TacticsPlay as white

Mate in One

Train the eye that ends the game: one move, king trapped, nothing to be done.

Introduction

Every checkmate is the same three questions: can the king move away, can something block, can something capture the attacker? When all three answers are no, the game is over. Here you get one move to make that happen.

Lesson Content

Try this position

The black king on h6 is almost boxed in. The white king on f6 covers g5 and g7, and the pawn on g6 covers h7 — only h5 is still free. A rook on the h-file attacks the king and takes h5 away in the same move.

Mating Net

Try this position

53. ♖︎h8#

The king already has no squares. Which piece can attack it right now?

♖︎h8# — The rook swings to the h-file and it is checkmate. The king cannot step off the file, every flight square is covered, and no black piece can reach h8 or the squares in between.

Mating Net

Alternative Moves

♖︎a6 — A reasonable-looking rook move — but the mate was there and now Black gets time to bring the knight and bishop back into the game.

Try this position

66. ♕︎a8#

Look at what the bishop on f4 already covers, then find the square the queen can reach.

♕︎a8# — Checkmate. The queen attacks along the eighth rank; the king on c8 cannot take it, b7 is covered by the queen's diagonal, and c7 is covered by the bishop on f4. The rook on d8 blocks its own king's last square.

Mating NetBack Rank

Alternative Moves

♕︎a6+ — Another check, and White is still much better — but Black simply blocks with 1...♕︎b7, the only legal reply, and a forced mate has been thrown away for a long grind.

Try this position

Black looks threatening — a queen on c3 and a knight on c4 near the white king. But it is White to move, and the black king on a8 is walled in by its own rook on b8. Its only free squares are a7 and b7: a queen on a6 covers both and checks down the a-file, and the game ends before Black's pieces matter.

Mating Net

Try this position

39. ♕︎a6#

Find the square from which the queen attacks the king and covers b7 at the same time.

♕︎a6# — The queen lands on a6 and it is mate. It attacks a8 down the a-file, covers b7 on the diagonal, and Black has nothing that reaches a6 or a7.

Mating Net

Alternative Moves

♕︎xd5+ — Winning a pawn with check feels safe, but 1...♖︎b7 blocks, the mate on a6 is gone, and White has traded a forced win for a single pawn while Black's queen and knight go after the white king.

Try this position

The black king on g8 has never made luft — the pawns on f7, g7 and h7 are all still home. Which move ends the game on the spot?

Mating NetBack Rank

Try this position

Before you play a mate, which three questions should you answer?

Mating Net

Key Takeaways

Count the king's escape squares first — the mate is usually the move that attacks it while they stay covered.
A king with all three pawns still in front of it is a back-rank mate waiting to happen.
A check that is not mate can throw a mate away; look for the finish before you check.

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

Hanging Pieces

Back-Rank Mate

Mate in Two

Summary

A mate in one is a counting exercise, not a flash of genius: find the king's free squares, notice which of your pieces already cover them, and then look for the move that attacks the king without giving anything back.

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Practice Interactively

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The Fork

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