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Dovetail Mate Examples
Compiled by ChessCoachClark
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Examples of the Dovetail Mate are being collected here. Only the Queen can effect this mate and the two "holes" from the Queen's lines of power must be covered by chessmen on the attacking team or occupied by chessmen friendly to the targeted King. The Queen is directly adjacent to that King on a diagonal, so it requires protection. For this game collection, that protector may be any chessman at all. The vanquished King is usually not in the corner or at the edge of the board.

The Dovetail Mate may also be referred to as the Swallowtail Mate. The actual bird is much larger than any dove, having more than a four-foot wingspan and is more precisely named as the Swallow Tail Kite. The Audubon Society ranks it as "our most magnificent bird of prey."

Normally, the Queen and King are in diagonal alignment, then two divergent squares (one to either side) for this pattern, which is a rather like an extended Y. So, the fanciful or apophenia factor relates it to birds with long and forked or seemingly split tails.

My imagination leads me to see it as a supersonic aircraft, especially those with separated swept-back wings. The SR-71 Blackbird, the Naboo Royal Starship and the Concorde have a more or less continuous rear wing, whereas the B1-B Lancer and others fit the bill nicely. OK, OK, I admit that admire aircraft and sci-fi spacecraft. ;-) My avatar should give that away-- my thanks go to its designer!

The name Cozios' Mate may apply to this pattern, also.

Taking a look at A Saveliev vs P Potapov, 2018, the Dovetail Mate pattern is demonstrated by this skeleton of its final position:


click for larger view

However, if the arrangement of the pattern is orthogonal (horizontal or vertical), then the name Gueridon Mate is more common. The Art of Checkmate, by Renauld and Kahn (2015), p. 54 gives this specific diagram for the Gueridon Mate model pattern:


click for larger view

Now the Queen is in direct contact with the other King within a file or rank. This name marks a picturesque comparison of the French table with only one supporting column to this mate pattern. As usual, I use the line containing the Queen and King as the reference, so this case is a vertical configuration of the Gueridon Mate.

A horizontal Gueridon Mate is shown at the EOG of this game below A Batuev vs Simagin, 1954


click for larger view

There are differences of opinion about the names assigned to the forms of this pattern. I am undecided about whether to pursue the research necessary to bring a definitive treatment for the nomenclature in this case.

For now, this game collection will consolidate the examples for the various types of this mate pattern. The main reason is to make it easier to find these games. Here they are all assembled in one place, although at home I use separate folders for their files (even though the naming is still tentative).

ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection on October 27, 2024 and he updates it on occasion. This project is a work in progress, culling games from various sources, including several chess training books and personal research. The games are ordered by date (oldest first), not by importance.

Be well.
Be safe.

Ends with the Dovetail Mate (or Cozio's Mate).
Greco vs NN, 1620 
(C53) Giuoco Piano, 14 moves, 1-0

EOG is a vertical form of the mate--Gueridon Mate.
Otto vs von der Lasa, 1839 
(C23) Bishop's Opening, 24 moves, 0-1

EOG is a Gueridon Mate (hoizontal).
A Batuev vs Simagin, 1954
(B95) Sicilian, Najdorf, 6...e6, 87 moves, 1-0

17...Kd7 18 Qe6# Dovetail Mate; 17...Ke7 18 Qe6# Gueridon Mate.
Fischer vs M McDermott, 1964 
(C26) Vienna, 17 moves, 1-0

20...Kf7 21 Qh7+ Ke6 22 Qg8 Ke5 23 Qd5# Gueridon Mate.
J Murey vs A Nikitin, 1971 
(C31) King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit, 20 moves, 1-0

10. ... Ke6 11. Qg4# Dovetail Mate with two friendly chessmen.
M Keller vs W Bogatzki, 1976 
(C35) King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham, 10 moves, 1-0

43. ... Kd7 44. Qe6#
H Pfleger vs D Root, 1981 
(A10) English, 43 moves, 1-0

Black took Poisoned Rook then Dovetail Mate; two friendly Pawn
Gulko vs B Finegold, 1987 
(D97) Grunfeld, Russian, 66 moves, 1-0

Pawn covers escape and occupies an escape square. Q1
O Prestel vs F Doederlein, 1987
(B02) Alekhine's Defense, 11 moves, 1-0

Dovetail Mate with a friendly Rook and Pawn as blockers.
A Chretien vs S Charmeteau, 2000 
(B21) Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4, 32 moves, 1-0

Gueridon Mate after 89. Ke6 Qe7#.
Y Xu vs I Charkhalashvili, 2001 
(E63) King's Indian, Fianchetto, Panno Variation, 88 moves, 0-1

46...f6 47 Rh8 Kf7 48 Rxd5 Re6 49. g8Q#.
T Debray vs S Buscara, 2006
(B07) Pirc, 46 moves, 1-0

35...Kxg8 36 Rd8+ Re8 37 Rxd8+ Kg7 38 Qh8# Two friendly Pawns
A Rosell vs J Ramirez Diaz, 2012
(D98) Grunfeld, Russian, 35 moves, 1-0

34...Rd1+ 35 Bxd1 Bc5 36 Rh8 Ke7 37 Qxf6# Mate with Pawn Link
A Hambleton vs J Bartholomew, 2017
(D12) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 34 moves, 1-0

SF 12 M8 is a Dovetail Mate; one White, one Black Pawn covering
S Ivanov vs Lorenzo Bardone, 2017
(D85) Grunfeld, 36 moves, 1-0

EOG: Black Queen bringing the mate and Bishop cuts off escape.
A Saveliev vs P Potapov, 2018 
(B30) Sicilian, 34 moves, 0-1

EOG is a Dovetail Mate with Rook help in Stafford Gambit!
S Erenburg vs E Rosen, 2024 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 14 moves, 0-1

17 games

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