Checkmate Pattern Quiz
Twelve mating patterns, one move each. The answers are found by search rather than stored, so what you are told cannot disagree with the board.
Type the move in normal notation, or just the two squares — Ra8 and
a1a8 both count. Clicking the piece then its target works too.
The patterns
Where the answers come from
- The answers are not stored anywhere. Every solution is found by playing all the legal moves and asking the board which one ends the game, so what you are told is the answer cannot disagree with the position you are looking at.
- That also makes the puzzles checkable, and the check found real mistakes. Three of these positions had no mate at all or several when they were first written, and were rebuilt until each had exactly one — which is what makes a puzzle well posed rather than merely hard.
- Every position is constructed rather than copied out of a book, so there is no source to have transcribed wrongly. Two exceptions come from real openings, because the four-move mate and the two-move mate are worth seeing in their own setting.
- The patterns are the point, not the puzzles. There are perhaps a dozen mating shapes that account for most games, and recognising the shape is what lets you see the mate three moves before it happens rather than after.
- A hint names the piece and the square it starts on, and never where it goes. A hint that gives away the destination is just the answer with extra steps.
How to use
- Find the move that ends the game, in one.
- Type it, or click the piece and then its target square.
- Take the hint if you want the piece named but not the square.
Frequently asked questions
How do you know the answer is right?
Because it is not written down anywhere. Every solution is found by playing all the legal moves and asking the board which one ends the game, so what you are told is the answer cannot disagree with the position in front of you. A stored answer can be wrong and nothing would ever notice.
Is every puzzle really mate in one?
Yes, and exactly one move works in each. That is checked automatically rather than by eye, and the check found real mistakes — three of these positions had no mate at all or several when they were first written, and were rebuilt until each had precisely one.
Which patterns are here?
The dozen shapes that account for most finishes: back rank, ladder, smothered, Arabian, Anastasia, Boden, epaulette, two bishops, Damiano’s bishop, queen supported by the king, and the two-move and four-move mates from the opening.
Why learn patterns rather than puzzles?
Because the pattern is what you recognise three moves before it happens. A specific puzzle teaches you one position; the shape of a back-rank mate teaches you to notice every game where the pawns have not moved and the rooks are still on the first rank.
Is it always White to move?
No, and the side to play is stated on every puzzle. One of them is Black delivering the fastest mate in chess, and the board turns round so you are looking at it from the moving side.
What does the hint tell me?
The piece and the square it starts on — never where it goes. A hint that gives away the destination is just the answer with extra steps, so it stops one step short of that on purpose.
Can I type the move any way I like?
Within reason. Normal notation works with or without the mate mark, exclamation marks are ignored, and the two squares on their own are accepted too — Ra8 and a1a8 both count. Clicking the piece and then its target works if you would rather not type.
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