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 called: dovetail mate
The queen sits right in front of the king, and its reach spreads out like the forked tail of a bird: it covers the two squares diagonally in front of the king, while the king's own pieces sit on the squares on either side. With the queen protected, for example by a pawn, the king can neither capture it nor step away.
The pattern arises against a king left in the center with pieces crowded on both sides of it, such as rooks on d8 and f8 beside a king on e8. A queen landing on e7 with a pawn on d6 behind it shows the idea clearly, though a rook or bishop can supply the support just as well. The queen can arrive from a distance, often along a diagonal, so check which of your pieces can reach the square in front of the king with support.
If you defend, avoid crowding pieces on both sides of your own king; that cramped setup removes your flight squares. Capturing the guard of the invading queen, or controlling the key square with a minor piece, also takes the sting out of the idea.
Sending the queen in without a guard throws the chance away: if the king can simply capture it, the attack ends and you have lost your most valuable piece.
A neighboring idea is 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.
A neighboring idea is Ladder mate. A ladder mate is a checkmate on the edge of the board in which two rooks, or a rook and a queen, take turns giving check on neighboring lines until the king runs out of room.
Also worth reading is 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.
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Related terms
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 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 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.
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.
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