Tactics vs Mating Nets

I need help classifying and determining every "Mating Net/Pattern" vs "Tactical Motif". For example:

• Back Rank Checkmate
• Smothered Checkmate

Are clearly "Mating Nets" that can be given distinction all on their own. Yes, there can be tactical tricks involved with them, but they aren't tactics. Where as:

• Discovered Check (Discovered Checkmate)
• Fork
• Pin
• Skewer, etc

Are all tactics. I don't feel like I have a shortage of tactical terms in my head, but I realized that other than Back Rank and Smothered, I couldn't think of many other PURE mating patterns (at least with names).

This is purely a study to find distinctions between the two and to realize the differences between a "tactical trick, pattern, motif" and a "mating net, pattern, motif".

AM I CRAZY???

 Possibly, but, if so, not for the anything stated in your post

How about Damiano's mate ?

EDIT: When I looked up Damiano's mate on Wikipedia, it took me to a page of similar patterns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damiano%27s_mate

Of course it will depend on what purpose you will be ultimately doing it for, but some plausible steps will certainly be:

1) Make a nice long list of all the mating patterns you can think of. Add all the mating patterns you can find in lists such as the one given in NickYoung's link, or in list that can be found by googling things such as "mating patterns". Some of these links are chess.com links, of course

http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/mating-patterns-i

http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/mating-patterns-part-2

http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/mating-patterns-part-3

2) Make a nice long list of all the tactical motifs you can think of; add those you can find in googled lists or so.

3) Depending on in how much detail you need to proceed, weed out some possible ambiguities in the names in all those lists and choose one system for yourself (or which seems to be most usual or most widely accepted).

(Some possible sample details:

* For example, some will know the epaulet mate to be a special kind of mate such as Qd6 mates Kd8, Rc8, Re8, because the rooks at the shoulders of the king block his escape squares. Some sources will use the term epaulet mate to designate a much wider variety of mates in which the king's own pieces block his escape squares.

* Most usually, "mating net" is used for designating a special kind of mating pattern, in which mostly at least 2 or three attacking pieces are involved in weaving the mating net by restricting the king's escape squares. The term "mating net" is rather not used for designating smothered mates, for example.)

4) If your ultimate goal should be to classify chess positions or tactics combinations according to these tactical motifs and mating patterns, then many positions will involve several of these names that apply suitably. Of course there can be a double attack that involves both attacking a loose piece and threatening a backrank mate at the same time, for example. So such a combination will obtain at least the 3 labels "double attack", "loose piece", "backrank mate".

There don't seem to be many that have names, but "The Art of the Checkmate" suggests a few.  I'd never heard of any of them, although the patterns are familiar from my many losses through the years...

Greco's Mate:

Anastasia's Mate:

Boden's Mate:

Blackburne's Mate:

Pillsbury's Mate:

The Arabian Mate:

The "epaulettes" mating position:

Don't forget Stamma's!  Black Ka1 and Pa2, with White Kc1/c2 and Nb3/c2 .

You guys rock ;)

i just read last sentence

my answer is yes

There is a chess mentor course with all these basic checkmating patterns and more. You might want to whip through that! 

I've been directed to a site before where many of the basic mates are presented: http://www.worldchessacademy.com/basic-mates.htm

Apparently they are mostly from a book by Danny Kopec, but that should get your list started. I would add to the list by SonofPearl the Swallow Tail Mate:

These all look very cool, but I would think rarely happen? I mean, in the way that each player would have to make these precise moves.

Oh, and btw, Danny---crazy?!...we've long suspected there's something "not quite right" with you, but don't think it's directly related to chess! ;)

wikipedia have a very nice article on checkmate patterns:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkmate_patterns

Vukovic, art of attack in chess has also a lot of patterns.

You guys are all great !!!

And btw, there is probably more than just a little something "not quite right with me",  but that's what happens when you are "living in" a world, but "not of" the world... quite the burden !!!

And of course, Legal's mate:

 Danny, you've finally come clean! You ARE an alien! I've suspected this for quite some time now, and here, from the horse's lips: "living in" a world, but "not of" the world...

The question still remains, begging to be answered: What species of alien are you exactly? The Superman kind? E.T.? A Jetson? Are you Our Favorite Martian? Marvin the Martian? An Ewok? A Vulcan? Or perhaps a Conehead? Actually, I picture you more as Ed Norton with a space helmet on watching Captain Video lol ;)

I remember a chessgames.com puzzle a while ago with an interesting, but unnamed final mating position that looked like this:

http://tinyurl.com/69szahc

I think it was a guy named Paulsen playing black, but I'm not sure.

 Danny,

There's an excellent book by Murray Chandler called "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess". I recommend it for all my students.

It contains 50 "deadly" (is there any other kind?) checkmates including those mentioned above (anastasias, arabian etc etc). I am not sure if it's published in the States but you should be able to get hold of a copy at Amazon.

I am in the process of inputting (it's very very very very tedious!) the positions (variants thereof) onto a fritz database and adding my own "idiot" notes.