Blackburne's mate
Blackburne's mate is a checkmate made with two bishops and a knight, where a bishop checks on h7 guarded by a knight on g5 while the other bishop on the long diagonal covers g7 and h8.
This mate uses three minor pieces against a king on g8. One bishop gives check from h7 and is protected by a knight on g5. The second bishop sits on the long diagonal, usually on b2, and covers g7 and h8. The knight on g5 does double duty, since it also takes f7 away from the king, and a defender's own piece on f8 blocks the last square.
The pattern is a good reminder that minor pieces can mate without any help from the heavy ones, and that the key is coordination: each piece must have a job. Before going for it, check that the bishop can reach h7 with a capture-proof defender behind it, and that nothing of the opponent's stands on the long diagonal.
To defend, challenge the knight on g5 the moment it lands, for example with ...h6 while the h-pawn is still at home, keep a pawn on g7 to block the long diagonal, or move the king off the edge before the pieces line up. Any one of these breaks the coordination the mate depends on.
Putting the checking bishop on h7 before the knight is ready is the error to avoid: an unprotected piece next to the king is simply captured.
Compare it with Opera mate. An opera mate is a back-rank checkmate in which a rook delivers mate on the eighth rank while a bishop guards that rook and also controls the square in front of the king.
A neighboring idea is Swallow's tail mate. A swallow's tail mate is a checkmate in which a queen stands directly in front of the king, protected by another piece, while the king's own pieces occupy both squares beside it.
Compare it with Pillsbury's mate. Pillsbury's mate is a checkmate in which a rook checks along the g-file while a bishop on the long diagonal covers g7 and h8, leaving a king on g8 hemmed in by its own pieces.
To see how often "Blackburne's mate" or a pattern like it decides your own games, book a first lesson: George Li reviews your games and writes a study plan around what he finds.
Related terms
A mating attack is a sustained assault on the enemy king, usually built from several pieces and often with sacrifices, whose aim is checkmate rather than winning material.
A mating net is a setup in which the enemy king is surrounded by attackers and its own pieces so tightly that checkmate cannot be avoided, even if the final blow is a move or two away.
A smothered mate is a knight checkmate against a king hemmed in by its own men: every square the king could use holds its own pieces, and a knight check cannot be blocked.
A battery is two of your pieces lined up on one file, rank or diagonal, with the rear piece backing up the front one so that both press on the same target.
A double check is a single move that puts the enemy king under attack from two pieces simultaneously, typically one that moved and one it unmasked, so only a king move can answer it.
Guides that go further
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