Damiano's mate
Damiano's mate is a checkmate in which a queen gives check on h7 next to a king on g8, guarded by a pawn on g6, while the king's own pieces block its remaining flight squares.
Picture a king on g8 with its rook still on f8 and the f-pawn gone. A white pawn arrives on g6, and the queen drops to h7. The queen touches the king and sweeps g7, h8 and, along the seventh rank, f7, a square the g6 pawn also hits. That pawn guards the queen so the king cannot take it, and the rook on f8 closes the last door.
The pattern shows up when the defender's h-pawn has advanced or disappeared and the kingside is thin. It needs a queen that can reach h7 along the h-file or a diagonal, so a queen on h5 is the natural launch square. The g6 pawn is the real engine: without it the queen would simply be captured.
If you are attacking, work to land a pawn on g6 with tempo, often by attacking something with it first. If you are defending, deal with the g6 pawn at once, capturing it with a pawn if one can reach it, or clear f8 so the king has somewhere to go; with the rook gone from f8, Qh7 is only a check.
Jumping to h7 before the pawn stands on g6 gives the queen away for nothing, so confirm the guard before you commit.
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.
Also worth reading is Back rank mate. A back rank mate is a checkmate on a player's first or eighth rank, typically by a rook or queen, delivered when the king's own pawns leave it no square to step to.
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 "Damiano'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 back rank mate is a checkmate on a player's first or eighth rank, typically by a rook or queen, delivered when the king's own pawns leave it no square to step to.
A queen sacrifice gives up the strongest piece on the board, usually with a check or a capture, to win through a forced checkmate or to gain enough other material to be clearly ahead.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
How much does chess coaching cost?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.