Boden's Mate in Chess: Pattern, Examples and Puzzles

How do you recognise Boden's mate?

• The king has castled queenside and sits on c8 (or c1), with its own pieces, often a rook and a pawn or knight, on d8 and d7.
• One bishop can reach the diagonal that checks the king, such as a6 for a king on c8. The other bishop covers the remaining squares from the crossing diagonal, such as f4.
• Look for a queen sacrifice that pulls a pawn or piece onto the diagonal square, for example Qxc6+ bxc6 and then Ba6 mate.
• The pattern has other versions, such as a king on e8 mated by bishops on g6 and a3.

Worked example from the daily puzzles

Each position comes from a real game in the open Lichess puzzle database and is checked before it is published. Set it up, look for the pattern, and only then read the solution.

Daily Chess Puzzle #26: White to play (rated 1052)

White to play. Black just played queen takes on d4. It wins a pawn, or so it seems. The black king on c8 is short of squares. Can you find the checkmate?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/01z9G. Position (FEN): 2kr1b1r/pp1n1pp1/2p1pnp1/8/2Bq1BP1/2N2Q1P/PPP2P2/2K1R2R w - - 0 16

Solution

1. Qxc6+ — White: Queen takes on c6, check.
2. bxc6 — Black: Pawn takes on c6.
3. Ba6# — White: Bishop to a6, checkmate.

Queen takes on c6, check. We give up the queen for a pawn. Black has no choice. Pawn takes on c6. And now, bishop to a6, checkmate.

Why this is Boden's mate. Black's king is on c8 with its own rook on d8 and knight on d7. White's bishop on a6 gives the check and covers b7, and the bishop on f4 covers c7 and b8.

Full puzzle article, with the video: #26: Boden's mate, Queen fork, Trapped piece and Discovered attack

What are the common mistakes?

• Starting the sacrifice before both bishops can reach their squares. Check both diagonals first.
• Assuming Black must take. Check every reply to the sacrifice, because if the king can step away or another piece can capture, the combination changes.
• Defending: castling queenside while the opponent has both bishops pointing at that side. Keep a pawn or piece guarding the key diagonal squares.

Where does the name come from?

It is named after Samuel Boden, who played a famous early example against Schulder in London in 1853. The pattern had appeared earlier, in Horwitz against Popert in Hamburg in 1844.

Related checkmate patterns

• Pillsbury's mate: A rook gives the mate while a bishop cuts off the king's escape.
• Morphy's mate: A bishop gives the mate while a rook and a pawn confine the king.
• Back-rank mate: A rook or queen mates a king boxed in by its own pawns on the back rank.

See every checkmate pattern

Every daily puzzle that uses Boden's mate

• #26: Boden's mate, Queen fork, Trapped piece and Discovered attack