The Top 23 Checkmate Patterns | Most Important Mating Patterns In Chess | Chess Tactics and Ideas

[@sc102]

This is the best channel for learners. I found it by accident after wandering over other "popular" channels. Here, instruction is delivered in simple language, with no drama, no egos, and the content is so practical for beginners and intermediates. I was getting disheartened on other channels where they talk technical jargon at breakneck speed, and move pieces in a blur. Can't thank you enough Nelson. Keep 'em coming.

[@chriswaudby1084]

Yep that's why we love the Nelson

[@JonnyD000]

Same just found this channel recently and it's the best I've seen after having looked through quite a few.

[@turtle_fps]

+ Daniel naroditsky

[@PauIdenino]

@@turtle_fps Yup

[@vanjahruska5661]

I second that statement. Thank you Nelson.

[@Fireball_Roberts]

I really like how organized you are. Chess tutorials can be pretty rough when the teacher isn't well prepared, or tries to record everything in one take. Very well done!

[@dansattah]

Boden's Mate or as Gotham Chess would call it "Criss Cross Apple Sauce".

[@deadlypendroppingby]

every time he said it I added apple sauce in my head

[@oldsuitman7762]

I think you got it wrong, it's a discovered attack/capture of which its theme may be appealing to young players

[@suckysuck446]

@@oldsuitman7762 shut up dude

[@lalitkishore3697]

It's apple saws I guess

[@bigfgreatsword]

Criss cross apple sauce IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOARD

[@DawnPatrol101]

You make the best instructional chess videos on KZbin. The way you consicely explain principles, patterns, and tactics are incredibly helpful. This method makes learning chess far more fun than memorizing a bunch of lines, especially for a casual chess player like me. Thanks for the great content!

[@yourbestfriendtm2668]

No, hanging pawns is better

[@Noir0rioN]

Yeah, no-this guy is under-rated AF

[@wbotti]

Agree 100%. The vids have no fluff - which shows he has great respect for the audience's time. Fantastic

[@pauldavies5611]

Ditto what dawnpatrol said. These are great. Thank you!

[@stanleykee]

I agree

[@arnoudh6203]

Lots of positive comments and those are justified, this video is very complete, and shows good examples of how these mates are hidden in normal games

[@Kneem]

This is the perfect example of a good chess video! It talks about an important topic, gives good examples, and has good puzzles that haloes you know where to find the mate in an actual game. Great work!

[@majormononoke8958]

Some puzzles were great. Others not so much.

[@elaineaedo5056]

You explain chess concepts better than a lot of IMs and GMs; I really appreciate how concise and straightforward your videos are, and I love that there's no sense of condescension or arrogance like I get from other channels. Not naming names but the one I'm thinking of rhymes with chotham gess. Subscribed! Thanks a million, keep up the good work!

[@sheldonhaughton1848]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 so true

[@williamsmith8640]

Imma call him chotham gess from now on

[@SG2048-meta]

Chotham gess is more for a laugh I think, he just acts that way on his channel. On a recent WIRED video we see Levy being non arrogant

[@multiverse737]

How about a chotham gess vs. chess vibes match?

[@adrizzle3352]

​@@SG2048-meta absolutely. He's just pointing out fun things in the development of players. He himself said that this is normal and happened to most of the players. On top of that it's an internet persona

[@Swolhippie]

Just started 2 weeks ago, sitting around 500 now after watching this. Have won 10 in a row , I was missing a lot of wins. Thanks man!

[@Swolhippie]

800 now, pushing for 1000 by the end of the year!!

[@MalikEpik]

@@Swolhippiecongratulations.

[@dixonbuttes]

These pattern videos are gold. I have a really hard time memorizing lines, but you always contextualize them in a principle. This is a great channel!

[@klaudiahabek8310]

Thank you dear Nelson, for another truly awesome lesson! As always, it's very instructive and I love your calm, no nonsense style of teaching. Keep up the good work! :)

[@richardcuddy6166]

Good one. Attaching names to patterns is a great memory aid. For more on mating patterns and their names check out "The Art of Checkmate" by Georges Renard & Victor Kahn. For a ton of practice with these mates get a hold of "5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games" by Laszlo Polgar. There are 3268 mates in two and 774 mates in three to practice on in the Laszlo book.

[@Ryan-jz5kr]

Thanks for the recommendations

[@rockyjforay]

Thanks. I have that Lazlo Polgar book. I need to bury my nose into it. 🤥

[@thinkneothink3055]

The best instructional videos I have yet to see. I appreciate most how you get straight to the point and don’t try to be funny or clever.

[@DunklerZebralord]

Bruh I didn’t even realize you made it on agadmator’s channel. That’s an honor!

[@coolcat23]

I really appreciate the sober presentation of valuable ideas. No background music, no attempt at jokes, no ego being on display; just plain information. Thank you!

[@aarongonzales5730]

This is the single most informative chess video I have ever seen, thank you

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jaybird1806]

@@ChessVibesOfficialRecommendation on what to use to drill these concepts? Example: Learn the concept then do puzzle, puzzle, puzzle until you simply can’t unsee it?

[@gtrraider84]

This is probably my favorite chess video ever. Great work man!

[@kaythia-s9h]

5:12 I've lost so many games to Lolli's Mate! Good to know it and have it in my mind. Thanks Nelson.

[@chickenlevi975]

Same here. Seems I'm subconsciously obsessed with lolli's

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

​@@chickenlevi975 Stop.

[@radeqyt8238]

At the second example of epaulette mate you could also take with the queen firts beacause Q:g6 f:g6 R:g6 is mate beacause the night on d6 is covering f7 and the rook on the h1 is covering h7. It's not an epualette mate anymore but still a mate.

[@x_splo2084]

I feel like your videos dont help me when and after i watch them but they plant little seed of knowledge for further down the road that have been really helpful, thank you

[@e3498-v7l]

Brilliant video filled with useful information presented in a very concise way!

[@tundeosolake863]

Thanks for the help, you’ve quickly become my favourite go to chess help guy. Much appreciated👍👍👍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@004chestnut8]

I've learned almost 11 checkmate patterns just from leisurely playing chess so if you are just starting chess just play and play for a while, each game becomes a lesson. Then after that, you can take the game much more seriously and start studying or watching lessons such as this one.

[@keevirtues2211]

Amazing , I'm be replaying this for weeks to study . Thank you !

[@Czlek_z_Polski]

To develop my chess skills, I came up with the idea (on my own) to find out what types of mates are. After all, checkmate is the goal of the game. In chess puzzels on lichess I saw that some checkmates have their names. So I decided to check if there were more of them. I found it and looked at them to see and remember these patterns. That was some time ago. And now I see you've made a video on the same issue. :) It will be nice to watch your video to remind these patterns, and I will recommend your video to others as one of the most important videos on the path of a beginner chess player.

[@camoraz]

Bruh omg the exact same thing happened to me :)

[@tomonetruth]

This is a very well presented video, thanks! I really like the not-too-difficult pause and think examples, although I think there maybe an undesirable pattern in them: every checkmate follows a queen sacrifice. Elo, goodbye!

[@pakasokoste]

What I like about this video is that most solutions involve queen sacs to clear the way. That just trains you to be able to see the pattern even when pieces are in the way. And you can be confident in sacking a queen or rook to clear the path to mate.

[@rosiefay7283]

I'm not so sure! Chess players don't go around sacking their queens all the time. Those famous games with mating combination involving queen sacs are famous exactly because of that rarity -- a queen sac that works. If you get a chance to throw your queen away, if you do it, it won't lead you to a win. Or if you win anyway, you must've been so far ahead that you could've won with the queen anyway.

[@johnknight9150]

You're one of the only chess tutors I genuinely find useful. Most focus on increasingly unlikely sequences of moves (that I'm never really going to be able to use anyway), whereas you break the game down into simple, clean lines -- like a well made sword making a few quick clean cuts.

[@juleslondon3088]

Thanks for another great video, Nelsi. My inner pedant is desperate to point out that’s it’s “The Opera Mate” not “Opera’s Mate” after the mate in the famous Morphy game at the Opera vs the Count and the Duke.

[@nomadsaccounting9368]

I have watched this video many times now, still give me lots of value! Thanks for getting me interested in Chess! Keep going, you are the best KZbinr on chess I have found so far.

[@exoplanet11]

Thanks for a great video...very helpful. Looking forward to the Middlegame video. (And yes, as pointed out below, it is "an Opera House Mate" since it was a real opera not a person named Opera)

[@tobiasreissenweber2152]

I recently taught the game dame to my five year old daughter. Which lead me to rediscover chess after 25 years of not playing a single game. And I must say: Your content helps a lot, Nelson. Please keep up the extraordinary great work.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Welcome back to chess! Good luck teaching your daughter!

[@omi6937]

@@ChessVibesOfficial in the intro, after the queen sac, when our rook checked the opponents king, he can play bishop h6 blocking the check... And he's a queen up..? Pls show every variation

[@c0smic.dw3ller]

​@@omi6937ng5 king has to move back

[@c0smic.dw3ller]

​​@@omi6937then rook takes bishop n continue w the mate

[@BigDBrian]

10:15 moving queen to g6 also works because it forces the same pawn capture, and then the knight and two rooks checkmate the king after taking that pawn

[@williamsmith8640]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to see that

[@regivarghese702]

Amazing man!! great lesson and puzzle. The best chess video for beginners

[@joshheath1118]

I'm glad you includeded the Legal's mate, thank you for adding an opening!

[@signorinitravel]

what I love about nelson: - he goes to the sauce - teachings are organized - he’s rational and clear - bonus: his haircut

[@trutty]

I'm so thankful for your videos Nelson. So many times, I'll be playing a match and not realize until I've already done it that I've applied some sort of tactic, strategy, or mindset that I learned from your videos. I have only been playing for about two months but I am without a doubt such a better player today than I was when I started and I have you to thank for so much of that.

[@Shockprowl]

Just discovered your videos; you're very watchable and the videos are pitched just perfectly for the developing self-taught player like me. Thank you for making them.

[@playandteach]

Enjoying the content, which is clear and easy to follow, and the short 'try to work it out' pauses are ideal. Great stuff. Thanks.

[@MsCherryKiss]

a little more detail could have gone into the hook mate at 14:10. the king can't take the queen sacrifice because of the hook mate, but what if K-G6? I'm trying to find the mate but it is a lot harder to force. Still, at the least I can see how to get the rook and bishop which should lead to victory, just struggling to find a forced mate in that case. Also... 16:04. huh?? that's still check, mate! :D Really fun video! I loved finding all the mates in the more complex setups, but doubt I would find them not knowing they were there beforehand. Shows the importance of learning the patterns to keep in your mind while playing though!

[@PatrickMettchen]

If Kg6 then Qh6, Kf5 and Qxh3 prevents the checkmate by black and you're up a piece. But you're absolutly right at the murphy mate I was wondering too 😅

[@RandomMusik]

You sir are by far my favourite chess channel, others are too boring or like Levy too energetic but then don't deliver it good enough

[@silverpeople7281]

16:04 HOW can the king go to g7 the rook is controlling that square

[@promise4775]

Just have courage :)

[@Norwegianoiler]

If he puts his mind to it, the king can do anything.

[@esat6063]

U can’t capture the king soo

[@TK5280.]

Maybe he meant moving the king to g7 before white had delivered check? Idk man good question lol

[@TK5280.]

Okay I rewatched it, I was grasping lol like I said good question 😆

[@chriswaudby1084]

As always smooth, helpful, informative and concise thanks alot man

[@onlyrocknroll12]

This is really helpful, thank you. Obviously a lot of this is quite intuitive if you thinking one or two moves ahead (even at my level of 1000ish). But when you attach a name and a concept to it, it makes it much easier to conceptualise a few moves earlier and factor into your plans. Great content

[@rockin291]

Very instructive and well articulated like most of the other videos in the channel

[@Scarter63]

Good stuff Nelson! This is going to help my Puzzles score for sure.

[@RandomMusik]

19:54 I mean you could capture with the bishop first, but I assume that queen sacs have more swag same on 21:30

[@Andrew-zi3iw]

they do indeed have more swag

[@johnhulme7251]

your teaching style is impeccable it has helped me no end and i have you on repeat. thank you very much

[@ahikernamedgq]

Nelson, great video, thank you. Also, I couldn't help but notice to propensity to queen sacrifice. Cheers!

[@biglouis4201]

Yours is a terrific channel. I don't know what my rating is but it's definitely gotten better with your help. Thanks very much.

[@Robert546]

Bro, this video along with middle game, changed everything for me. For a while, I would just trade pieces during the middle game cause I could never threaten mate with out it being obvious! Not I'm planning games and seeing mate in two or more ways and worse case just taking advantage of positions! Thanks so much!

[@MrWeenuk21]

for me at the 800-1200 elo level is that some people get too invested in their own plans sometimes and dont see mate formulating. the whole sacrificing pieces concept in the attacking concepts video is just a whole level ahead of 800-1200 elo players and has won me so many games as of late. another issue for lower rated players is they bring their queen out and take everything they can with the queen. so you can attack a piece or pawn thats infront of the king and only the queen can take and when it does you just move a rook to pin it. most of the time a piece and queen or pawn and queen for rook and piece is absolutely winning.

[@christophermarsh1580]

#21 is the hilarious "Oh no, my queen!" play I've seen with Eric Rosen

[@oldsuitman7762]

Eric is a good player, but a mediocre teacher, my rating suffers from stafford gambit

[@SergioHernandez-pc9fx]

Thanks so much for the video amazing. Had to watch couple of times to finish it. Hope it helped, at least a little like this help me.

[@jgmatp]

I haven't even yet watched this video but I know it will be one of the best lessons out there. I know that because your channel cuts to the chase and is one of the best chess improvement channels out there

[@ayushdugar1698]

OMG Thank you so much. You're an absolute legend I don't have any words for you.... I came here from the attacking pattern video and hopped in a game right after and one of my most beautiful games I've ever played. So followed the tips from the first video and decided to create weakenesses in the opponents kings defense it did manage to mess up his pawn structure but didn't find any ways to win material or deliver checkmate. As the game progressed we somehow ended up with the exact same material and position only difference was that he had a pawn extra. So I'm looking for checkmate patterns and time is chipping away and finally find one by pinning a pawn next to his king . Unfortunately he resigned instead of letting me deliver checkmate :(

[@faceeyeshands]

Love these. Super practical. Thank you!

[@noahwiliams7214]

It is usually difficult to find suggestions for improvement in your amazing videos. This one was no exception however, I may have found some. I would point out that many of the common mating patterns have alternate names. Dovetail mate is AKA Cozio’s mate, Swallow mate is AKA guéridon mate, Queen and Rook combo mate is AKA kill box mate, etc. There is a version of Boden’s mate which replaces a Bishop with the Queen known as a balestra mate. I enjoyed this video very much but was a little disappointed that you did not include the Arab mate or 2 Knights mate. Nevertheless, this video should be used as the third lesson in a beginner’s chess course right after how to setup the board and how the pieces move. Good job!

[@johnwalker1058]

There is a section in the list of checkmate patterns in the checkmating lessons on Lichess that mentions and gives a tutorial for Arabian Mate. (Haven't heard of some of the other ones, so thank you for giving some bonus content on this.)

[@rosiefay7283]

The Arabian mate is e.g. 1 Nf6 Kh8 2 Rg8#. But there'd have to be something else about the position which forces the defending king into the corner. A mating position with king and two knights can be shown, but the attacker cannot force mate.

[@kirillzakharov7336]

Backrank can also happen if the B or G Pawn is advanced and there is a Bishop that covers the opened squares

[@Flickit100]

Best instructor I've found in three years of searching

[@telvinamamub3454]

Can we all just leave comments and likes to blow up the youtube algorithm. This guy deserves it!!!

[@falls2shine712]

Thanks for the great lesson. The exercises after each one was useful too.

[@onnoquinten2944]

I have to say you are the best for really learning. When I watch a video attentively I actually get better and my rating goes up. 1800 and climbing!

[@Abinav_08]

കിങ്

[@shabadooshabadoo4918]

Well this isn't the most exciting mating tutorial I've ever seen, but it is the best one I've seen involving chess.

[@rheiagreenland4714]

My thoughts exactly

[@UldisUlmanis]

Love your teaching style - highly practical without unnecessary chit-chat!

[@alt-32]

gotham chess has too musch chitchat

[@davidbatchelder85]

Great job, very well outlined

[@locrianphyrigian3779]

Lol i love how we go from "The Dovetail Mate" to "Damiano's Mate" to "Greco's mate" to... "THE BLIND SWINE MATE"

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

haha the blind swine sounds so badass

[@joshtorrens9054]

This is the most I have learnt from a chess video thank you

[@nicholaswideman6658]

Very good instructional and practical video and advice. Thank you

[@phase0400]

At first I thought this is a really cool idea at 0:40 but after the queen sacks and king takes. When the rook comes over and checks the black king the bishop on f8 can block the rook check and also check the white king. Wait, do you sacrifice a rook as well then bring your other rook in to check as the white knight guards g5?

[@1llum1nate]

After you sacrifice the other rook, it's mate. 1. Qh7 Kh7 2. Rh1 Bh6 3. Rh6 Kh6 4. Rh1#

[@vandhanachellappa1619]

Deeeeeeep one

[@trollermcgeetv]

In the first example, if black blocks with the bishop, you can throw in Ng5+ to force the king back. Also, a nice thing to know is that pieces that are only guarded by the king are weak to double attacks

[@thelight288]

You can also take the Bishop and then Rh1#

[@WhatIsSilence]

Thanks, very useful for me. I realised, I'm playing a style like "Take everything you can and then deal somehow in the endgame" )) So that's why I was searching exactly checkmate patterns.

[@hurfery]

Great vid. I learned half a dozen new patterns :D

[@David_Crayford]

Very good. Seen this a couple of times and have it bookmarked for a few more repetitions until it all sinks in.

[@joecatalan]

10:21 queen takes also works fyi

[@thedude5599]

Bro you are awesome. Your voice is fantastic, very easy to listen to. You are concise and precise in your descriptions. Do not change your style. I see 400 000 subs in 12 months time.

[@nmoh]

Just try and see if you can sac your queen to get the mate for the second puzzle.

[@botramduuze7188]

Thank you, GM Nelson. Great video once again! More mating patterns, please

[@davidwhite2949]

Excellent channel! The only channel that’s systematically going through chess principles

[@Korabeu]

While one can find on KZbin almost everything about anything, more often it's about entertainment and... not much else. You manage to put structure into entertainment and making the instructional fun. 😀 Thank you very much for your time and for all of your chess series, please do keep them coming! 🥇 P.S. As another commentator put it, this channel is "underrated AF!". 🤭

[@davidwindmiller3494]

Incredible resource. Ty so much for this!

[@qqw743]

A bit of trivia on the Epaulettes Mate, 9:47 . Epaulettes are the decorative fringed shoulder pieces on a military uniform, often with yellow braid. If you Google a pic you'll recognize them. The checkmate has that name because the king looks (a tiny bit) like he's wearing epaulettes. So technically the name of the checkmate that makes sense is "Epaulettes" (plural) not "Epaulette" (singular) nor "Epaulette's" (possessive).

[@SpaceCadet4Jesus]

@2:32 I don't know why I do this but I took a longer forced route. 1. Ne6+ Kg6 2. Nf8+ Kh5 3. Qf3+ Qg4 4. Qxg4++

[@tjrez6786]

Thats an awesome video. Im sure Ill watch this many times. You forgot the Arabian mate. Will you be doing a part two on this series ?

[@paul_warner]

I like how so many of these examples involve a queen sacrifice. I'm not the most strategic chess player and very queen-heavy on offense so I wouldn't normally even consider it but about halfway through the video I started to catch on.

[@chrismagsmags]

Ladder mate is definitely the first one I learned as a kid.

[@thomasstunts]

Number 5 Lolli's Mate: after white moves pawn to f6, black moves knight to d7, effectively threatening the checkmate

[@MsCherryKiss]

I don't see how N-D7 ends the threat of white checkmating black with the lolli.

[@a_doggo]

Really useful, great explanations. Thank you!

[@Alexott]

I like your viddies. You / they may be a bit "dry" in comparison to the KZbin competition but you give it straight with next to no waffle, piffle or hot air. Keep it up.

[@detectiveh7399]

This video was ridiculously good. Thanks Nelson

[@teekay1785]

I must be missing something . On the Morphy s mate at 16:06 you say after rook moves to kings file the kings better move would be to the 7rh row. How is that a legal move? Doesnt the King HAVE to move to H8?

[@eduard9452]

I like how calmly and politely you explain how to DESTROY the opponent 🙂

[@doaaazawi7234]

Hey Nelson, a bad player here 😅 I can’t enjoy playing chess but I enjoy watching videos about chess.. it feels so logical and easy when you explain it. For the puzzle on 18:12 can I do another one. Bishop to g5, he’ll take with either the queen or knight.. then checkmate with queen on d8 defended by the rook.. is that correct? thanks for the video.. it’s exactly what I and my sister need

[@forhadali4303]

Very good content again Nelson especially with the time stamps

[@boazdm1]

Hey man thanks for making good content without annoying clickbaity thumbnails!

[@Pbadalamenti]

You are an amazing teacher and easy to understand in the Chess world where everyone thinks and speaks so fast. Thank you for having great content so I am able to learn this amazing game! I purchased the Chess Vibes courses and they are a real bargain in my opinion. Keep it coming!!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

You're very welcome! And thanks for the support!

[@Pbadalamenti]

I actually made a review study guide today by snipping little screen shots of each the 23 mates and pasted them with notes into an Excel document. Notes were based on the points you were making with regard to each one. It was a great learning exercise and highly recommended to any beginner like me! 😊👍

[@MrWeenuk21]

i missed a few operas mate just recently. yet it was so obvious and right in my face.

[@skakdosmer]

The Boden’s mate I regularly delivered in blitz chess against the same opponent. With black he’d usually play the Caro-Kann and castle queenside, and I’d position my bishops and sac the queen on c6. After quite a few wins in this way I began warning him, “I’m threatening mate in two”, and he still couldn’t see it, even though he was a +1600 player. At the end I think he did begin to recognise the pattern without my help, but for a weak or even intermediate player it really isn’t easy to spot.

[@brianhiles8164]

I missed this particular video when it was published about a year ago -- the downside to being so prolific, perhaps? Two observations: For a beginner, the salient constraint of quick _apperception_ -- that _flash of recognition_ -- being of these mating patterns, is for them to be simplified and isolated so they can be seen. Part of what you have done is understand this and make a _list_ showing these common patterns. (The difference between a master and a teacher is that the teacher has _not_ forgotten just how hard it was for him/her to have initially learned the concept.) In support of this, let me suggest the common filmmaking technique of using a feature of editing software to temporary _desaturate_ (Hide? Blur? Gray out?) all the board and pieces and pawns which are irrelevant, to _reveal_ the simple pattern you are currently illustrating within the complex field of a chess position. I see that you already utilize software to explicate patterns and positions. How about this too?

[@tonyw1212]

Great content Nelson

[@1970jstone]

Some of those were hard for me to see...mostly the queen sacrifices. Gotta learn to see a few moves ahead. Thanks.

[@RJSRdg]

Just one thought - on a couple of those puzzles (20&21 I think) with double bishop mates, it might be preferable to sacrifice the bishop then take with the queen rather than vice versa. Whilst in those precise situations it doesn't make any difference, it does mean that if black has a move you haven't noticed, you've lost a bishop instead of the queen. The downside is that when using a queen instead of a bishop, you have to make sure you're not inadvertently causing a stalemate.