How do I get better at finding checkmates?

I highly recommend doing the "checkmate in one" puzzles. You can sort the puzzles by theme and by rating. I suggest a search function for 0-1400 in puzzles in order to get the basic checkmates.

Do the super easy ones on repeat a whole bunch. Thats what I did. They dont have to be hard, just enough to build pattern recognition

Learn common checkmate patterns. There are a few that stand out:

1. Back Rank Mate

- A single queen or rook attacks the king, who is unable to move because the squares in front of it are blocked by pawns or (rarely) other pieces.

2. Ladder Mate

- Two rooks, two queens, or one of each check the king until it's on an edge, where it is then checkmated.

3. The four "basic" checkmates (checkmating with the bare minimum material requirement. These checkmates are very important to learn because I've seen many a won game slip away because the winning player didn't know how to do them)

- King + queen (very easy): Use the queen to force the king into the corner until it has only two safe squares. Then move your own king next to the king and deliver the checkmate.

- King + rook (easy but can be tricky to learn): Use the king and rook together to progressively limit the king's space until it reaches a corner or edge. Then, take opposition and swing the rook over to the side.

- King + two bishops (hard): The two bishops have to work together limit the king's space until it reaches an edge, then force it into a corner. Then, the king has to get close to the enemy king, and the bishop whose color matches the square the enemy is on will deliver the checkmate. This checkmate is rare, but it's good to know it anyway because you never know when it will be needed.

- King + bishop and knight (extremely hard): The three pieces must coordinate perfectly to force the king onto a corner whose color matches the bishop's color (for example, if your bishop is of the light-square variety, the king needs to be forced to h1 or a8). Then, it's a matter of figuring out how the checkmate works. Even Grandmasters have struggled to pull this off when it's needed, but it's so rare that you'll probably only see it in one or two games you'll ever play.

Study common checkmate patterns (also called model mates).

They tend to come in families. Here is an example:

The Lolli mates are all based on a Queen checkmate, assisted by an advanced Pawn on f6 (or on f3 if you are playing Black).

Here is a simple one:

You study mate in 1's. Back rank mates are the most common.

Everyone in this thread is on the right track. Study 1 and 2 move check mate patterns, there are a number of types of checkmate, you need to know the ideas behind checkmates---the top reason is a king that, due to board congestion or the board edge, either has restricted mobility or can't move at all. Second reason is a king with insufficient defenders. Those are THE perquisites for a checkmate. Then study the various types of checkmates and see how either of those fundamental rules are put into practice. There are inexpensive books that are written with this in mind, Gilliam's book, Simple Checkmates, is exactly what you need; but many books will be suitable, there is also a large amount of material online, either free, or for a nominal cost that will also suffice. Then you must actually do the work.

That’s a good goal! I think focusing on basic checkmating patterns (like back rank mate, smothered mate, and queen + king vs king) can really help. Also try practicing puzzles — they improve your ability to spot mates quickly.

Click on Puzzles/Custom Puzzles and the scroll down to Mate In 1 and check that box.

puzzles and daily puzzle