Morphy's mate is checkmate by a bishop on the long diagonal against a king in the corner, while a rook or queen covers the file beside it and the king's own pawn blocks the last square.
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It is Greco's mate with the roles swapped: here the bishop gives the check and the rook covers the escape squares on the g-file.
How to do it
- 1Put a rook or queen on the g-file against a king on h8.
- 2Clear the long diagonal from a1 to h8.
- 3Give check with the bishop.
For your level
A bishop check on a cornered king is mate if a rook covers the file beside it and the king's own pawn blocks the other square.
Check you have it
Pitch it for:
Question 1 of 4
White to play. There is a checkmate in one move — find it.
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Play your move on the board.
Question 2 of 4
Play the moves through. What has happened to the king?
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Question 3 of 4
After the last move, how many legal moves does the mated side have?
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Question 4 of 4
Which black pawn has no friendly pawn on either neighbouring file?
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Common mistakes
- Giving the check while a defender can block on the diagonal.
- Forgetting that the king escapes to g7 or g8 if the rook leaves the g-file.
Questions
- How is Morphy's mate different from Greco's mate?
- The roles swap. In Greco's mate a rook or queen mates on the h-file and a bishop covers g8. In Morphy's mate the bishop mates on the diagonal and a rook covers the g-file.