King has no where to go as both the rooks control potential flight squares for the King.
   

   The two white rooks have checkmated the king and taken all its squares.

   These are just three of many other checkmating patterns. Again, it is very important to familiarize oneself with many checkmating patterns as these can lead to success in chess.

Chess Notation

B = Bishop

N = Knight

R = Rook

Q = Queen

K = King

Pawn moves are simply denoted by specific square coordinates

x = Takes

+ = Check

# = Checkmate