The hook mate

Three pieces, each one safe only because of the one behind it. Take any link out and the whole thing is a blunder.

11 positions in the course match this pattern
Lichess rating 1387–1976
Section: Checkmate Patterns
Every line verified by the app’s rules engine

The pattern

The pattern, finished. The black king on e7 is in check from the rook on e8, which the knight on f6 defends. It has eight squares to try and none of them work: d8, e6 and f8 are covered by the rook on e8; d6 is covered by the pawn on e5; d7 is covered by the knight on f6; f7 is blocked by its own pawn; the rook on e8 cannot be taken, because the knight on f6 defends it; the knight on f6 cannot be taken, because the pawn on e5 defends it.

The rook stands next to the king and checks. A knight defends the rook, so the king cannot take it. A pawn defends the knight, and covers a flight square of its own into the bargain. That chain is what the name describes.

The knight is the piece that makes this different from an ordinary rook check. From two squares away it defends the rook and takes a square beside the king at the same time, which is the same trick the Arabian mate uses, in a position where the king is in the open rather than in a corner.

The pawn matters more than it looks. In every position on this page there is a pawn covering an escape square, and it is usually a pawn the attacker pushed several moves earlier for a completely different reason. The mate is often available because of a pawn nobody was thinking about.

What is always true

Each line below was tested against all 11 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 rook 11/11
That rook stands on a square adjacent to the king 11/11
A knight defends the rook 11/11
A pawn covers at least one of the king's escape squares 11/11

How to spot it

A knight of yours already defended by a pawn and within reach of the squares beside the enemy king. That is the hook; the rook comes last.
An enemy king that has been pulled into the middle of the board, which is where this pattern lives.
A rook with a route to a square adjacent to the king, however unsafe that square looks on its own.
Advanced pawns of yours near the enemy king. They are the third link and they are the reason the pattern exists at all.

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

44...Kf6 45.Rf7+ Ke6 46.f5+ Kd6 47.Rd7#

The black king on d6 is in check from the rook on d7, which the knight on e5 defends. It has eight squares to try and none of them work: c7 and e7 are covered by the rook on d7; c5 is covered by the pawn on d4; c6 is covered by the knight on e5; e6 is covered by the pawn on f5; d5 is blocked by its own pawn; the rook on d7 cannot be taken, because the knight on e5 defends it; the knight on e5 cannot be taken, because the pawn on d4 defends it.

The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 1387 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 2

Black to move. Force the mate.

Show the answer

40.Ke3 40...Re2#

The white king on e3 is in check from the rook on e2, which the knight on d4 defends. It has eight squares to try and none of them work: d2, e4 and f2 are covered by the rook on e2; f3 is covered by the knight on d4; f4 is covered by the pawn on e5; d3 is blocked by its own pawn; the knight on d4 cannot be taken, because the pawn on c5 defends it; the rook on e2 cannot be taken, because the knight on d4 defends it.

The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 1578 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 3

White to move. Force the mate.

Show the answer

37...Kh8 38.Qxf8+ Rxf8 39.Rxf8+ Kg7 40.Rg8#

The black king on g7 is in check from the rook on g8, which the knight on h6 defends. It has eight squares to try and none of them work: f8, g6 and h8 are covered by the rook on g8; f6 is covered by the pawn on g5; f7 is covered by the knight on h6; h7 is blocked by its own pawn; the rook on g8 cannot be taken, because the knight on h6 defends it; the knight on h6 cannot be taken, because the pawn on g5 defends it.

The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1840 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

52...Kh7 53.Nf8+ Kh8 54.Ng6+ Kh7 55.Rh8#

The black king on h7 is in check from the rook on h8, which the knight on g6 defends. It has five squares to try and none of them work: g8 and h6 are covered by the rook on h8; g7 is blocked by its own pawn; the knight on g6 cannot be taken, because the pawn on f5 defends it; the rook on h8 cannot be taken, because the knight on g6 defends it.

The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 1976 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

Easy to confuse with

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

Questions people ask

What is the hook mate in chess?

A checkmate delivered by a rook on the square beside the king, defended by a knight, which is in turn defended by a pawn that also covers one of the king's escape squares.

How is the hook mate different from the Arabian mate?

Both are a rook next to the king defended by a knight. The hook mate also needs a pawn, and its king is usually in the open rather than in a corner, where the edges of the board would do the pawn's job.

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.