ChessDamiano's mate is when a pawn has been pushed up in front of the king (most often to g6), and the queen gives check on h7 right next to the king, protected by the pawn. The king can't take the queen and has nowhere to go. One story says it first appeared in a chess book written by the 16th-century Portuguese player Damiano. The big idea: the pawn may be the smallest piece, but pushed right up to the enemy king's door, it's the best bodyguard there is. When you play chess with a computer and see one of your pawns pushed up in front of the enemy king, think of this one.
The pattern
The black king is on g8. The squares around it:
- h7: the white queen is here, but the pawn on g6 protects her, so the king can't take her.
- h8, g7: controlled by the white queen.
- f8: its own rook.
- f7: its own pawn (and even without that pawn, the white pawn on g6 controls f7).
The queen gives check and covers two squares, and the pawn protects the queen. Pawns capture diagonally, so the pawn on g6 watches exactly f7 and h7.
How it happens in real games
In real games the queen usually can't get to the h-file directly, or something is still blocking it. The classic trick is: give check with a rook first and let the king take it, pulling the king to h8, then use the queen to drive it back to g8.
Step by step:
- The rook goes to h8 with check. h7 is covered by the pawn on g6 and f8 holds Black's own rook, so the king has to take the rook.
- The white queen goes diagonally from d1 to h5 and gives check down the h-file. g7 holds Black's own pawn, so the king has to go back to g8.
- The queen goes to h7 with check, protected by the pawn on g6. Checkmate.
White gives up a rook and gets a clean h-file in return. The earliest version in the old book is longer, with two sacrifices in a row, but the idea is the same: use checks to pull the king over, and finish with the queen mating under the pawn's protection.
How to avoid it
- Be alert when an enemy pawn reaches the front of your king (g6 or h6; g3 or h3 for White). It will become the enemy queen's bodyguard. Take it if you can, or don't let it settle in.
- When the h-file opens, don't keep your king on g8. Once the enemy queen and rook get onto the h-file, this mate is on.
- Keep a piece guarding h7 (h2 for White). A knight on f6, or a bishop on the f8-h6 diagonal, keeps the queen from coming in.
- When your opponent offers you a rook, calculate first. After you take, with your king on h8, can the enemy queen give check down the h-file?
Practice puzzles
Show answer
1. Qh7# The white queen goes up the h-file to h7 with check. The pawn on g6 protects her, h8 is covered by the queen, and f8, f7 and g7 are all Black's own pieces. Checkmate.
Show answer
1... Qh2# The black queen goes to h2 with check, protected by the pawn on g3. h1 is covered by the queen, f1 holds White's own rook, and f2 and g2 hold White's own pawns. Checkmate.
Show answer
1. Qg7# The queen goes along the diagonal to g7 with check, protected by the pawn on h6. h8 and h7 are covered by the queen, and f8 and f7 hold Black's own pieces. Checkmate. Move the pawn, and the queen just uses a different square. Same idea.
FAQ
Does Damiano's mate need the pawn on g6?
The classic version has the pawn on g6 and the queen on h7. A pawn on h6 with the queen on g7 is the same idea: the pawn protects the queen, and the queen checks right next to the king. The key is "a queen backed up by a pawn."
Why does a pawn make such a good bodyguard?
Because pawns capture diagonally. A pawn pushed up in front of the king controls exactly two squares next to the king. If the queen gives check from one of them, the king can't take her.
Who was Damiano?
One story says he was a 16th-century Portuguese player who wrote one of the earliest chess books, and this mate appears among the problems in it.
Try it yourself
Damiano's mate shows you what a little pawn can do. Go back to checkmate patterns for the other two-piece mates, or review how the pawn moves and remember that pawns capture diagonally. When you're ready, play chess online against the computer and try pushing a pawn up to the enemy king's door, with your queen following behind.