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Arabian Mate

A knight on f6 covers the corner squares g8 and h7, and a rook mates on h7 next to a king on h8 — just two pieces.

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Introduction

The Arabian mate is the oldest named checkmate in chess — it comes from the game's early days in the Arab world, when the rook and the knight were the strongest pieces on the board. A knight two squares diagonally from the corner covers both squares beside the corner king; a rook protected by that knight gives mate right next to the king.

Lesson Content

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The Arabian mate needs just a knight and a rook. The knight belongs on f6, two squares diagonally from the corner: from there it covers g8 and h7. The rook then takes on h7, protected by the knight. Here White's knight on g4 can jump to f6 with check, and the rook on d7 is already on the seventh rank, one slide away from h7.

Mating NetKing Attack
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1. ..Nf6+

Nf6+ checks the king and covers h7 and g8 at the same time. The king has one square: h8 — f7 and g7 are covered by the rook on d7, and f8 is Black's own bishop. Then Rxh7 is checkmate, the rook protected by the knight.

Mating NetKing Attack
Alternative Moves
Nh6+ — Nh6+ is a check too, but 1...Bxh6 takes the knight for free: instead of delivering mate White is a piece down in a lost endgame.
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2. Rxh7#

Checkmate. The rook takes on h7, guarded by the knight on f6, and the same knight covers g8 — the king in the corner has no square at all. Rook plus knight, nothing else.

Mating NetKing Attack
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Sometimes the knight arrives without check — and the mate still cannot be stopped. Black's pawn on a3 is two moves from becoming a queen, so White has no time to waste. But look at the corner: the black king on h8 has g8 as its only free square, and the rook on f7 already covers h7. A knight on f6 would take g8 away and guard h7 — then Rh7 is checkmate, and nothing Black does in one move can prevent it.

Mating NetQuiet Move
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3. Nf6

A quiet move, no check — and it wins. The knight covers g8 and h7, so Rh7 is checkmate next move, and Black cannot take the knight, block the seventh rank or give the king a square. Even 1. ..a2, one step from queening, is too slow: Rh7 is checkmate first.

Mating NetQuiet Move
Alternative Moves
Rf8+ — Rf8+ is met by 1...Rxf8: the rook is gone for nothing, and Black's a-pawn will queen — White is lost instead of winning.
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Black's rooks on c2 and c3 are closing in on White's king on b4, so White must mate first. The rook on a7 is on the seventh rank and the knight on d7 is one jump from f6. Which move does it?

Mating NetKing Attack
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Where does the knight stand in an Arabian mate against a king on h8?

Mating NetKing Attack

Key Takeaways

  • The knight two squares diagonally from the corner covers both squares beside the corner king.
  • The rook mates next to the king, protected by that knight — it cannot be captured.
  • If the knight cannot check, a quiet knight move still wins when the mate threat cannot be met.

Now play it through

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

Practice Interactively

Related Lessons

Anastasia's Mate

Intermezzo and Quiet Moves

Sacrifice and King Attack

Summary

Arabian mate: knight on f6 (or the mirror square for another corner), rook mating next to the king in the corner, protected by the knight. Two pieces are enough, and the knight often arrives quietly.

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Next in this course

Boden's Mate

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