Anastasia's mate
A knight, a rook and a king pinned against the side of the board. The knight covers both squares the king would step out through, and one check along the file ends it.
- 33 positions in the course match this pattern
- Lichess rating 424–2274
- Section: Checkmate Patterns
- Every line verified by the app’s rules engine
The pattern
Two pieces. The knight goes to the square from which it attacks both of the squares the king could use to step off the edge file: against a black king on h7, that is e7, which hits g8 and g6. The rook or the queen then arrives on the h-file and checks along it.
That is the whole pattern, and it works because of something only a knight can do. Every other piece that covers a square next to the king either stands next to the king itself, where it can be taken, or covers along a line the king can block. A knight covers two squares beside a king from two squares away and cannot be blocked at all.
The rook's job is easier than it looks. It does not have to be defended, because it never comes within reach of the king; it only has to reach the file. That is why the pattern so often arrives by sacrifice -- a queen given away on the square in front of the king drags the king onto the square the knight is already watching, and the rook comes in behind it.
What is always true
Each line below was tested against all 33 positions in this course that show the pattern, using the same rules engine the trainer runs on. The build stops if any of them is ever false, so the count beside each one is the real count.
- The mated king stands on the a-file or the h-file 33/33
- The checking piece is a rook or a queen, on that same file 33/33
- The checking piece is never adjacent to the king, so it needs no defender 33/33
- A knight covers at least one of the king's escape squares 33/33
- At least one square beside the king is blocked by a piece of its own 33/33
How to spot it
- An enemy king on the a-file or the h-file with its own pawns still around it. This is the entry condition; without it there is no pattern.
- A knight of yours on, or one move from, the square two files in and one rank along from the king: e7 against a king on h7, e2 against h2.
- Any rook or queen with a route to that file, including a route that costs material. A rook lift along the third rank is the standard one.
- The defender's own pieces. In every position on this page at least one square beside the king is filled by a piece of its own colour, which is usually the pawn it castled behind.
5 positions to solve
Real games, easiest first. The amber squares are the move your opponent has just played, not the answer. Work it out before you open the solution; the second diagram inside each answer is the finished mate with the trapped king outlined.
Position 1
Black to move. Force the mate.
Show the answer
30.Kxh2 30...Rh5#
The white king on h2 is in check from the rook on h5, which the pawn on g6 defends. It has five squares to try and none of them work: g1 and g3 are covered by the knight on e2; h1 and h3 are covered by the rook on h5; g2 is blocked by its own pawn.
The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 424 in the Lichess pool and scored there as mate in one. The amber squares on the first diagram are the move your opponent had just played.
Position 2
Black to move. Force the mate.
Show the answer
35.Ra2 35...Rh7+ 36.Nh4 36...Rxh4#
The white king on h2 is in check from the rook on h4. It has five squares to try and none of them work: g1 and g3 are covered by the knight on e2; h1 and h3 are covered by the rook on h4; g2 is blocked by its own pawn.
The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 772 in the Lichess pool and scored there as mate in two. The amber squares on the first diagram are the move your opponent had just played.
Position 3
White to move. Force the mate.
Show the answer
19...Qxb2 20.Ne7+ Kh8 21.Qxh7+ Kxh7 22.Rh5#
The black king on h7 is in check from the rook on h5. It has five squares to try and none of them work: g6 and g8 are covered by the knight on e7; h6 and h8 are covered by the rook on h5; g7 is blocked by its own pawn.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1326 in the Lichess pool and scored there as mate in three. The amber squares on the first diagram are the move your opponent had just played.
Position 4
White to move. Force the mate.
Show the answer
18...Nc5 19.Qxh7+ Kxh7 20.Rh3#
The black king on h7 is in check from the rook on h3, which the pawn on g2 defends. It has five squares to try and none of them work: g6 and g8 are covered by the knight on e7; h6 and h8 are covered by the rook on h3; g7 is blocked by its own pawn.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1510 in the Lichess pool and scored there as mate in two. The amber squares on the first diagram are the move your opponent had just played.
Position 5
White to move. Force the mate.
Show the answer
29...Rxf7 30.Qd8+ Kg7 31.Ne6+ Kh6 32.Qh4#
The black king on h6 is in check from the queen on h4. It has five squares to try and none of them work: g5 and h5 are covered by the queen on h4; g7 is covered by the knight on e6; g6 and h7 are blocked by its own pawns.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 2274 in the Lichess pool and scored there as mate in three. The amber squares on the first diagram are the move your opponent had just played.
Where the name comes from
The name is not a player's. It comes from Anastasia und das Schachspiel, a novel published in 1803 by the German writer Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse, in which the position appears. The mate has carried the book's title ever since, which makes it one of very few chess terms named after a work of fiction rather than after the person who first played it.
Easy to confuse with
These are the patterns Anastasia's Mate gets mistaken for. The difference is usually one piece or one square.
- Arabian MateRook and knight against a cornered king
- Corner MateKnight gives the check, a rook covers the rest
- Hook MateRook, knight and pawn in a chain
Questions people ask
What is Anastasia's mate?
A checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along the edge file while a knight covers the two squares the king could otherwise escape to. The textbook version is a knight on e7 and a rook arriving on h1 against a black king on h7.
What is the difference between Anastasia's mate and the Arabian mate?
Both use a rook and a knight, and they are arranged differently. In Anastasia's the rook checks from a distance along the edge file and the knight covers the squares off it. In the Arabian the rook stands right next to the king and the knight defends the rook. Across the positions in this course, the Arabian king is in a corner every time and the Anastasia king is on the a- or h-file every time.
Do you need a queen sacrifice for Anastasia's mate?
No. A sacrifice is the usual way of forcing the king onto the square the knight is covering, but the pattern only needs the knight in place and a rook that can reach the file. Several of the positions on this page reach it without giving anything up.
All the named mates
One page each, or the whole set as a single motif in the course. The rest of the tactics library is at every motif in the course.
- Arabian MateRook and knight against a cornered king
- Boden's MateTwo bishops on crossing diagonals
- Opera MateBack-rank rook with a bishop defending it
- Pillsbury's MateRook down the file, bishop on the long diagonal
- Morphy's MateBishop checks the corner, rook seals it
- Epaulette MateThe king's own pieces either side of it
- Dovetail MateQueen diagonally adjacent, king boxed by its own
- Swallowtail MateQueen in front, own pieces diagonally behind
- Hook MateRook, knight and pawn in a chain
- Kill Box MateRook adjacent, queen a knight's move away
- Corner MateKnight gives the check, a rook covers the rest
- Double Bishop MateTwo bishops on neighbouring diagonals