Boden's mate

Two bishops, two diagonals that cross on the king's square, and a defender whose own pieces have taken away everything else.

16 positions in the course match this pattern
Lichess rating 601–2289
Section: Checkmate Patterns
Every line verified by the app’s rules engine

The pattern

The pattern, finished. The black king on c8 is in check from the bishop on a6. It has five squares to try and none of them work: b8 and c7 are covered by the bishop on e5; b7 is covered by the bishop on a6; d7 and d8 are blocked by its own pieces.

Both bishops are needed and they are necessarily on opposite colours, which is what makes the pattern possible at all. One gives the check along its diagonal. The other covers the square the king would use to step off that diagonal. Between them they take three of the king's squares.

The defender takes the other two. In every position on this page exactly two of the squares beside the king are occupied by its own pieces, and that is not a coincidence: two bishops cannot mate a king with five free squares, so the pattern only ever appears against a king that has been walled in by its own rook and pawn.

The textbook setting is a king that has castled queenside and then been forced onto c8 or c1, where the rook on d8 and a pawn on b7 are the two walls. That is the most common case here rather than the rule -- half the positions below have the king on the c-file and the rest have it on e1, e8, f8 or g1, with the same geometry and different furniture.

What is always true

Each line below was tested against all 16 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 checking piece is a bishop 16/16
A second bishop covers the king's escape squares 16/16
The two bishops stand on opposite-coloured squares 16/16
Exactly two squares beside the king are blocked by its own pieces 16/16

How to spot it

A king on an open diagonal with its own pieces on two of the squares beside it. Queenside castling produces this position more often than any other single thing.
Your own two bishops both undeveloped-looking but both pointing at the same quarter of the board.
A defender on the square where the second diagonal is blocked. This is the sacrifice: a queen given up on c3 or c6 to remove the pawn in front of it is the classical way in.
The move order. The check has to come from the bishop that is already aimed at the king, so work out which diagonal is open before deciding what to give away.

4 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

White to move. Force the mate.

Show the answer

15...Bb7 16.Bb5+ Bc6 17.Bxc6#

The black king on e8 is in check from the bishop on c6. It has five squares to try and none of them work: d8 and e7 are covered by the bishop on f6; d7 is covered by the bishop on c6; f7 and f8 are blocked by its own pieces.

The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 601 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 2

White to move. Force the mate.

Show the answer

14...Qxe5 15.Qb5+ Qxb5 16.Bxb5+ Bc6 17.Bxc6#

The black king on e8 is in check from the bishop on c6. It has five squares to try and none of them work: d8 and e7 are covered by the bishop on g5; d7 is covered by the bishop on c6; f7 and f8 are blocked by its own pieces.

The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1744 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 3

Black to move. Force the mate.

Show the answer

16.Qb5 16...Ba3#

The white king on c1 is in check from the bishop on a3. It has five squares to try and none of them work: b1 and c2 are covered by the bishop on f5; b2 is covered by the bishop on a3; d1 and d2 are blocked by its own pieces.

The position comes from the opening of a real game, rated 1830 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 4

Black to move. Force the mate.

Show the answer

25.Nexf4 25...Qxb6+ 26.Rxb6 26...Bd4+ 27.Ne3 27...Bxe3#

The white king on g1 is in check from the bishop on e3. It has five squares to try and none of them work: f1 and g2 are covered by the bishop on h3; f2 is covered by the bishop on e3; h1 and h2 are blocked by its own pieces.

The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 2289 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.

Drill the named mates until you see them 120 positions on the named mating patterns, in five graded levels, in the free Reflex Chess trainer. No account needed to start. Practise named mates

Where the name comes from

It is named after Samuel Boden, an English amateur of the 1850s. The game usually cited is Schulder-Boden, London 1853, which ended with Boden giving up his queen on c3 to open the second diagonal and mating with the bishop that arrived on a3.

Easy to confuse with

These are the patterns Boden's Mate gets mistaken for. The difference is usually one piece or one square.

Questions people ask

What is Boden's mate?

A checkmate by two bishops on crossing diagonals against a king whose own pieces occupy two of the squares beside it. One bishop checks, the other takes the escape square.

Is Boden's mate the same as the double bishop mate?

No, although both use two bishops. In Boden's the diagonals cross on the king and the king is usually on an open file after castling queenside. In the double bishop mate the bishops work on neighbouring parallel diagonals against a king in the corner.

Do I have to sacrifice my queen for Boden's mate?

Often, but not always. The sacrifice exists to clear the second diagonal. If it is already clear, the mate costs nothing.

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.