Exercise 4.1★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
4
Attacking the King · Yatish Chandra Shukla
Knight Mates
The check that cannot be blocked
In this lesson you will learn
- Why a knight check is so dangerous to a boxed-in king
- The smothered mate and Philidor's legacy
- The Arabian and Anastasia's mates
- How the knight teams up with rooks and queens
Every board on this page is live. Move the pieces by tapping or dragging, click any move in the lines to see that position, and press ↺ to start again.
4.1 A Check That Jumps
Of the three ways out of check, one never works against a knight: you cannot block a knight check, because the knight jumps. That makes the knight the perfect piece against a king whose own pieces surround it. The more crowded the king's position, the more dangerous a knight becomes.
The knight also covers squares in an unusual pattern. From f6, for example, it guards g8, h7, h5 and e8 — squares that are hard for the defender to protect all at once. In the patterns below, notice which escape squares the knight covers by itself.
4.2 Philidor's Legacy
The most famous knight combination ends in a smothered mate. It is named after the 18th-century French master Philidor, who described it, and it shows how the attacker can force the defender to build the wall around its own king.
Diagram 4.1White to move
Example 4.1
White to move. Mate in four.
1.♘f7+ ♔g8 2.♘h6+ — a double check from knight and queen, so the king must move. If 2...♔f8 then 3.♕f7#. So 2...♔h8 and now the brilliant 3.♕g8+!! The king cannot take, because the knight on h6 guards g8, so the rook must: 3...♖xg8 4.♘f7#. Black's own rook has closed the last escape square.
LessonIn a smothered-mate attack, the queen sacrifice is not a loss — it is the move that forces the defender to block in its own king.
4.3 Worked Examples
Cover the text under each diagram, find the mate, then read on.
Diagram 4.2White to move
Example 4.2
White to move. Find the mate in one.
Find the key move.
| Check | How the defender escapes | Mate? |
|---|---|---|
| 1.♘a6+ | The checking piece can be captured (bxa6). | NO |
| 1.♘d7# | No escape: checkmate. | MATE |
| 1.♕xc8+ | The checking piece can be captured (♔xc8, ♖xc8). | NO |
Solution. 1.♘d7# — A smothered mate: the king is surrounded by its own pieces and the knight's check cannot be blocked.
Diagram 4.3White to move
Example 4.3
White to move. Find the mate in one.
Find the key move.
| Check | How the defender escapes | Mate? |
|---|---|---|
| 1.♘e7# | No escape: checkmate. | MATE |
| 1.♕xg7+ | The checking piece can be captured (♔xg7). | NO |
Solution. 1.♘e7# — A smothered mate: the king is surrounded by its own pieces and the knight's check cannot be blocked.
Diagram 4.4Black to move
Example 4.4
Black to move. Find the mate in one.
Find the key move.
| Check | How the defender escapes | Mate? |
|---|---|---|
| 1...♘f2# | No escape: checkmate. | MATE |
| 1...♕xg2+ | The checking piece can be captured (♔xg2, ♖3xg2). | NO |
Solution. 1...♘f2# — A smothered mate: the king is surrounded by its own pieces and the knight's check cannot be blocked.
Diagram 4.5White to move
Example 4.5
White to move. Find the mate in 2.
Find the key move.
Solution. 1.♕d8+ ♔f7 2.♘d6# — the final position is a knight check, which can never be blocked, with every escape square covered. Other defences do not help: 1.♕d8+ ♗e8 2.♕xe8#.
Diagram 4.6Black to move
Example 4.6
Black to move. Find the mate in 2.
Find the key move.
Solution. 1...♖b1+ 2.♕g1 ♘f2# — the final position is a smothered mate: the king is surrounded by its own pieces and the knight's check cannot be blocked. Other defences do not help: 1...♖b1+ 2.♕d1 ♖xd1#.
Remember
- A knight check can never be blocked — deadly against a crowded king.
- Smothered mate: the king is surrounded by its own pieces.
- Philidor's legacy: double check, then a queen sacrifice that forces the rook to block its own king.
- Knight plus rook (Arabian, Anastasia) mate a king on the edge.
Exercises · Lesson 4
Every puzzle ends with a knight mate or a mate in which the knight plays the key role.
Exercise 4.2★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.3★★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.4★★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.5★★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.6★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.7★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.8★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.9★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.10★★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.11★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.12★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.13★★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.14★★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.15★★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 4.16★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.17★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.18★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.19★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.20★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.21★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.22★★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 4.23★★★ · Mate in 3
Black to move
Mate in 3.
Exercise 4.24★★★ · Mate in 3
Black to move
Mate in 3.
Exercise 4.25★★★ · Mate in 3
White to move
Mate in 3.