Checkmate is the essence of chess. It ends the game, providing a satisfying closure to a long struggle. We’ve broken down our top ten most beautiful checkmates from actual chess games!
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Checkmate is the essence of Chess it Ends the game providing a satisfying Closure to a long struggle checkmates Can also be incredibly beautiful by Definition Checkmate involves Coordination teamwork between your Pieces no single piece can ever deliver Checkmate alone even the mighty Queen Must at a minimum have support from one Other piece from their side or possibly From some traitorous opposing pieces That are blocking their Monarch's Escape Squares the coordination of the Supporting and opposing forces can Create thousands and thousands of Checkmating combinations some that are Happening daily even minutely and Secondly and some that have yet to ever Be played over the board the following Are 10 of the most beautiful checkmates All played in real games as selected by Myself with contributions from Chess.com's content team Checkmate number 10 is not too complex But it is certainly very beautiful in This position black has just stepped up With the King to E7 and although white Is certainly for choice in this position It looks like black is also pretty safe After all there is this big wall of Pawns protecting the black king However white one Wordsworth dinosaur Great chess player name found an Incredible way to end the game on the
Spot with the beautiful and Brilliant Queen takes E5 check now what's amazing About this move is that white is Striking on what seems to be the best Defended Square in Black's position There are two pawns protecting this E5 Square however whichever way black Recaptures whether with the F Pawn or With the d-pawn there is a different Bishop checkmate in both cases the Bishops work together perfectly to cover All of the king's Escape squares and Deliver the Fateful Checkmate blow here Is the Checkmate after d takes E5 with Bishop to C5 Checkmate an amazing Coordination by the Bishops and not the Last example of such coordination that We will see the day In our next example Checkmate number Nine it seems that white has massively Overextended The Rook on H6 the Knight On F5 and the Rokon H1 are all hanging In this position and how is white to Continue the attack well the answer Given by neugebauer is the incredible Queen 2 f8 check this move just looks Impossible the queen can be captured in Two ways and what is the purpose of Giving it up well in fact both captures Lead to immediate Checkmate first we Have King takes f8 then white can play Rook to h8 Checkmate this is a classic Anastasia's Checkmate and the queen Sacrifice served to pull the king over
One square and allow The Rook to safely Advance to h8 the other capture is with The rook and after Rook takes f8 then we Have Knight to E7 Checkmate this looks a Bit like a smothered mate although not All of the squares are covered by the Black pieces we have the Rook coming in To cover the squares on the H file or You might also see it as kind of another Permutation of Anastasia's checkmate the Rook and Knight together delivers some Of the most beautiful checkmates such as The Arabian Checkmate which we might see Very soon I remember seeing this next example Checkmate number eight in the online Coverage of the tournament while the Event was still underway now back in 2005 that was still a relatively new Experience and as a result this example Holds a bit of a special place in my Heart following online chess tournaments Like this has been a big part of my life Ever since now in this case it looks Like white has overextended yet again The White Queen is hanging as is the Bishop on G7 and white has already Sacrificed material to get to this point But white has seen another incredible Next move in this case the amazing Queen 2 G6 check this is not just a queen Sacrifice it's also a sacrifice of the Bishop on the next turn and black Actually has three different ways to
Capture the sacrifice Queen here but in All cases white has the same checkmating Pattern black actually captures with the Pawn F takes G6 and then white Recaptures opening the H file for The Rook on H1 and giving double check now Black can't capture the pawn on G6 Because it is defended by the Knight so Black's only way to get out of the Double check is to capture the bishop on G7 then white has Rook to H7 check mate This is incredible the pawn rook and Knight are the only attacking pieces That white has left and together they Combine to perfectly check the black Kink and cover all of the Escape squares Exactly once it's just an amazing Economy of force and in my experience This is basically a totally unique Checkmating pattern this next example Has been in all of the Checkmate and Combination textbooks for quite a while Checkmate number seven is bower versus Golner from 1956. now in this position White has an amazing Bishop pair but it Doesn't seem like there's any way to Break through all of the key points Appear to be defended at least until you Find Rook takes H6 check a really Beautiful move that offers black two Ways to capture now black can first Capture here with the King but that Loses relatively simply because white is Now allowed to play Queen G5 check and
After King H7 white can check along the H file with Queen H4 if the Knight Blocks we have a nice checkmate with Queen takes H5 note that this square is Covered here the G8 square is covered by The bishop on E6 and if the king steps Up with King G6 then we have a pawn Checkmate always special and relatively Rare however after Rook takes H6 check What happens if the pawn captures G Takes H6 now your eye might be drawn to Bishop F5 check but this is a huge Mistake because after King h8 there's no Follow-up and you're just down a rook However this was the only Square Available to the black king and that Square can be taken away by sacrificing The queen with Queen 2 G8 check an Amazing move that forces the Knight to Capture now this bishop fully Participates in that beautiful Bishop Pair that seemed stymied in the initial Position is able to coordinate and Deliver this incredible Checkmate the Great study composer and Armenian Champion generik kasparian played this Next example and it certainly feels like An incredible composed study in this Position white plays Rook takes C6 now To avoid being down a piece black must Of course capture with Bishop takes C6 White plays Queen C4 check which Forks The king and the bishop now it's Actually more resilient to just accept
That you're losing the bishop and play Here King to A7 when after white Captures you can play Queen B7 and plead For a queen trade however white has a Huge Advantage here and should Eventually win Instead though the much more natural Move is to play King B7 getting out of The check and defending the bishop now White has a Crusher though Queen takes C6 check an absolutely incredible Queen Sacrifice that just doesn't look like it Could ever lead to Checkmate but after King takes C6 white has 95 check the Knight and Bishop coordinate perfectly In this example it's double check as We've seen before their only way to get Out of double check is to move the king In the only safe square is King C5 then White pulls the Knight back with Knight To D3 the bishop and the pawns are Covering all of these light squares in The Knight is also covering the B4 Square while it's giving this check so The only safe square is King D4 now White actually has time despite being Down so much material for a quiet move King to D2 the threat is simply Pawn to C3 checkmate and no move by black will Actually prevent that on the next turn An amazing Pawn checkmate with some Incredible quiet play Checkmate number five is actually the Oldest Checkmate on this list it's from
The game macaroni versus mazuchi from 1891. it's actually played just one year Earlier than Checkmate number 10 which Was played in 1892 by Wordsworth Dinosaur now in this position it's Pretty obvious that white might have Some checkmating ideas with the King Lurking over here on H5 surrounded by Some big white pieces however it's not At all clear how to get to this King and Black also has threats like Rook to A1 Or queen to A1 which would be Checkmate For black the Checkmate is there but It's very much looking under the surface In this position Queen to G4 check is The key now this actually forces the Bishop on E6 which was a critical Defensive piece to capture that opens The path for the bishop White NOW needs Another sacrifice to clear things out Rook takes H6 check which does two Things First it moves The Rook off of the Square to allow a check and it also Decoys this pawn and because the bishop Is defending the Rook on uh H6 from its Square on D2 the only way to capture is Not with the King but with the pawn Which moves that pawn over and makes way For Bishop to F7 Checkmate on the last Two moves the defending Bishop that was On E6 and the pawn that was on G7 both Of which would have stopped the Checkmate have been displaced and this
Incredibly is Checkmate visually it's Even hard for me to believe that this is Checkmate because it feels like the Queen and the two Bishops in the pawn That are surrounding the black king Should be able to help but they cannot Those of you who remember the conclusion To the World Chess Championship Match in 2016 between Magnus Carlson and Sergey Kariakin will likely find Checkmate Number four not that difficult in fact Carlson's incredible conclusion was Preceded it by this game Popov versus Novel passion which features roughly the Same checkmating pattern here white has Queen 2 H6 check once again black has Two choices you can capture with the Pawn or capture with the King but the Ultimate conclusion Checkmate is the Same after King takes H6 much like in Checkmate number nine we have decoyed The king to be a little further away From the square that our Rook is Attacking and now we can play Rook to h8 Checkmate with the rook and the pawn Coordinating Black also has the capture G takes H6 Capturing with the pawn but then there Is Rook takes B7 check and it doesn't Feel like this should lead to Checkmate Black can block with the bishop black Can block with the Knight and black can Block with the queen but all of these Pieces block on different squares and
After they block the white Rook is just Going to capture them and once black has Blocked with all of the available pieces It will be checkmate with a perfect Coordination between the two Rooks Our final three examples really ramp up The complexity starting with Checkmate Number three which is Ingles versus Cardoso in this position white obviously Has a lot of pieces both Bishops the Knight rook and Queen in position to Attack the black king but black is also A material and it's not clear how white Should continue the attack the answer is The incredible move Queen to H7 check This move of course sacrifices the queen And the queen needs to be captured Because after King f8 you have simply Queen to h8 Checkmate which is a Checkmate but it's certainly not one of The most beautiful checkmates of all Time as we'll see in the other Variations so after Queen H7 check black Has to capture with the King which walks Into double check yet another double Check with Knight to F6 check now the King has two ways to get out of this Double check you can capture the bishop Or you can step back with King h8 Capturing the bishop of course is Natural because let's eliminate an Attacking piece if we can but it's also Pretty clear that white is close to Checkmate here even though there's not
Many pieces remaining to give that Checkmate the king cannot get back into The castle position in this case here White has Rook to H3 check and the King Steps up to G5 and then we have Rook G3 Check it doesn't seem like the Checkmate Should be easy from here but it's Actually just Checkmate on the next move Even though the black king has four Different dark squares it can run to in All cases there is a Checkmate waiting For example King H4 allows Rook to G4 Checkmate if the king steps back to H6 Then there's Rook to G6 checkmate with The Knight helping out on F6 if the king Captures the bishop on or the the Knight On F6 we have Rook G6 Checkmate which is My favorite because we've also Sacrificed the Knight we only have the Rook and Bishop remaining to participate In the attack but it's still Checkmate And finally after Rook G3 check if the King runs up to F4 here we have a choice Of checkmates we can play Rook G4 Checkmate which is like some of the Checkmates we've seen or we can play the In my opinion preferable Knight to H5 Checkmate which is a little bit more Unique because we got the Knight hopping Over to the edge of the board right here To deliver a nice final shot So backing up what happens if after Knight F6 check the king does not Capture the bishop 186 and instead he
Pulls back with King h8 Now we've already sacrificed the queen Here and it's not clear what the Follow-up is does white have a follow-up Was white just hoping that the black King would capture the bishop actually This is my favorite move in this Combination Bishop takes G7 check this Bishop sacrifice forces the Checkmate First off if Rook takes G7 now the Knight is covering these light squares So we just need to bring the Rook over And black has two blocks with the bishop And with the Rook but we are going to Get here an Arabian checkmate with the Knight and Rook coordinating perfectly You even have the bishop here and it Doesn't matter the bishop is not needed For the final checkmate But after Bishop takes G7 black can also Play King takes G7 and in this case White must Again Play The Rook check Rook G3 check and much like when the King was on G5 there are four different Dark squares to run to but all of them Allow Checkmate in one on the next turn First off if the king steps up to the Sixth rank just like we saw before we Have the same mates King H6 allows Rook G6 Checkmate and if King takes F6 we Have Rook G6 Checkmate again If the king steps back to the eighth Rank though a new option available not Available when the King was on G5 then
In either case on h8 or on f8 WE again Have Rook to G8 and Checkmate an Absolutely amazing array of different Checkmating patterns with very very few Pieces left on the board this is one of My absolute favorite combinations of all Time with both Queen H7 check and Bishop Takes G7 and then all of the different Checkmates being standouts in Checkmate Number three After the brutality of Checkmate number Three it is really nice to appreciate The subtlety of Checkmate number two in This position white actually has many Many different ways to win but the path Chosen by Otto Jung is definitely the Most beautiful and the most masterful White here plays Bishop takes G7 which Picks off a loose Knight but of course You must anticipate that black has Rook Takes H4 which picks up a white rook and Then it also pins the queen to the king For a moment it looks like black should Be the one winning in this position but White has anticipated this and has Prepared Queen takes H4 check Now white is going to rely on just the Bishop on G7 to win this game and white Is going to be successful now black must Capture the queen because King F5 not Only means that you're down a bishop but Also there is the immediate Queen to F6 Checkmate so Queen takes H4 is met by King takes H4 and now we have Bishop to
F6 check the mating net starts to be Apparent because black has only one move Available it is Pawn to G5 and now white Has only one winning move again Bishop To C3 here we start to see that black is Running out of moves the pawns cannot Move the only legal pawn move is G4 but That's met with Bishop to F6 and check Mate Additionally white has ideas of trying To checkmate with Bishop to E1 Or Pawn to G3 so the only move that Keeps those threats under control is Queen to F2 and now white again must Find the only move it is Bishop to E5 Which creates an amazing zug's Wing Right here Again black cannot move the pawns if the Pawn advances Pawn to G4 then we have Bishop to F6 checkmate so after Bishop To E5 how is black to defend against the Ideas of Pawn to G3 and Bishop to G3 Checkmate there's nowhere for the queen To move where it can keep both of these Threats covered Black's best option is a Move like Queen to G1 which is Definitely losing after you surrender The queen so here you could also Consider Queenie one which is the best Try to keep everything under control but Now there is no more pin on this Pawn so We can advance with G3 and his Checkmate On the next move after Queen takes and Bishop takes G3 Checkmate a bishop
Defeating a queen who would have thought Checkmate number one combines the Brutality of Checkmate number three with The subtlety of Checkmate number two the Perfect check mating combination the Game is Nicholas rosalimo versus an Unknown player played in 1944. rosalimo Was an incredible player who was a French champion champion of Paris and Also eventually migrated to the United States where he was a great player with Much success as well in this position he Plays Rook takes F5 now buck doesn't Really have a better option than Recapture so Pawn takes F5 what was the Point of Rook takes F5 well it's twofold First off that night was a really really Good Defender but second The Rook was Actually in the path of the queen and The queen now lunges in with Queen takes H6 an absolutely shocking and incredible Move first off if if the queen is Captured with the pawn or if the king Steps back we have some basic checkmates If King G8 then there is Knight to F6 Checkmate because the G Pawn is pinned Also if Pawn takes on H6 then we have Knight to F6 check this square is now Available and we have a royal fork and We're also forking The Rook but it Doesn't matter we're not trying to Recapture material we're instead trying To play the Arabian mate after Rook to G8 and checkmate
So after Queen takes H6 really the only Viable try is King takes H6 so now the King has some room to run white plays Rook H1 check and the King can only step Over to G6 in this position it doesn't Really look like there's a follow-up you Can check again with the Rook but the King only goes back and how are the Knight and the bishop to participate Well the solution here is the amazing Quiet move King to F4 our first example Actually our second of an attacking king Move what's the point of the king move Well the king is actually going to be Important here in terms of controlling Some of the Escape squares but the more Direct point is that the bishop is now Opened up and white has an immediate Checkmating threat for example Pawn Takes D4 and the bishop jumps out to H5 The king is pushed to the H file and Then we have Bishop takes F7 and this is Checkmate with the bishop covering both G6 and G8 as a result after King F4 Black's best defense is now to try Either rookie 6 or queen E6 and in this Position if white again tries to force The checkmate with Bishop H5 it's not Going to work the king steps back and Now Bishop takes is not Checkmate Because you can block with Queen to H6 Which is actually a counter check and This position is very unclear white is Not giving the checkmate
But after Queen E6 white has another Subtle move Rook to h8 our second quiet move after King to F4 we switched The Rook from the First rank all the way to the eighth Rake so now after Bishop H5 there are no Escape squares along the H file as a Result Bishop H5 is just going to be Checkmate black has a single Spike check If black wants to give it but basically Unstoppable is Bishop to H5 checkmate With the rook and the bishop and the King coordinating perfectly for this Incredible conclusion I hope you'll Agree that this deserves to be Considered the best Checkmate of all Time I hope that you've enjoyed this Video about some of the most beautiful Checkmates ever played in the history of Chess of course comment with other Beautiful checkmates that didn't make This list and if you want to know how we Put together this list check out our Article that's Linked In the description As always subscribe for more incredible Chess videos for example simple you Could be watching our video in Hikaru Nakamura's most brilliant moves on Chess.com click it right now
