Delivering checkmate is the goal of any Chess game, and a specific configuration to do so is called a pattern. You can checkmate your opponent during the endgame, in this case you will Checkmate with Queen VS King or Checkmate with Rook VS King. But a few checkmate patterns occur as early as in the middlegame, and to learn that, we are now going to study a few common mating positions.
The following patterns frequently arise in the middlegame, they are opportunities that you have to recognize when you meet them. If you manage to master those patterns, some of your games will end no later than during the middlegame, but do not forget to keep an eye on the opposing position, to see if if by any chance your opponent wouldn’t be building of these mating patterns…
The h7 Checkmate Pattern
The first pattern every Chess player should know is the h7 mate.
What to do against the threat of a mate in h7 ? There are many ways to counter it, but the most common is to have a Knight on f6.
The g7 mate
The next mating position every Chess player should know is the g7 mate.
The defense against the mate on g7 depends on the circumstances.
However, you should always be careful when moving pawns in front of your King. We will come back to this point later.
The f7 mate
The last checkmate position you should be aware of for now is the f7 mate.
The checkmates on h7, g7 and f7 are the most common checkmates occurring in the middlegame. If your opponent’s defense gets loose, take your chance to finish the game early with one of these nice patterns.
On the other hand, if the game goes into a more technical phase, you will have to learn to deliver checkmate in each of those cases:
- Checkmate with two Queens against the lone King
- Checkmate with one Queen against the lone King
- Checkmate with two Rooks against the lone King
- Checkmate with one Rook against the lone King
See you soon in another article !
