5 MOST COMMON CHECKMATE PATTERNS LIST [With explanations & pics]

Here are some of the common checkmate patterns that you can learn to improve your chess tactics skill:

1.

Anastasia’s Mate: A checkmate pattern that involves a rook and a knight working together to trap the opposing king against the side of the board.

Anastasia’s Mate is a checkmate pattern that involves a rook and a knight working together to trap the opposing king against the side of the board. One of the key features of this checkmate pattern is that the attacking side’s knight takes away two of the defending king’s escape squares from the back rank. The third escape square right in front of the king has to be occupied by one of the king’s fellow kinsmen, which is usually a pawn but can also be a rook in some cases. This checkmate pattern is a distant cousin of the Back Rank Mate.

2.

Anderssen’s Mate: A checkmate pattern that features a rook supported by a pawn as it checkmates the opposing king along the eighth rank from the corner.

Anderssen’s Mate is a checkmate pattern that features a rook supported by a pawn as it checkmates the opposing king along the eighth rank from the corner . The pawn is then also defended by another piece or pawn. This pattern is named after Adolf Anderssen, a German chess master from the 19th century.

3.

Arabian Mate: A checkmate pattern that features the unique abilities of a knight (horse) with the help of a rook.

Arabian Mate is the oldest checkmating pattern in the game of chess. It is done with a knight and rook combo. The rook gives the checkmate with the knight preventing the rook from being captured. The Arabian mating pattern has more significance in the history of chess than others.

  4.

Back Rank Mate: A checkmate pattern that happens when a king is trapped behind its own pawn shield and gets mated by a rook or queen.

Back Rank Mate is a checkmate pattern that happens when a player delivers checkmate by attacking the back rank of their opponent (first rank for White, eighth rank for Black). For this checkmate to be possible, the squares in front of the king must be blocked by its own pieces. The attacking side’s rook or queen attacks the opponent’s back rank, while the pawns on the seventh rank restrict the opponent’s king. Back-rank mates can also happen with the help of attacking pieces like a bishop or knight.

The back-rank mate is one of the most basic checkmating patterns in chess and can be a powerful weapon in a player’s arsenal. It often appears on the board when castling is used to protect the king but also allows for exploitation of the back-rank weakness. By spotting back-rank weaknesses, you can gain a decisive edge in your games.

5.

Balestra Mate: A checkmate pattern that demonstrates optimal coordination between a queen and bishop .

Balestra Mate is a checkmate pattern that features optimal coordination between a queen and bishop. It is similar to Boden’s Mate. The difference is that the latter involves two bishops instead of a queen and bishop. Balestra Mate Example Diagram above: 1.Bc6# shows how the white bishop and queen coordinate perfectly to checkmate the black king on the side of the board. Interesting Note on the Balestra Mate It appears that the name “Balestra Mate” (performed by a queen and bishop) was first used as a tag on chesstempo.com –in order to distinguish it from Boden’s Mate (which involves two bishops). An important observation here is that the case of Balestra Mate, the bishop MUST be the checking piece if the queen has the task to block all escape squares (without the help of the opponent’s own pieces). 

There are many more checkmate patterns to learn!🤓