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TacticsPlay as white

Vukovic Mate

A protected rook stands right next to the king on the edge while a knight covers the two squares the rook cannot reach — rook and knight against a king with no way out.

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Introduction

Named after the Yugoslav master Vladimir Vuković, who catalogued the mating patterns in his book The Art of Attack, this mate puts a rook right next to the king on the edge of the board. The rook must be protected — by another rook behind it, a bishop or a pawn — and a knight covers the two squares beside the king that the rook does not reach.

Lesson Content

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In the Vuković mate a rook stands right next to the king, protected from behind, while a knight covers the two squares the rook cannot reach. White's rooks are doubled on the g-file and the knight on g5 is one jump from f7. Nf7+ forces the king to h7 — g8 and g7 belong to the rooks — and then the rook goes to g7: the knight on f7 takes h8 and h6, the rook on g7 takes g8 and g6, and the rook on g3 protects its partner. Checkmate with two pieces, while Black's queen and rooks watch from the other side of the board.

Mating NetKing Attack
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1. ..Nf7+

Nf7+ checks the king and takes h6 away for later. The king cannot go to g8 or g7 — the doubled rooks own the g-file — so 1. ..Kh7 is its single square, and Rg7 is checkmate.

Mating NetKing Attack
Alternative Moves
Rxe2 — Rxe2 wins a rook — for one move. 1...Qxe2+ takes it straight back with check, the mate is gone, and the white king on h2 is the one being hunted: White is losing.
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2. Rg7#

Checkmate — the Vuković shape. The rook on g7 touches the king and is guarded by the rook behind it on g3; it covers g8 and g6. The knight on f7 covers h8 and h6. Black's queen and rooks are all too far away to help.

Mating NetKing Attack
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The protector does not have to be a rook. Here White's bishop on d3 looks down the long diagonal to h7, and the knight on g4 can take the pawn on h6 with check. The king must go to h8 — f7, g7 and h7 are covered by the rook on e7 and the bishop — and then Rh7 is checkmate: the rook on h7 is protected by the bishop, covers g7, and the knight on h6 covers g8.

Mating NetKing Attack
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3. Nxh6+

Nxh6+ takes a pawn with check and lands on the square that covers g8. The king has one square, h8 — f7, g7 and h7 are covered by the rook and the bishop — and Rh7 is checkmate.

Mating NetKing Attack
Alternative Moves
Re8 — Re8 hangs the rook: 1...Rxe8 takes it for nothing, and with Black's queen on f3 next to White's king, White is a rook down and lost.
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3. ..Rh7#

Checkmate. The rook on h7 stands next to the king, protected from far away by the bishop on d3; it covers g7, and the knight on h6 covers g8. Same idea as before — the protector changed, the shape did not.

Mating NetKing Attack
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Black's rook on a1 attacks White's bishop on c1 and the queen on c2 is deep in White's camp — White needs the mate now. The rook on g1 owns the g-file, and White has two knights, on e5 and e6. Which move starts the mate?

Mating NetKing Attack
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What must be true of the rook in a Vuković mate?

Mating Net

Key Takeaways

  • The rook next to the king must be protected — by a rook behind it, a bishop or a pawn.
  • The knight covers the two squares the rook cannot: the knight check usually comes first and forces the king onto the mating square.
  • Count both pieces' squares before playing: rook takes the file squares, knight takes the diagonal ones.

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

Kill Box Mate

Sacrifice and King Attack

Anastasia's Mate

Summary

Vuković mate: a protected rook next to the king on the edge, a knight covering the two squares beside the king. Bring the knight in with check first, then land the rook where its protector already reaches.

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