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

How do you recognise Morphy's mate?

• A bishop on the long diagonal pointing at the king's corner, such as f6 for a king on h8.
• A rook on the neighbouring file, such as the g-file, that takes away the squares beside the king. The king's own pawn on h7 closes the rest.
• Wikipedia's example: with a bishop on f6, White plays Rxg7+ Kh8 and then Rg6 is mate.
• In many ways it is like the corner mate, but the bishop, not a knight, gives the check.

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 #14: Black to play (rated 989)

Black to play. White has just played knight takes on b6. It wins a queen, or so it seems. The white king on h2 is short of squares. There is a forced mate here. Can you see how it starts?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/01yBt. Position (FEN): 4k1r1/2p4Q/pN3r2/1p6/1P6/P2B3P/7K/3b4 b - - 0 44

Solution

1. Rf2+ — Black: Rook to f2, check.
2. Kh1 — White: King to h1.
3. Bf3# — Black: Bishop to f3, checkmate.

Rook to f2, check. The king cannot go to g1, because our rook on g8 controls that square. White has no choice. King to h1. And now, bishop to f3, checkmate.

Why this is Morphy's mate. White's king is on h1. Black's bishop on f3 gives the check along the long diagonal, protected by the rook on f2, which also covers h2. The rook on g8 controls the g-file, so g1 and g2 are covered too.

Full puzzle article, with the video: #14: Morphy's mate, Discovered attack, Hanging piece and Intermezzo

What are the common mistakes?

• Giving the bishop check before the rook controls the neighbouring file. The king steps out sideways.
• Blocking your own bishop. Check that the long diagonal is open all the way to the king.
• Defending: leaving the long diagonal open beside a castled or cornered king. A piece on the diagonal, or a pawn move that gives the king room, ends the idea.

Where does the name come from?

It is named after Paul Morphy, the American master of the Opera Game.

Related checkmate patterns

• Pillsbury's mate: A rook gives the mate while a bishop cuts off the king's escape.
• Corner mate: A rook or queen confines the king to the corner and a knight gives the mate.
• Arabian mate: A rook and a knight trap the king in a corner.

See every checkmate pattern

Every daily puzzle that uses Morphy's mate

• #14: Morphy's mate, Discovered attack, Hanging piece and Intermezzo