National Grade Level Championships

A national youth event is coming to my city in December. Registration is open for the National K-12 Grade Chess Championships, which will be held 12-14 December 2025 at the Spokane Convention Center.

Website for the event: K-12 Championships.

Stockfish's Curve Ball

During chess camp last week in a session ambitiously called "advanced rook endgames", I had the students choose a position from a stack of cards that were face down. These cards have 24 endgame diagrams, some of which specify the side to move. One of those they chose, I had regarded as reasonably simple. I set it up in the Fritz GUI with Stockfish 16 loaded as the main engine, and we (the students with my guidance) played it against Stockfish.

The engine defied Dvoretsky, who wrote, "Black's rook must remain passive, staying on the eighth rank" (Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. 5th ed. [2020], 161). I explained to the students what I recalled of Dvoretsky's explanation, and drew the arrows visible in the diagram.

White to move

From my lead, the students chose the first move well.

1.Rb7 Rd8 2.Rh7

Only after struggling against the engine's surprising response did we come to understand that 2.Rg7+ is better.

2...Rd6!

3.f7 is not possible. We tried 3.Rg7+ Kf8 4.Rh7 Kg8 and realized something else was needed.
3.Re7 Kf8 confused us, although it should not have.
After 3.Rb7 Rd8, we felt that our progress was still missing something.

After several trials and error, we found the correct idea.

3.Rg7+ Kf8 4.Ra7 Rd8 5.Rh7

Black to move

Now Black must allow either the skewer or f7+ followed by the skewer.

Playing several Lucena positions against Stockfish over the past few years, I've learned that the engine often diverges from the line given in the textbook. Often this complicates the solution and the human must solve a problem.

These curve balls are why computer training is valuable.

Lessons from the Dragonslayer

The Dragonslayer is Spokane's oldest youth chess tournament, dating back to the late-1990s. I have been coaching at the host school since 2011. The prior coach was my opponent in the game featured in the inaugural post for Chess Skills in November 2007.

The 2025 Dragonslayer was held yesterday. There were 36 players representing 17 teams.

Some observations:

New players made a difference. A newcomer playing his first tournament led four 4.0 finishers to take home the second place trophy. Two of the second place team's top scorers were playing their first event as well.

Time management made a difference. One player won on time with only two pawns against two queens, a rook, and at least another pawn.

Basic checkmate skills mattered. One game ended in stalemate when the player with the queen did not see the mate in one and moved the queen to the wrong square. Another player in time pressure missed a mate in one. One player who drew a difficult game where both players in time pressure missed chances, did not see a forced mate in two with Nf6+ followed by Rg8# (Arabian mate).

Endgame skills made a difference. There were dozens of pawn promotions, many preventable by the opponent. There were as many as three queens in the possession of one side in games that I witnessed.

Many of my students this next week will see some positions that I recall or was able to capture with my phone.

White to move

Here or a few moves later, White brought the knight to g5. Also over several moves Black's rook on f8 went back to its starting square, Black's queen went to c8, and an exchange of bishops left White's queen on e7 with a mate in one. Black won the game.

I was called to the board by a player who was offered a draw and wanted to know whether acceptance was obligatory. I said it was not, and with the material on the board, the offer could be considered rude. This was the position.

Black to move

Black played Qc7?? instead of Qh6#.

In the last game of the tournament to finish, one of my students missed an opportunity here (creating the position from memory, I reversed the colors).

White to move

Earlier is this game, they had this position (reconstructed from a photograph, hence the colors are correct).

Black to move

Readers, especially young chess players, are encouraged to consider how they would play these positions. Any comments left with suggestions will receive a response.

Heartbreaking

The King's Klash youth chess tournament is underway in round two. Round one featured a tragicomedy on one of the top boards. I won't put the children's names here, but many at the event know who they are.

Black to move

Black played 1...Be5, missing the correct sequence. After 2.Rb1, Black still had a chance for equality with 2...Bxd6, but played 2...Qc2. 3.Qe5+ forced queens off the board and White's d-pawn soon promoted.

Lesson of the Week: Beginners

After school clubs run October to April. Saint George's School, where I have been coaching for 13 years, meets twice per week, but the children are divided into groups. One afternoon, the students are new to chess--often brand new, making their first moves on the first day of chess. The other afternoon, players are more advanced.

Much of the instructive time has been focused on learning to checkmate with rooks, but I also spent a day teaching students about ranks, files, and diagonals, as recommended by Momir Radovic (see "How to Teach Chess in the Modern Age").

Last week, students were shown these two positions from some online games.

Black to move

Although there are pawns on the board, beginners need to learn to use king and rook together to force checkmate. Here, checks by the rook only needlessly prolong the game. Rather, 74...Kg3 maintains control of the second rank and forces 75.Kg1. Now, the rook check is checkmate.

The second position starts with a checkmate in one, then we backed the game up a move to learn about Black's fatal error.

Black to move

28...Qxc2??

White checkmated Black with 29.Rh8#

Black had been winning before the blunder. We spent some time looking at possibilities.

28...Qe3+ 29.Kh1

Here, again, a check is tempting, as it seems that White has a weak back rank. Indeed, after 29...Qe1+ 30.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 31.Nxe1, Black has a mate on the move.

Black to move

However, 31.Ng1 blocks the check, revealing that 29...Qe1 would have been a terrible mistake, playing hope chess.

Instead, Black stops White's major threat with 29...Qxh6, although White maintains a material advantage.

I did not use this next position last week, because it was played yesterday. It represents the critical idea in elementary checkmates of cutting off. Young players have difficulty learning this idea because youth likes a direct attack. Once they get it, however, chess skill begins to grow.

Black to move

Black played 46...Rfc2, threatening checkmate in one. White can only delay with spite checks.

47.a4 allows bxa4#
47...Rab2# is the principal threat.

White played 47.Rb6, but could have thrown away both rooks to last three additional moves.

From a Youth Tournament

As tournament director for my city’s youth events, I see a lot of examples of basic skills not yet learned.

In one game today, I spent quite a bit of time watching a player with several pieces endlessly checking a lone king. The stronger side had a queen, bishop, and knight. Shortly after I began watching, he missed a mate in one. Thirty or forty checks later, his opponent captured the knight. Checks continued. Occasionally, I noticed that he seemed to be reaching for his king, but then grabbed the queen and checked again. After the bishop was captured, I began counting moves, thinking I might intervene at 50. As my counting got into the late 20s, there was a move of the king. The defending player did not try to stay in the middle of the board. When he was confined to the back rank, I could see a light come on in the mind of the player with the queen. He had some faint memory of lessons on how to checkmate with king and queen against lone king. With his opponent’s king confined to three squares on the eighth rank, he moved his king in closer. Although the king did not take the shortest route, he went in the correct direction. At the 35th move after the bishop was captured, checkmate was delivered.

Another game reached a somewhat more sophisticated ending after Black had thrown away a clear advantage.

White to move

With my phone, I took a photo of the position so that I could remember it. The young girl playing White thought for a few minutes and then played Bxf3. A few moves later, the game was drawn by insufficient material as White had only a bishop and Black only a knight.

From the diagram, I would have played Bc5. For young children, the direct attack (check, check, check,…) is easier to fathom than preventing the opponent’s plan by controlling the squares they want to use.

Another lopsided game reached this position.

White to move

White missed Qf1#, instead playing Kh3. After Kf2 and Qd1, the player of Black said that she could not find a move. After a few moments, they realized that Black was in stalemate.

The longest game was on the top board in round three. Two moves after offering a draw that was refused, Black captured White’s queen. 

White to move

Capturing with the pawn allows Ke4 and a trebuchet. White played Kxd4 and offered a draw, which was accepted.

A Game of Skill

Chess is a game of skill. In contrast to games with cards or dice, chess players win because they demonstrated greater skill than their opponent. Random chance does not affect the game. Skill can be developed through practice. One of the first skills a young player needs is recognizing checkmate. Learn how to create it and how to avoid it.

White to move

White's king is attacked by the knight--it is in check. The rules require that White move out of check. As nothing can capture the knight, the king must move. There are three squares where the king may move.

In a game that I played this morning, my opponent chose the wrong move.  It let me force checkmate in two moves. Where did White move? What was Black's response?

This position was presented to my Tuesday afternoon chess club for students in grades K-2. After discussing the position, they were paired and played what may be the first round of a club tournament. As games ended, they were given worksheets with some checkmate in one exercises.

Some of the students found the first worksheet difficult and needed help, as some only just started learning chess at the beginning of this month. They worked in groups. Some students finished three worksheets with six problems each. These worksheets are part of 48 checkmates in one that I assembled from real games several years ago. They are available as a PDF. Use the contact form on the right if interested.

Additional Resources

Solving many checkmate exercises in one, two, and more moves is highly recommended. A beginner who solves hundreds of mates in one will improve quickly.

Chess King’s iOS app, “Mate in One”, is probably the single best resource for those using iPhones and iPads. I believe there are also Android versions. It contains 2434 exercises that are well-selected. The app tracks progress and offers chances to retry missed problems. I raced through all 2434 problems in January while testing resources for my students. 

Chess King also has a Mate in Two app, and several other apps with checkmate exercises. All of these offer a small selection with the free download. If you want the full set, it requires an in-app purchase. The most I’ve paid for the full version of one of their apps is $8.

Searching Lichess studies for “mate in one” turns up more than I will count. Because any member can create a study, these will vary in quantity. I created this one from some games played in youth tournaments: “Mate in One”. It has 50 exercises. These are completely free.

Six from Stamma

It is spring break for area schools and so Inland Chess Academy is conducting a chess camp in which I am offering some sessions. We also have puzzle contests. Yesterday, I gave John Dill a worksheet that I had created in the morning. He made it today's puzzle contest.

This is the worksheet.

Philipp Stamma (c. 1705 – c. 1755) is best known as the originator of the earliest version of algebraic notation. He also published 100 composed studies in Essai sur le jeu des Echecs (1737), expanded and modified as The Noble Game of Chess (1745). Find the correct sequence of moves for White in each diagram. 

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Two from Maki

Jim Maki, a FIDE Master, runs the analysis table at youth tournaments in my city while I run the pairings. He nearly always has a couple of puzzles to show me. He doesn't compose them, but is very good at finding puzzles that balance instruction, simplicity, and thinking outside the box.

Sometimes I can solve them, often I struggle. Yesterday, I solved the harder one quickly, but failed the easier one. Both are forced checkmate in two move. Maybe you'll do better than I did.

White to move

White to move

Advanced Chess Camp

Tomorrow, I am conducting the advanced group at Inland Chess Academy's Turkey Camp. The relevant portion of the flyer is pictured below.

Students will be given a short quiz so that I can determine how fast or slow to move through elementary pawn endings before we get into the heart of the session. I gathered a lot of training and study materials from databases of youth games. One benefit of nearly two years of online youth tournaments due to COVID was that I now have many more games played by local youth, and also the databases from two years of state scholastic championships.

These are a few of the positions that I have selected.

White to move

Black to move

White to move

White to move

Black to move

The Same Old Story

Yesterday I was the pairing director for a youth tournament with 51 players. 28 were playing in their first tournament. I've run pairings for at least 120 such events, but this one had the largest number and highest percentage of unrated players in my memory. Naturally, a fair amount of time was spent teaching some basic rules and elementary skills.

As with a much smaller event two weeks ago, there were unnecessary draws among players who have not yet learned basic checkmate skills (see "The Difference"). In one game, I counted moves for players who were not recording their game. The player with the advantage told me that she did not know how to checkmate with rook and king against king. I asked whether she thought she might do so accidentally. She said that was her hope. She came close.

After 45 moves, this position was reached.

Black to move

45...Re1+

After this move was played, Black was no longer able to force checkmate before the fiftieth move was reached. The fifty move rule states that a game is drawn when fifty moves are played without a capture or a pawn move. The last capture took place before I was at the side of the board and counting.

I declared the game a draw after my count reached fifty. Then I showed the players how Black could have won.

Had Black played 45...Kf3, White probably would have played 46.Kd1. A similar arrangement of the pieces had occurred several times prior as Black slowly managed to persuade White to retreat his king from the 6th rank to the first rank. That none of this retreat was forced highlights that some attention might be given to proper defensive play as well.

Black to move

Six of Black's possible moves lead to checkmate on the next move: Re3, Re4, Re5, Re6, Re7, and Re8. I showed the last one to the children. Then 47.Kc1 is forced and 47...Re1 is checkmate.

Had Black played 45...Kc3 from the initial diagram, White's best move would be 46.Kb1.

Black to move

Checkmate can be forced in three with ten different Black moves from this position. Black's rook can move anywhere on the e-file or anywhere to the right (left from Black's side of the board) on the second rank.

One possibility: 46...Re3 47.Ka2 Re1 48.Ka3 Ra1#.

It behooves chess teachers to teach these elementary checkmates to children.

See also "Lesson One" and "Teaching Elementary Checkmates".

The Difference

Young players who wish to participate in the Washington State Elementary Chess Championships must qualify. They need to score 3.0 out of 5.0 possible in a qualifying event. I ran one of these qualifying events last Saturday. It was small so elementary students were playing in the same section as middle school and high school, making qualifying for elementary state more difficult. Nonetheless, two students succeeded!

Both of those elementary students who finished with 3.0 checkmated an opponent while I was watching their game. A young girl under immense pressure as the clock neared zero showed her mastery of the elementary checkmate with king and rook against king, although there were several other pieces on the board. When she slid her rook over to the a-file for checkmate, she had four second left.

A sixth grade boy provoked a confused look from his opponent as he appeared to have blundered his queen.

Black to move

After looking at him in confusion and looking at the queen, his opponent shrugged her shoulders and took the bait, 19...Qxf7. He answered quickly with 20.Rd8#.

In contrast, some of the players who finished with 2.5 points had a game where overwhelming force led only to a draw. In at least two cases, a player with two queens managed to leave their opponent no legal moves when not in check.

Black to move

White also had two bishops and a knight, but I do not recall the placement of all of them. Watching this particular game, I noticed that White systematically drove the lone king to the edge without checks, a vital skill when a single queen and king battle a lone king. With two queens, however, and other pieces on the board, the safest course is to deliver check every move.

My after school students this week see the checkmate trap set by one of their own, and they complete worksheets with mate in two. Last week, they did the mates in one.

This problem proves difficult for young players. From Bledow--Schorn, Berlin 1839.

White to move

This exercise is part of Rook Checkmates 4. RC 1 and 2 are mates in one. RC 3 and 4 are mates in two. 

Chess Club Lessons

The after school chess club that I run in an elementary school began the second week of October after a week's delay because I had COVID. We meet twice per week with some students coming both days and some coming once each week. Each session is devoted to children playing chess with other and sometimes with me. There is always a short lesson. As the year goes along, sometimes these lessons will be built around a worksheet. For example, the students will see as many worksheets from my Essential Tactics* as time allows.

Chess Skills has a record of a great many of my lessons in years past. The tag, "Problem of the Week" links to these.

Here is a synopsis of the lessons so far this fall for further review by students and parents, as well as for anyone interested.

11 October

We began with an endgame position that occurred in a game that I played online and that I believe highlights the importance of calculation and a single tempo in a pawn race. "Time and Speed" shows this position with analysis of the game's conclusion and how White should have played.

13 October

Young students often express frustration when their opponent "copies" their moves. The lesson featured a game played by Jose R. Capablanca a few years before he became World Champion. In symmetrical positions, the first player often has an advantage. Check puts an end to the copying. 

Capablanca,Jose Raul -- NN [C49]
New York casual New York, 1918

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4

The copying begins.

5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Nd5 Nd4

White to move

9.Nxb4 Nxb5 10.Nd5 Nd4 11.Qd2

Black to move

11...Qd7??

Now, Black is lost. After 11...Nxf3+, White is only slightly better.

12.Bxf6 Bxf3 13.Ne7+

Black to move

13...Kh8

13...Qxe7 is best. Black loses the queen. The move played gives White a forced checkmate in three. Students were asked to find the conclusion.

14.Bxg7+ Kxg7 15.Qg5+ Kh8 16.Qf6# 1-0

18 October

Students were presented with a difficult endgame position that was part of Hikaru Nakamura's analysis of Niemann,H. -- Lenderman,A., Saint Louis 2022, a game played the previous day in the US Championship.

White to move

I had no expectation that young players would find the correct move. However, the wrong answers are quite instructive for showing the difficulties a bishop has stopping three connected passed pawns. It is an impossible task in this case.

45.Bb5!! is the only winning move.

If Black captures the bishop, then White queens first and the queen controls Black's promotion square. 45...axb5 46.a6 h3 47.a7 h2 48.a8Q.

If Black opts to leave the bishop alone and advance pawns, play might continue 45...h3 46.Bxa6 g5 47.Bf1 g4 48.a6 h2 49.Bg2 f4 50.a7 f3 51.a8Q fxg2 52.Qxg2 and White wins.

Following this lesson, I showed the students the game's continuation beginning with White's move 30.

White to move

30.Kb4!

Nakamura praised this move.

30...Nf4 31.Rh2 Kc7 32.a5 cxb5 33.Bxb5 a6 34.Ba4

Nakamura stated that 34.Bc4 seems more natural, but also pointed out how Niemann's move keeps Black from occupying the open e-file with his rook.

34...Ne6 35.d5 Nxg5 36.d6+

Black to move

It was here that Alex Lenderman made the error that cost him the game. This position was where we began Thursday's lesson.

20 October

The lesson was to understand the threats that Lenderman overlooked.

36...Kd8?

Students suggested 36...Kb8, which is better than 36...Kd8. According to Nakamura and Stockfish, 36...Kc8 would have given Black excellent chances to hold a draw.

37.c6

Niemann played the only winning move.

37...bxc6 38.Kc5

Again, the only winning move.

38...f4

Nakamura analyzed 38...Ne4+ and some of this analysis was shared with my students. One of these lines leads to the endgame position that was Tuesday's focus.

39.Rb2 Ne6+ 40.Kxc6

Black to move

If Black's king were on c8, White would not have a checkmate threat. This threat forces concessions that lead to a position where Black must give up the rook for White's queen.

40...Nd6+ 41.Kd5 Nb5 42.Bxb5 axb5 43.Kc6 Ke8 44.Kc7

Black to move

I pointed out to the students that if we removed all the pieces except the two kings and White's d-pawn, we would have an elementary pawn ending position that they all need to know.

44...Kf7 45.d7 1-0

Lenderman resigned here. Young students, however, benefit from seeing the reason on the board.

45.d7 Ke7 46.Re2+ Kf7 47.d8Q Rxd8 48.Kxd8 and White's rook will be able to stop Black's two passed pawns. A student needed to see even this demonstrated, so I showed him a couple more moves until he said, "Okay, now I get it."

Next week, the demo board and/or worksheets will be used to teach some checkmate patterns or techniques.

*The worksheets are available in reproducible format (no solutions) as Essential Tactics: The Worksheets (2017). The same exercises with solutions and instructional content is available only in Kindle format as Essential Tactics: Building a Foundation for Chess Skill (2017). These worksheets were created after an inspiring experience using Bruce Pandolfini, Beginning Chess (1993).

Coaching: Constructing a Lesson

I had been coaching youth chess for a couple of years when I decided to keep a clear record of what I did each week with the students at the elementary school where my youngest was no longer a student. While he was enrolled there, I was a parent volunteer helping with the after school chess club. When he moved on to another school, I returned to his old elementary as a paid chess coach. The year was 2004. Chess club started in late September.

I began the year with a position from a game I had played a day or two earlier on the Chessmaster Live server. Although Black had a one pawn advantage in a king and pawn endgame, it should be drawn with correct play.

White to move

My opponent erred with 46.Kc5?? We both promoted pawns, but then my opponent blundered theirs away. Had we continued in a queen ending, White might have held out long enough to run me short of time. Black was technically winning with QPP vs. QP and Black's king closer to the pawns.

Instead, play might have continued:

46.Ke4 Kf7 47.Ke5 Ke7 48.Kd4 Kd6 49.Ke4

Black to move

Here Black can err with the same flawed idea that White pursued in the game: 49...Kc5?? Correct play would be either 49...Kd7 or 49...Ke7 and a technical draw.

In the lesson, I sought to introduce to the students the concept of opposition in pawn endings. I followed this position from a recent game with a number of other positions, mostly composed, that had fewer pawns and presumably simpler continuations.

The school chess club ends the year with the Washington State Elementary Chess Championship in April. The last session before state, I showed the students a pawn ending that had been played at the Spokane Chess Club the week prior.

Black to move

After the game ended as a draw, I spent some time with others at the club, including the one who had Black, arguing about whether Black had a win. The next day, I checked some of our ideas on my computer. If we had the same argument today, someone would pull up Stockfish on their phone or a tablebase site and end the debate. My phone then was a RAZR flip phone. It's chess app was a version of Chessmaster that I could beat on its top level.

Had any of us read with sufficient comprehension José R. Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals (1921), we would have known how to use triangulation to secure the win after 1...g5. I had nearly forgotten this lesson until I was playing through an ending presented in C.G. Van Perlo, Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics, new, improved and expanded edition (2014). The ending came up in my study as I was comparing endgame books for "To Know a Position", which I wrote last weekend.

For the children headed to state, I hoped to reinforce some lessons I thought they should have absorbed in September. It is always hard to measure results, but both the elementary team (grades 1-5) and the sixth graders from the middle school brought home trophies--individual and team. School officials perceived me as a successful coach and I have continued to coach youth players.

The lessons I employed that first year as a chess professional at an elementary school were compiled into a booklet that I printed at the school and then had bound at Kinkos. I have learned a lot in the years since. My skills as a teacher have improved. My chess playing ability also rose. I have also learned to print my lessons through Amazon, where I get better quality binding at lower cost, and also am able to make them available to others.

Learning Checkmate (Or Teaching It)

Youth chess has had a profound impact on my thinking about the game. In countless youth events, I have watched children playing out rook and king vs. lone king. Often one of them tells the other, "I think this is a draw." Sometimes they look at me for confirmation. When the stronger side has a queen, they know it should be a win, but often cannot find it. Check, check, check, ... but never checkmate.

Having observed such scenes several times in my first few youth events as a coach more than twenty years ago, I made it a point to teach elementary checkmates to my students. I have spent hundreds of hours teaching checkmate with queen and rook, or coordinating one of them with the king against a lone king. The first eleven endgames in Bruce Pandolfini, Pandolfini's Endgame Course (1988) became a valuable resource for teaching.

Some books on checkmate

I have added to Pandolfini's basic positions a great many others, some composed, some from games where a player executed a checkmate well, or where someone failed. Other books have expanded my resources. William Lewis, Elements of Chess (1819) is a neglected gem. It contains very few diagrams, so it is not always easy to appreciate at a glance the sorts of positions he offers for training new players. Last month's post "Elementary" shows one that I find useful.

Several posts here on Chess Skills have outlined how I teach elementary checkmates with few pieces to children. Both Pandolfini and Lewis are mentioned in "Teaching Elementary Checkmates" (2014). Both "Cutting Off" (2015) and "Playing with Rooks" (2016) offer additional examples as they document lessons as I use them in after school clubs.

Older Beginners

Not all beginners are children, of course. Chess is enjoying growth in popularity at the present. Some adults are returning to the game after many years away. Others are taking it up for the first time. Chess groups on Facebook and forums on several chess sites are inundated with requests for advice for those starting out.

My standard refrain is to point these seekers to "Advice for Beginners", which I wrote last January. At the core of that advice is Jose Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals (1921). I have adopted Capablanca's sequence from this book in my own teaching. He starts with simple checkmates, and appears to suggest a pattern that starts at the end of the game and works towards the beginning.

Chess Fundamentals and the companion volume A Primer of Chess (1935) offer instruction in basic checkmates with few pieces, as well as some middlegame combinations where checkmate is possible, or where a checkmate threat forces concessions. Something more is needed to address some of the failures I have observed in games after game of beginning players, young and old.

The position below arose in a game between two beginners. One has been playing chess less than three months, but the other has been playing at least seven years. Naturally, there are a great many errors in the game that could be highlighted. 

Black to move

When I reached this position while playing through the game, I instantly saw an unforced checkmate in two. Consequently, calculation begins with 26...Qh3+ 27.Kg1 (Ke2 walks into checkmate). It does not take long to see a sequence involving bishop and queen that can be found in dozens of exercises in books and online.

For instance, Georges Renaud and Victor Kahn, The Art of the Checkmate offer Mate No. 12C.

White to move

They opine, "Nine times out of ten, the beginner will play QxP ch, and be surprised afterward to find that the king is able to escape after all" (140). In the 2015 Batsford translation, these words are rendered, "The novice has a tendency to play 1. Qxh7+ and it is quite a surprise to see that the attacked king manages to take flight."

The mating sequence is 1.Bxh7+ Kh8 2.Bg6+ Kg8 3.Qxh7 Kf8 4.Qxf7#.

In the game, the experienced beginner played 26...Qh1+ and lost ten moves later when the newer beginner found a mate in one.

White to move

Diagnosing Failure

In the game above, Black had 46 seconds remaining (of an initial five minutes) when this position was reached.

Black to move

25...Qxh2+ was played. Three seconds were spent on this move. Does the player feel rushed when under one minute? Is the player oblivious to the presence of the bishop? If so, he may have feared that the queen could be captured. The queen was left en prise later in the game. In fact, Black had six seconds remaining when 34...Qxf2 was played instead of 34...Qxa7. That error led to the checkmate. Both queens were en prise on move 34.

The player of the Black pieces has played more than 1400 blitz and rapid games on chess.com. In the past 500 games, 140 have ended with checkmate by the queen. In many cases, the queen has been supported by a bishop, but more often by a knight or rook.

This one is typical.

My impression from looking through all 140 queen checkmates in these 500 games leads me to the belief that the player in question knows a few checkmate patterns, but could benefit from learning more.

Another game illustrates our experienced beginner in pursuit of a checkmate with bishop and queen that he has executed in several prior games.

Black to move

24...Bb3

24...Qxd3 was far better. In fact, it is the only move that maintains the advantage. It threatens Qb1# and Ne2#. I suspect that Black had ambitions of playing Qxd3 next with the idea to play Qc2#. That pattern appears several times in the player's games.

25.Rde1 Qxd3 26.Nd4

Now White has c2 defended.

26...Nf5

Black hopes to remove the knight.

27.Bxb7

27.Be4 wins simply, but White gets credit for opening the g-file in a way that allows Black to continue with a plan that is too slow.

27...Nxd4 28.Qxg7#

Black's pursuit of a plan was performed without recognition of White's threats.

The Remedy

Resources are abundant for a beginner or even intermediate player who wishes to improve their understanding of checkmate patterns. The popular playing site, Lichess offers a series of lessons where certain named patterns can be played against a chess engine. Navigate to Learn > Practice from the menu.

Books offer greater depth.

When David Weinstock, whom I had just met, recommended to me Renaud and Kahn, The Art of the Checkmate, I recall thinking to myself that he was underestimating my chess skill. I believed that checkmate was a skill I had developed well. I was a C Class player in the USCF rating system who had recently returned to active chess after more than a decade of only occasional casual games. Two decades earlier in high school, I invested many hours practicing checkmates with heavy pieces and even the bishop pair. While playing through master games, I often continued them beyond the resignation to work out the checkmate possibilities.

Despite my attitude that I was beyond the need for such study, I examined the book carefully when I saw it in Auntie's, Spokane's independent bookstore. It did not take long to realize that it offered a little more depth than I had imagined when David mentioned it. I bought the book and started working through it. New checkmate patterns began to appear in my games.

The Art of the Checkmate has become one of the books that I recommend more often than most others. Few other books offer the quality of instruction on a matter of such foundational importance to developing chess skills. The authors offer 23 basic patterns. Most have several variations. They illustrate each one with the essential pattern of the pieces and the moves making up the mating sequence. These patterns are followed by illustrations from composed studies, game fragments, and whole games. Quiz sets follow each of the five sections.

Other Books

A few years ago, another group of books for teaching and learning checkmate patterns were brought to my attention. Someone suggested that I take a look at Mikhail Tal and Victor Khenkin, Tal's Winning Chess Combinations (1979). This book, which I found used at a reasonable price, takes each piece separately, examining how it is typically used to effect checkmate. Each piece, excluding the king, is given a chapter. Eight additional chapters treat two pieces in concert, such as queen and bishop or queen and knight. The last chapter considers several combinations of three pieces.

This position illustrates a back rank checkmate threat that leads to winning material.

Black to move

1.Qb2

Victor Henkin, 1000 Checkmate Combinations (2011) is a newer translation of the same Russian text, according to Vladimir Barsky, it is titled The Last Check. Both books are out of print, hard to find, and consequently expensive, except that the newer text has been available in Kindle format. It is scheduled to be released again in paperback in February 2022. Barsky, A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns (2020) adopts Khenkin's methodology, drawing only from games played in the twenty-first century. I discussed these three books in greater detail in "Checkmating Patterns" (2020).

I am less enthusiastic about Murray Chandler, How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (1998). This book offers excellent illustrations of basic patterns with abundant diagrams, and adds a few tactical motifs for breaking through the opponent's defenses. It is probably an excellent choice for children, while being suitable for adults as well. My lack of enthusiasm for the book stems from its lack of depth. It offers fewer examples and far less instructive discussion than The Art of the Checkmate and also found in Khenkin's text. Several of the "50 Deadly Checkmates" promised by the book are tactics that win material that seem to have been included to reach that magic number 50. 

Victor Vukovic, The Art of Attack in Chess has a chapter presenting checkmate patterns. Improve Your Chess Now by Jonathan Tisdall lists common checkmate patterns in an appendix. I used these two, as well as Chandler, and Renaud and Kahn while creating a list of 37 patterns that I organized into groups: corridors, diagonals, intersections, knights, queens, and combinations. I created seven sets of worksheets with instructive material for my students and printed a few copies of the whole manuscript, also offering for sale a PDF version under the title "A Checklist of Checkmates". My list appears at "Checkmate Patterns" (2017). This work contains errors that I would like to correct (see "Pillsbury's Mate").

Antonio Gude, Fundamental Checkmates (2016) deserves more attention. I have had this book for a few years, but it sits on my shelf untouched while I keep returning to those I know better. The instructive portion combines the approach of Renaud and Kahn with that of Victor Khenkin and then extends both with nearly 100 pages devoted to sacrifices, organized by the piece giving itself up. Three sets of exercises total 317 problems with solutions.

The well-known combination sacrificing a queen to deliver smother mate with a knight is often called Philidor's Legacy, although many others credit Gioachino Greco because of this combination.

Black to move

15...Nf2+ 16.Ke1 Nd3+ 17.Kd1 Qe1+ 18.Nxe1 Nf2#.

Gude credits the historian Joaquin Perez de Arriga with pointing out that the combination appears in Luis Ramírez de Lucena, Repeticion de Amores e Arte de Axedrez (1496).

White to move

Gude even points out that Lucena, "specifies that the solution must not include the capture of any black piece" (19). Fundamental Checkmates is far more comprehensive than the books I usually recommend. Moreover, as a historian I must acknowledge that Renaud and Kahn perpetuate errors, while Gude seeks to dispel misunderstanding.

Having opined in the Chess Book Collectors" group on Facebook that The Art of the Checkmate and 1000 Checkmate Combinations were far superior to other book on the subject, I was exposed to alternative views. Gude was mentioned right away. Later in the thread, someone mentioned a text that I did not know about, but that now occupies space on my bookshelf. George Koltanowski and Milton Finkelstein, Checkmate!: The Patterns of the Winning Mating Attacks and How to Achieve Them (1978) will not find a place among those I recommend to beginners who will not take the time to learn English descriptive notation, nor benefit particularly from tracking down a now rare book that could be quite expensive. However, as I make time to read through it, it likely will present me with some new lessons for my students.

For most chess players willing to put in a little work, Renaud and Kahn remains a excellent choice. Soon, Henkin, 1000 Checkmate Combinations will be available, too. For those looking to work less, or seeking something easier for children, How to Beat Your Dad at Chess is worthy of attention. For those of who teach checkmate, Gude, Fundamental Checkmates is a valuable resource.