- L-Square Mate Examples
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The carpenter, art frame builder and other craftsmen use an L-square to check that two pieces are joined in perpendicular fashion. A checkmate pattern with two Rooks (or with a Rook and Queen or two Queens) can use these two orthographic line pieces, one on each arm of a visualized L-square as well. Another contender for the title could be the Intersection Mate.
The pattern is visually striking. It often needs "helpers," whether on the same team or not. The mate pattern may occur in one of two forms, where the targeted King is on a bar/arm of the L-square and where the other King is outside both bars/arms. This game listed below:
M Umansky vs M Blokh, 1983
has several continuations, with an M6 line from Stockfish 17 that leads to an L-Square Mate outside the bar:
click for larger viewAnother game listed below
D Janaszak vs M Chigaev, 2017
ends by actual play with the King on a bar in Q2 by a Rook with Queen support:
click for larger viewChessCoachClark established this game collection on October 28, 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.
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13 games, 1908-2017 - Lolli's Mate Examples
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Lollis' Mate is a relatively important checkmate pattern and it has two classical forms. One form is a special case of what I fancifully call the In-His-Face Mate and another is a particular form of the Corridor Mate, where a friendly chessman blocks an escape square from the King. Also, usually a Bishop covers other escape options. Rarely, a Queen takes on this task. I have arbitrarily assigned Type A to this type of configuration:
click for larger viewThis form is an alternative Type A:
click for larger view
It is the conclusion of a demonstration from CHECKMATE! by Koltanowski and Finkelstein (1978), pp. 159-160. Note that the targeted King is not in the corner for this instance of the Lolli's Mate. Similarly, this configuration is typical for what I am assigning as Type B:
click for larger viewChessCoachClark (CCC) established this game collection on October 28, 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.
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12 games, 1870-2013 - Lonely Bishop and Knight Mate Examples
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This game collection started in September of 2023, a day after the Osiris REx asteroid material was returned to earth for study. It is my hope that this game collection will evoke a strong curiosity about the Bishop and Knight (or Knight and Bishop) Mate in my intermediate students, just as that otherworldly treasure from the cold and far away regions is motivating astronomers' and other scientists' curiosity. There a at least a few different processes that can be used to bring a Bishop and Knight Mate. It is one of the most fundamental mate cases and players should be exposed to at least one of those processes for several benefits. Here we have a mix of games that exemplify the feasibility of solutions and provide testbeds from the lone King positions for practicing any of the various solution methods. I use a system of naming mates by giving the piece that executes the mate first, then the piece giving support second. Thus, a Bishop-Knight Mate is quite different from a Knight-Bishop Mate. In practice, the same method can be used for either type of mate. One just needs to be alert to make the final move appropriately. Also, in some cases, either the Knight or the Bishop wil be suitable. All of the games in this collection are truly Bishop-Knight Mates, but in some cases the process may also result in a Knight-Bishop Mate. Also, one may elect to examine games from the Endgames Explorer, since more than 200 games are contained in the K+B+N
vs K search results.
I use 'Lonely' in the title of this game collection to indicate that a lone King is being pursued and that the attackers are lonely as well-- no other helpers are involved. The Lone King position should be taken as the starting point for this endgame. This means that the defending King has no team members and no Pawns are on the board at all. The players just have the four chessmen-- two Kings, one Bishop and one Knight. The counting for the 50-Move Rule starts there. It is of interest to note that this position can only be reached by a capture made by the attacking chessmen. This factoid makes it easy to peruse the game score and locate the Lone King position, as it will be the last capture for the given game. Further, one needs to care about the paths of the Lone King. For instance, a King in a corner without any adjacent squares being attacked has three paths. Each path will be a line of play and may have branches within it as well. If a chess engine like Stockfish will be part of your training process, be sure to set it for the number of paths you need. Do not leave it to evaluate only one line. Be aware that there is more than one approach to mating with the Bishop and Knight. It is also interesting that when looking at any Lone King position, it is likely to be very difficult to tell whether it will resolve into a Bishop-Knight Mate, a Knight Mate or a mix of lines with each type. In Fundamental Chess Endings, by Mueller and Lamprecht, p. 19, the longest win is declared to be 33 moves. One must proceed with precision, though, because a serious miss-step may take one out of range of the 50-move target. One's miss-step may even cause the loss of the game!
ChessGames.com does not include this game, but GM James Howell (on pp. 152 and 154 of ESSENTIAL CHESS ENDINGS) discusses Lengyel vs. Loginov, Budapest 1993 at 95. Nd3? as such a knife-blade blunder. In fact, Lengyel was winning heretofore and nearly 300 Elo points behind Loginov. GM Howell suggested 95. Kf5 instead and Stockfish 15 does even better. There will be times when a chess engine will show only one solution when in fact different mate results will be available as well, even different mate types (i.e., both B-N and N-B from the same Lone King position). One of the included games, F Mustafayev vs A Somalwar, 2016 is interesting for several reasons. If one follows the optimal lines generated by Stockfish 16 from the Lone King position, it is possible to obtain either a B-N Mate or a N-B Mate. 
click for larger view is the Lone King position. Depth 97 [M22]
64.... Kh8 65.Nf4 Kh7 66.Ng6 Kg7
67.Bb3 Kh7 68.Kf6 Kh6 69.Bg8 Kh5
70.Ne5 Kh4 71.Kf5 Kg3 72.Ng4 Kg2
73.Bc4 Kf3 74.Bd3 Kg3 75.Be2 Kh4
76.Nf2 Kg3 77.Ne4+ Kh4 78.Kf4 Kh3
79.Kg5 Kg2 80.Kg4 Kh2 81.Bf1 Kg1
82.Bh3 Kh2 83.Ng5 Kg1 84.Kg3 Kh1
85.Bg2+ Kg1 86.Nh3#
click for larger view is the Knight-Bishop Mate position. The other winning continuation from Stockfish 16 is as follows: Depth 98 [M22]
64.... Kh8 65.Kf6 Kh7 66.Nf4 Kh6
67.Bc4 Kh7 68.Ng6 Kh6 69.Bg8 Kh5
70.Ne5 Kh4 71.Bd5 Kh5 72.Be4 Kh6
73.Nf7+ Kh5 74.Bf3+ Kh4 75.Kf5 Kg3
76.Ne5 Kf2 77.Kf4 Ke1 78.Ke3 Kf1
79.Ng6 Kg1 80.Ke2 Kh2 81.Kf2 Kh3
82.Be2 Kh2 83.Nf4 Kh1 84.Kg3 Kg1
85.Nh3+ Kh1 86.Bf3#
click for larger view is the Bishop-Knight Mate position. In general, this sort of mate is both rare and challenging, so even "advanced beginners" should leave it for later. The valiant intention of getting it done will lead to a source of satisfaction in and of itself. Further, one's knowledge of it will be intimidating to any opponent when its preliminary position occurs-- you will also be confident that accepting a draw is totally unnecessary. I would hope to spare the students the disenheartenment of only earning a draw from one of these winning positions. However, the worst situation is to reach a stalemate, rather than the win! So, discipline and alertness is a must here. Any high-level chessplayer will hold those virtues as exemplary, for sure. Although this mate is not common, it is worth learning. Many ancilliary benefits will be derived from being disciplined enough and tenacious enough to learn at least one way to accomplish this mate. At the very least, the coordination of King, Bishop and Knight is not trivial and visualizing them working in concert is valuable. Failures are included here so that a student may use an actual game to practice the proper solution method(s). Even masters and GMs have been known to bring grist for our mills here! Other benefits are waiting for you. Undertake it for your progress in chess thinking and general skills, as well as the practical progress toward becoming a chess expert and beyond. Indeed, Mustafayev did just that and has become an FM. =B= indicates that the Black pieces won the game.
----- Always practice on BOTH sides of the board! =M= indicates the game concluded with the mate.
=P= indicates the game concluded without a mate (i.e., pending). =U= indicates one player was U14 or younger.
=W= indicates both players were women
=BN= indicates that the game could have both the B-N Mate and the N-B Mate as its ending. =S= indicates that the game ended with a Stalemate! =50= indicates that the 50-Move Rule was exceeded ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September 2023 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.
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72 games, 1949-2020 - Lonely Box Mate Examples
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This game collection is meant to help my students review the simplest Box Mate, where no other chessmen populate the board besides a Rook and King against a King. One insignificant Pawn may appear on either or both sides, just for widening the range of games to be included. This mating pattern is among the most elementary and essential checkmate patterns for a beginner to learn quickly. It is very similar to the Back Rank Mate, but no defending Pawns are in the mix. Some chess writers consider the Box Mate to be among the four basic mate patterns that every chess player should know. I most certainly agree with this position! It is important for beginners to understand that the Box Mate is the ONLY way for the Rook and King vs. King endgame to be solved. The targeted King must be pushed to the edge or into a corner for this checkmate to be possible. Thus, each case requires the attacker to follow three key steps: 1-- Make the space of the King get smaller and smaller. 2-- Push the King to the edge or into the corner. 3-- Use the Rook and King as a team to finish the Box Mate. Ask your coach why the Waiting Move tactic is usually part of the process of getting this checkmate. Direct Opposition and Rectangular Opposition are also vital to getting this checkmate. Opposition is a large enough topic to need thorough coverage elsewhere, but for this mate, it is a means of pushing the King off to one side or backwards, then finally covering any escape square with the "Kings' Fence." This is my fanciful name for that set of squares neither King may use-- two Kings must never be placed face-to-face, whether on a diagonal or in front of each other. To be specific, when the lone King has been brought to the edge of the board, Direct Opposition is required. The Kings are in front of each other with one empty square between them. Such a style, flavor or case of the Box Mate will be labelled with S1. Its "skeleton diagram" is shown below: 
click for larger viewTwo other styles of the Box Mate are available when the lone King has been relegated to the corner of the board. For the style that needs Direct Opposition, S2 will be the label. Its skeleton diagram is shown below: 
click for larger viewThe 'last' style needs Rectangular Opposition and its games will be labelled S3, which has the skeleton diagram below. 
click for larger viewWhen FULL begins the game header, that game actually ended as the Box Mate, so it is a full example of the three-step process. (One or two games may have such a trivial ending that some steps were abrogated, though.) They may also practice running the mate sequence from the lone King position without consulting the actual game. Afterwards, they could compare their results with Stockfish analysis to see if their solution was close to the move count SF gave. Several games with U14 players are available as well, just not at CG, yet.
In some cases, either or both players are masters now. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September of 2024 and he updates it on occasion. This project is a work in progress, culling games from various so9urces, including several chess training books and personal research. The games are ordered by date (oldest first), not by importance. Be well.
Be safe.
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27 games, 1989-2021 - Lonely In-His-Face Mate Examples
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This game collection covers another form of the Box Mate as only the Queen can do it. We have Queen and King against lone King. The Queen is directly adjacent to the other King, that is, up against the defending King with its King giving protection. The Queen has no distance whatsoever from the targeted King. The name-- In-His-Face Mate or In-Your-Face Mate-- is ChessCoachClark's own invention, to be a dramatic reminder of the pattern, as when two boxers confront each other at weigh-in or when the hero and the villain in anime start to challenge and contest each other in an arm's-reach showdown. There is no distant attack here. Oh no, it's really as up close and personal as can ever be. It is called a Special In-His-Face Mate here because of the limitation that only the team's King is giving support. The general case may have any chessman-- even a Pawn-- giving support. Further, other chessmen may also be on the board for a busy situation. This game collection, then, may even be called the Lonely In-His-Face Mate, then, as the defender has a lone King and the attacker only has the King and Queen. Thus, the Queen does two jobs-- it both attacks the King and covers its escape square(s). No other chessman can manage such a use of lines of power. Just as with the Rook Mate or Box Mate, the other King must be on the edge [E] or in the corner [C]. You can only ask for chocolate or vanilla ice cream. That's it! There are no banana splits, frozen yogurt or gelato combinations here. Opposition is not a factor here, in contrast to the other two Box Mates by the Queen and with the Box Mate by the Rook. It is a somewhat shocking example of harmony in the teamwork by Queen and King. So, I wanted to call out games with this pattern-- and its various forms-- to my students (and others who might find this mate pattern of interest). For my students, note that this mate is NOT seen only in the horizontal/rank orientation. It can be done in the vertical/file orientation or diagonal orientation as well. (Let the line for attacking Queen and the targeted King determine the orientation.) Always, you need to be careful to avoid stalemate with a Queen. That's part of the cost of having more powers at hand. There are many games among my files that should be included here, but alas, ChessGames.com does not have them. The most noteworthy omissions for my students are a whole set of wonderfully inspirational games from the internationally diverse U14-and-under players. Some of these striving individuals have become masters later or should soon do so. There are two styles or flavors of the In-His-Face Mate, one in the corner and one on the edge of the board. On the edge, there is only one position for the Queen, but the King could be in any one of three locations (all on the same rank, in this case) for the same effect. 
click for larger view
click for larger view
click for larger viewThe In-His-Face Mate in a corner presents many more options. The defending King sits in the corner and the attacking Queen may stand its ground on any of the three squares in the reach of that King. Now the supporting King can be positioned in two locations or five locations, depending on where the Queen took its stand. Specifically, the King has two locations for the Queen being on the edge and five locations for the Queen on the major diagonal: 
click for larger viewThe King could also render aid for the mate from g3. 
click for larger viewNow, the King has the option of giving close support from f1 also. The other cases stem from the antagonists being aligned on a major diagonal (all three pieces or just two of them): 
click for larger viewThus, the King could also provide support for the Queen at h3, f1, f2 or g3. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September of 2021 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.
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15 games, 1964-2017 - Lonely Knight and Bishop Mate Examples
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See the header for the game collection, Mate with Bishop and Knight. I use 'Lonely' in the title of this game collection to indicate that a lone King is being pursued and that the attackers are lonely as well-- no other helpers are involved. The Lone King position should be taken as the starting point for this endgame. This means that the defending King has no team members and no Pawns are on the board at all. The players just have the four chessmen-- two Kings, one Knight and one Bishop. The counting for the 50-Move Rule starts there. It is of interest to note that this position can only be reached by a capture made by the attacking chessmen. This factoid makes it easy to peruse the game score and locate the Lone King position, as it will be the last capture for the given game. =B= indicates that the Black pieces won the game.
----- Always practice on BOTH sides of the board! =M= indicates the game concluded with the mate.
=U= indicates one player was U14 or younger.
=W= indicates both players were women
=BN= indicates that the game could have either a B-N Mate or a N-B Mate as its ending. =S= indicates that the game ended with a Stalemate! =50= indicates that the 50-Move Rule was exceeded ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection 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.
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24 games, 1969-2020 - Lonely Queen's Box Mate Examples
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The Box Mate is one of the four fundamental checkmate patterns that every player must know (IM Reuben Fine and other sources). In fact, the simplest Box Mate pattern is the only way to reach a checkmate with just a Rook and King against a lone King. This game collection is for those games where the ending has nothing but King and Queen against a lone King in a Box Mate pattern-- the defending King is in a corner or on the edge of the board. For practical purposes, a game with one insignificant, defending Pawn may be included here as well. Note the fact that the Kings will be in Direct Opposition, as for most other cases of the Box Mate. That is a major requirement for its success, along with the targeted King being at the edge or in the corner of the chessboard. When the defending King is in the corner, either Direct Opposition or Rectangular Opposition are required, however. Stockfish shows that the game Lautier vs F Vareille, 1996 should have been a Draw from move 66. As it was played, it could have ended as a Special In-His-Face Mate with the change to 81. Qg4# (in the continuation from Stockfish). This game collection covers the Box Mate as only the Queen can do it. We have Queen and King against lone King. The Kings are in Rectangular Opposition, rather than Direct Opposition. This fact is one of two key differentiating points. The Queen is somewhat distant from the defending King, but covers the escape square. This makes the second differentiator. A beautiful example of harmony in teamwork by the Queen and King. So, I wanted to call out games with this pattern to my students (and others who would find such games of interest). In several endings, either this Queen's Special Box Mate (CCC) or the In-His-Face (CCC) could have been made. The predominant choice by far is to make the In-His-Face Mate (CCC). Could it be more intimidating or better suited to an aggressive personality? I fear that the Queen's Special Box Mate (CCC) may just be overlooked. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September of 2021 and he updates it on occasion. It has even been renamed in September of 2024. 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.
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12 games, 1968-2016 - Lonely Three-Knight Mate Examples
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Beginners should know that the mate by two Knights requires a Pawn on the other side and that the mate by three Knights is possible on their own. They must not be so quick to offer a draw with these piece groups. They can win! Further, IM Reuben Fine described the Three-Knight Mate as one of the Elementary Mates in the first chapter of his tome, Basic Chess Endings (BCE, pp. 5-6). This game collection is meant to bolster that information, i.e., to dispel the misconception that Knights are too weak to mate on their own. I wonder how widespread that unwarranted matter has become. As a case in point, a commentator on Chess.com answered a query whether three Knights could mate by giving an extract from one of his own games, starting here: 
click for larger viewHe was not a strong player, so his line to mate was not optimal. However, Stockfish 17 gives this M9 line:
1.... Kf5 2.Kg7 Ne5 3.Kf8 Kf6 4.Ke8 N7c6 5.Kf8 Nd2 6.Ke8 Kg6 7.Kf8 Ne4 8.Ke8 Nf6+ 9.Kf8 Ned7#
click for larger viewI use 'Lonely' in the title of this game collection to indicate that the other King is all by itself, being pursued by Knights and a King. No other helpers are involved. (A pair of blockaded Pawns is not really significant, so a game here may have them on board.) The lone King position should be taken as the starting point for this endgame, but in some cases the last Promotion occurs afterwards. I use this to mean that the defending King has no team members and no Pawns are on the board at all. The players just have the five chessmen-- two Kings and three Knights. The counting for the 50-Move Rule starts there. It is of interest to note that any lone King position can only be reached by a capture made by the attacking chessmen. This factoid makes it easy to peruse the game score and locate the lone King position, as it will be the last capture for the given side for the given game. Further, it means that the continuation will always begin with a move by the defending King, then with the attacking side to bring the mate eventually. The continuation, then, will either be Black to play and White to win or White to play and Black to win. No other possibility is available. IM Fine declared that the Three-Knight mate should be accomplished in 20 moves or less. In 2018/2019, researchers in Germany published their research, proving by retrograde analysis that three Knights can only force checkmate on the edge of the board. Their proposition includes the corners, as the conclusion of a study from IM Fine demonstrates:
click for larger viewIn fact, all of the studies presented by IM Fine give the mate in the corner. This game collection is primarily intended for highly-motivated beginners. Although IM Fine had stressed its importance, it rarely occurs over-the-board (OTB), so I would not make learning the Three-Knight Mate a high priority. However, I do maintain that several benefits will accrue from reviewing the Three-Knight Mate process and these games enable that minimal effort. A determined student will gain from observing the details of the process, noticing certain patterns that appear, whether the King must just cover escape squares or protect the Knights as well (or neither action), visualization (especially of reach and space), coordination of the pieces and other factors. This position for mate shows where the King really could be far away, as it redundantly covers an escape square, only:
click for larger viewThe notation <Qn> is for identifying quadrants of the chessboard, clockwise from upper right. So, Q3 is the third quadrant. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in July of 2022 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.
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3 games, 2002-2021 - Lonely Two Bishops Mate Examples
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If you have an interest in the endgame for the King and two Bishops against a King, then this game collection is meant for you. Here is grist for the mill-- actual games, rather than mere theoretical positions. Now you can use these games as practical cases to compare and contrast methods of effecting mate. Now you have evidence of blunders, inefficient schemes and outright failures in the various processes of bringing this mate, as well as sterling performances. The details for those processes may be found elsewhere. Only general points underlying the Lonely Two-Bishops Mate will be covered here, as the first stage for those who are motivated enough to undertake its study. I do contend that it is worthwhile to seek out the means of conducting this endgame, although some of the foremost writers (and YouTube presenters) will omit its coverage-- they consider it too simple to prepare relevant and helpful material. Some experts and masters suggest that there is some ambiguity about when the endgame starts. However, I maintain that the Lone King position is definitive as the beginning of the endgames of King and Two Bishops and the King with Bishop and Knight. The "Lone King position" (LK) refers to that situation in the game where the defending King has no team members and no Pawns are on left on the board at all. The players just have the four chessmen-- two Kings and two (oppositely-colored) Bishops. The counting for the 50-Move Rule starts there as well. It is not trivial to specify that the Bishops must be of opposite colors. Chess databases will have games where Promotion to a second Bishop would only generate one of the same color. A King with two Bishops of the same color against a King is a known Draw by Insufficient Material, indeed. Do not blunder into such a draw by arrogantly and prematurely choosing Under-Promotion to a Bishop, then! It is of practical interest to note that any Lone King position can only be reached by a capture, whether made by the attacking chessmen or the other King. One of the attackers may even make a capture with check that brings about the Lone King position. Even though the Lonely Two-Bishops Mate is rare, a special case of one by a Capture Checkmate, the most powerful form of capture, is available in this game collection-- E Smirnova vs R Obregon Garcia, 2021. At any rate, once the mate is known, this factoid makes it easy to peruse the game score backwards and locate the Lone King position, as it will be the last capture for the given game. Further, the phrase "Lonely ... Mate" is an emphatic means of referring to the mating nets and concluding patterns that result from Lone King positions--- only the defending King is left on the board for that "team." The process of the mate with two Bishops and King alone against a Lone King is rare, but it is still among the fundamental endgames. Tarrasch does not cover it at all in his classical and worthwhile work, The Game of Chess. Other masters do, with GM Nakamura on YouTube even depicting the Bishops as two wizards using brilliantly bright blasts of power from their hands to corral the opposed King! Such a dramatic visualization serves well to illustrate the initial idea of the reducing the range and space of the King. After that, one must send the King to the last rank. Next, one must send that King into a corner (or next door to it, but not on the diagonal). Lastly, use one's chessmen as a team to cause the mate. My position is in agreement with those experts and masters who posit that the Lonely Two Bishops Mate and the Lonely Knight and Bishop Mate should be taught by chess coaches and tutors. Not for beginners, of course, but everyone else should at least be exposed to these mating processes. Intermediate chess players and above should become acquainted with the process behind this mate. There are cases where experts and even masters have flubbed this process, dropping into various kinds of draws, instead. High-caliber players have even brought a stalemate or, worse yet, lost a Bishop. However, Chess Coach Clark has seen U14 players successfully win from the Lone King positions and even a few U8 players have done so as well. Do note that the Lonely Two-Bishops Mate is quite different from the Boden's Mate (the "criss-cross mate"). The board may have several chessmen emplaced for any Boden's Mate and the Bishops would be attacking from different angles, whereas the Lonely Two-Bishops Mate has the Bishops attacking from the same angle. The Lonely Two Bishops Mate is also different from the Raking Bishops Mate in most cases. There may be many chessmen on the board and the King may not be an essential supporter for the final position of the Raking Bishops Mate. In both patterns the Bishops are proceeding in the same angle, however. Important points to remember about the Lonely Two Bishops Mate: ....... One must bring the defending King to the corner or an edge square adjacent to the corner. ....... The color of the square for the "last stand" of the King does not matter. ....... The Kings will be in close Opposition-- the Bishops must have the help of the King. In fact, in some cases, the King must be a defender for one or both of the Bishops as well as cutting off escape squares. ....... The famous chess authors Müller and Lamprecht declared that maximum length of the solution of an L2B Mate is M19 and they specified this position as one of the worst cases: 
click for larger viewSee FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS, page 400.
The best factor we can draw from this limit is that you can do it before the 50-Move Rule applies, if you handle the processing properly. There are cases when this mate can be made on an edge square near the
middle of a side of the board, yet it will be due to a blunder by the
defender-- it cannot be forced.
IM Reuben Fine described this position as being
one of those cases:
click for larger viewSee BASIC CHESS ENDINGS (1941, p. 3).
Here is an unusual mate position with similarities from the position IM Fine gave: 
click for larger viewSee Smirnova vs Obregon, Internet 2021, 74 moves E Smirnova vs R Obregon Garcia, 2021. This game ends with a Capture Mate, which is why it does not have one of the two common mate pattern types. Here are the more common classes of Lonely Two-Bishops Mates, being described with the type of Opposition illustrated at the end-- remember that Opposition is a continuing important tactic to employ throughout the process of gaining this mate. An example of a mate with Direct Opposition on a rank with the King in the corner: 
click for larger viewSee the continuation to mate of Hoang vs Hjelm, Budapest 1993, 57 moves T T Hoang vs N Hjelm, 1993. An example of a mate with Direct Opposition on a file with the King in the corner: 
click for larger viewSee Oosterman vs Hetey, Maastricht 2009, 78 moves. An example of a mate with Rectangular Opposition on ranks with the King in the corner: 
click for larger viewSee Solleveld vs Sutovsky, Amsterdam 2001, 107 moves M Solleveld vs Sutovsky, 2001 This is a demonstration of Direct Opposition on a rank while the King is next to the corner: 
click for larger viewSee Gukesh vs. Timoleev, Internet 2020, 74 moves D Gukesh vs A Timofeev, 2020. Now for a case of Direct Opposition in a file with the King next to the corner: 
click for larger viewSee Garcia Sanchez vs Basto Auzmendi, Erandio 2004, 79 moves. Consider a position with Rectangular Opposition on ranks with the King next to the corner. 
click for larger viewNote that this position appears to be theoretical. It may never be found in any actual game. This position has Rectangular Opposition on files with the King next to the corner. 
click for larger viewAgain, this position seems only theoretical. It may never be found in any actual game. The Lonely Two Bishops Mate is a demonstration of the teamwork with the Bishops. It also helps with visualization skills for the zones or fences made by the overlapping paths of the Bishops. Looking ahead-- planning-- for how to respond to one's opponent, when to use the Waiting Move and to avoid any chance of a stalemate is another vital skill, not just for this endgame but in general play as well. There's a certain beauty to the sequence of moves and their areas of coverage that is appealing, also. Chess Coach Clark originated this game collection in October 2023 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. It would be great if the Endgame Explorer were updated-- there are NO draws/failures in it for now. So, this collection does include the limited number of games from that resource. Sadly, there are several games collected where a top-notch player has brought a draw. Incredibly, some STALEMATES have also been done by high-level players! An even higher number of high-level games have inefficient lines. This game collection will also examine its member games for their efficiency, noting with Mgg <==> Mqq as the actual length then the expected length of the "solution." Every performance evaluation is made using results from Stockfish 16 analysis or the Nalimov EGTBs from the LK position. The theoretical maximum is M19 (noted later, with a diagram as well). Thus, no game should have a solution with M20 or higher. Here is the specific grading criteria: Solid ("perfect") ._._._._._._._. Actual equals or is less than Expected Good ._._._._._._._._._._._._._. Actual = Expected +1 or +2 Poor ._._._._._._._._._._._._._. Actual = Expected +3 or +4 Very Poor ._._._._._._._._._._. Actual = Expected +5 or more Failed ._._._._._._._._._._._._. Draw (of any type) The resolution of most performance evaluations-- for now-- is by simple observation only. That is, it may not include analysis of the actual quality of play on both sides. So, if the winner and/or defender are making making miss-steps, it will not be reflected in the performance evaluation, as it is a simple comparison of (overall) play against the empirical/Stockfish or theoretical/Nalimov expectations-- raw, not refined. However, the ranges are set for better resolution. To wit, the Solid grade is expressed with the Actual less than or equal to Expected specification, which accommodates for miss-steps with its less-than condition. The games are ordered by date (oldest first), not by importance. L2B is the abbreviation for the Lonely Two Bishops Mate. =B= indicates that the Black pieces won the game.
----- Always practice on BOTH sides of the board! =M= indicates the game concluded with the mate.
=K= indicates that a King Hunt was done.
=U= indicates one player was U14 or even much younger. =W= indicates both players were women.
=H= indicates that a King Hunt happened.
=S= indicates that the game ended with a Stalemate! =50= indicates that the 50-Move Rule was exceeded. Be well.
Be safe.
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126 games, 1961-2023 - Mate, Don't Take!-- OTB Examples
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This game collection is intended for beginners, only. Other players will probably see the deprecated options as either humorous or sad. The point to be demonstrated to our gentle beginners is that they must look and think before they move and keep greed in check. Not to go with their gut-- yet (it takes proven skills and experience to get the right 'gut'). Not always an easy choice, but it must always be seen as necessary to end the game quickly for multiple reasons. Even a Royal Family Fork is not a viable alternative to checkmate. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in March of 2021 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.
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13 games, 1859-2017 - Max Lange's Mate Examples
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Anderssen vs Lange, Breslau 1859 in 19 moves (four games fit that header w/o move total) is reputably a game of analysis. Noteworthy in this game are two possible mating patterns. One is from the continuation beyond the last ply, the other from an alternate line toward the end. Here's the mate pattern from the alternate line 14. ♖xg5 hxg4+ 15. ♖h5 ♖xh5#:
click for larger view
The distant Rook makes the mating attack with the distant Bishop covering the escape/flight square of the White King. A Rook and Bishop Mate, then. Of course, a Queen could use its powers on the h-file to bring down this mate, also.
Let this configuration be designated as Max Lange's Mate, Type A. This position is reached in the continuation 20. ♔h1 ♗f2+ 21. ♔h2 ♕g1#
click for larger view
The Queen is between the targeted White King and the supporting Black Bishop and all three pieces are adjacent to each other. A Queen and Bishop Mate-- no Rook involved at all, then.
Let this configuration be designated as Max Lange's Mate, Type B. There seems to be no preference for one or the other mating form, so I'll include games for each form and add a clarifying note. One of my favorite chess books, the Art of the Attack by IM Vladimir Vukovic, 'modifies' the source game a bit (he shows 15. ... ♕f2 rather than 15. ... ♖xh5+ and further declares it to be the point of resignation). There are two cases of Max Lange's Mate Type A to be observed in this game, then. <Fredthebear> has mentioned that Schiller calls the pattern in the continuation of Lutsko vs Berntsen-Sahl 2007 (included below) as Max Lange's Mate, which is Max Lange's Mate Type B for the system defined here. Further research is then indicated, so this game collection is a work in progress, both for more instances and to bring more weight to one of these two forms. It may be a moot point to 'declare a winner' between them though, as the names of checkmate patterns are far less important than recognizing and using them! A game that any youngsters you know will love to see is between Vladislav Bakhmatsky and Daniil Prutianu, Kramatorsk Ukraine 2009 for the semi-finals of Juniors under 14 for the Ukraine Championship. It is not available at CG. It concluded with a 'tighter' version of Max Lange's Mate, Type A (Rook and Bishop style): 
click for larger viewThe references to quadrants of the chessboard are in accordance with this depiction:
Q4 | Q1
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Q3 | Q2
ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection 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.
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15 games, 1859-2017 - Mayet's Mate Examples
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This type of checkmate is similar to the Opera Mate, but the attacking Rook occupies a corner of the board rather than being in the middle. Therefore, the supporting Bishop is on the long diagonal as well. Two classic references support this naming of Mayet's Mate. Checkmate! by Koltanowski and Finkelstein, page 165 is the first.
They give a composition for Mayet's Mate as follows: 
click for larger view
1. ... ♕xg3+ 2. hxg3 ♗f3 3. ♕xc5 ♖h1#
The second defining composition is from The Art of the Checkmate by Renauld and Kahn. From the latest version, by Batsford, see page 123, Diagram 9C and from the Dover version, see page 107, also Diagram 9C:
click for larger view
1. ♕xg6+ hxg6 2. ♖h8#
Mayet's Mate may be a rare mating pattern, but is still useful to learn. Also, some sources give a much different pattern for Mayet's Mate, so I wanted my students to see definitive examples of Mayet's Mate. This game collection is a work in progress and games are listed in chronological order, not by importance or other factors.
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14 games, 1859-2019 - Obstruction Tactic-- OTB Examples
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This game collection provides example games for the tactic where a chessman cuts off the flow of the line of power for another chessman at some point. There is no need for a sacrifice to complete this maneuver, however. Thus, it is not the Interference tactic. One effect could be to blunt or even eliminate an attack. Another intention could be to cut off a layer of protection for a chessman-- in effect, making it invisible to the protector. It may be considered a form of Blocking, loosely speaking, but it is quite different from the Blockade tactic. The Blockade prevents the movement of some chessman. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection 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.
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5 games, 1977-2013 - Opera Mate Examples
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This game collection is for those games where an Opera Mate or one of its variations are the result (or are pending). ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in October 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.
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4 games, 1956-2004 - Opposition Tactic-- OTB Examples
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This game collection is intended for my beginning students.
It provides 'grist for the mill' to open their minds to different cases that apply Opposition effectively in actual games. Understanding a tactic is the first step, recognizing it OTB and applying it is the second
step of making it another of your chess skills. Now it's really in your toolbox and you are a better chess player. This game collection is meant to be an umbrella group, that is, all types of Opposition will be presented. However, the main focus is on the Direct Opposition (DO), Rectangular Opposition (RO) and Diagonal Opposition (GO) tactics. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in July of 2022 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.
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2 games, 2012-2013 - Out to Lunch OTB Examples
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Listed in chronological order, not order of importance.
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1 game, 2008 - Overloaded/Overworked Tactic-- OTB Examples
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Whereas Removing the Guard works on a single defender, an Overworked or Overloaded piece has responsibility for two or more friendly chessmen. Make that guardian your first target, then an attack on one of the dependents will be much easier and probably successful. Note the game collection by patzer2, Overworked Piece, with 43 games. Only a few games are common to both collections. This tactic has also been called Distraction by ICCF Grandmaster Maxim Blokh. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection 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.
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19 games, 1907-2010 - Pawn Link Mate Examples
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Students often need to be reminded that Pawns are not expendable and weak. As an extension of the Pawn Link Tactic-- OTB Examples game collection, here the field is narrowed to cases where there is a mate that involves the strength of the Pawn Link. Surprise! As just one example, among the games included below, G Andromedas vs L Printzios, 2013
has an alternative ending that is a Pawn Link Mate:
click for larger viewIt is worth reminding the student that the protection by a Pawn is the best form of protection one can use. Now, another layer of importance is demonstrated. Pawn are not pieces, but they are versatile and resourceful chessmen, indeed. Value them. Do not underestimate their power. Think outside the box. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to exploit their abilities. Pawns can do a lot for you! ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September 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.
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24 games, 1859-2021 - Pawn Link Tactic-- OTB Examples
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The Pawn is the best defender in most cases. It has other powers besides simple protection, as when coupled with a Bishop or a Queen-- mutual protection is enabled. So, the Pawn Link is the static relationship, usually, when a piece (not another Pawn) sits on a Pawn's diagonal in an adjacent file. It is especially deterring when a chain of protectors are in play. Who wants to make a series of exchanges with pieces when the other side has a Pawn in the mix? There is also that special case when the Pawn is on the seventh rank to support a piece that shifts into a dynamic Pawn Link at the last rank-- now if that piece is captured, the Pawn recaptures and promotes! All the various cases that can be applied to Pawn Links will be included in this game collection, with the exception of Pawn Link Mates. They have their own game collection, then. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September 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.
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2 games, 1969-2012 - Pawn Mate with Helpers Examples
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These games are reminders to my students that the lowly Pawn still deserves respect (and probably capitalization as well ;-). Never take the Pawn for granted. Pawns not only can be Promoted, they are powerful in several situations! Also, consider the "Pawn Kick"-- no chess piece can remain in place after the threat from a Pawn (unless a greater threat can be made). In each case, the Pawn makes the final attack for the checkmate. That brave footsoldier who never retreats for anyone won the day, literally. ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection in September 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.
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8 games, 1934-2020
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Kibitzing
