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TacticsPlay as white

Anastasia's Mate

A knight on e7 takes g8 and g6 away from a king on the h-file, and a rook mates along that file — the king's own pawns close the cage.

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Introduction

Anastasia's mate is one of the oldest named patterns: a knight lands on e7 (or its mirror square), taking away the two squares beside the king, and a rook then checks along the edge file. The king's own pawns do the rest. Once you know the shape you will see it several moves before your opponent does.

Lesson Content

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Look at the black king on g8: its own pawns on f7 and g7 already box it in from the front, and the rook on f8 blocks f8. White's knight on c6 can jump to e7, where it covers g8 and g6. After Ne7+ the king has to step onto the h-file, and White's rook on f3 slides to h3 to meet it there — the king cannot come back to g8 or g6 because of the knight, and g7 is its own pawn, so the check is mate.

Mating NetKing Attack
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1. ..Ne7+

The knight checks from e7 and takes g8 and g6 away at the same time. The king has to step onto the h-file — h7 or h8 — and wherever it goes, Rh3 is checkmate: the rook covers the whole h-file, g7 is blocked by Black's own pawn, and the knight guards g6 and g8.

Mating NetKing Attack
Alternative Moves
Rh3 — Rook first is the wrong order: after 1.Rh3 Black plays 1...Rfe8 and the knight can never reach e7 — the mate is gone, and White, down the exchange and a pawn, is simply losing.
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2. Rh3#

Checkmate. The rook attacks h7 along the file; the king cannot go to g8 or g6 because of the knight on e7, and g7 is its own pawn. Two pieces against a king walled in by its own pawns.

Mating NetKing Attack
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The same shape can appear anywhere on the edge — here the black king has wandered to g3, right next to White's rook on f2 and knight on f4. A knight on e4 would cover g3 and g5, so after Ne4+ the king has one square, h4. On h4 the h-file is Anastasia's file: the rook goes to h2 and the king's own pawn on g4 blocks the last exit.

Mating NetKing Attack
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3. Ne4+

Ne4+ checks and covers g3 and g5. Black's king has exactly one square, h4 — and there Rh2 is checkmate: the rook covers the h-file, the knight on e4 takes g3 and g5, and the pawn on g4 is Black's own piece blocking the last square.

Mating NetKing Attack
Alternative Moves
Nce2+ — Nce2+ is also a knight check, but it walks into 1...Kxf2: the king takes the rook, there is no mate, and White has lost a whole rook for nothing.
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3. ..Rh2#

Checkmate — the same shape turned on its side: a knight on e4 taking g3 and g5, the king's own pawn on g4 in the way, and a rook on the edge file.

Mating NetKing Attack
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Black's rooks on b2 and c2 are one move from attacking White's king on a1, so White has to mate first. The knight on e6 already covers g7 and g5, and the rook on d8 owns the back rank. Which move starts the mate?

Mating NetKing Attack
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What makes Anastasia's mate work?

Mating NetKing Attack

Key Takeaways

  • The knight goes first, with check, to the square that covers both squares beside the king.
  • The rook then checks along the edge file — the king's own pawns are the other half of the cage.
  • The shape works on any edge of the board, not only in the corner.

Now play it through

Step through every move on a real board, try the wrong ones, and ask Knighty why they fail.

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Related Lessons

Defensive Resources

Sacrifice and King Attack

Double Bishop Mate

Summary

Anastasia's mate: knight beside the king on the third file from the edge, taking away its two side squares, then a rook check along the edge file. Look for it whenever a king sits on g8 or h7 with its own pawns in front.

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Next in this course

Arabian Mate

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