Beginner checkmate · 7 of 11
Mate in 1
Checkmate in a single move: a check the king cannot escape, block or capture.
- Learn how it worksThree examples with Capra. You play each one yourself.Three examples with CapraStart the lesson
- Practise on real puzzlesPractise on puzzles80 mate in 1 puzzles, from easy to very hard.0 of 80 solvedGo to the puzzlesGo to the puzzles
Three pieces, three mates
Every mate in 1 is a check that the king cannot escape, block or capture.
Queen mate
The queen gives check from h7, and the bishop guards her.
Rook mate
The rook checks along the back rank, and the white king covers the way out.
Knight mate
The knight checks a king that is boxed in by his own rook and pawns.
Mates in 1 in numbers
Counted from the 106,837 mates in 1 in our puzzle library, all taken from real games- 1 in 3
of our puzzles ends with a mate in 1.
- 65%
of them start with a queen move.
- 56%
of them come in the middlegame.
Which piece makes the first move
- Queen65%
- Rook24%
- Knight6%
- Bishop3%
- Pawn2%
How many moves the mate takes
- Mate in 1100%
Good to know
Mates in 1: common questions
What is a mate in 1 in chess?
A mate in 1 is a position where one move gives checkmate. After that move the king is in check, and he cannot move out of it, block it or capture the piece that gives it.
How do I find a mate in 1?
Look at every check you can give. For each one, ask three things: can the king move away, can the check be blocked, and can the checking piece be taken. If all three answers are no, it is mate.
Which mates in 1 come up most often?
A rook or a queen on the back rank against a king behind his own pawns, a queen landing next to the king with another piece guarding her, and a knight check against a king with no room.
Why practise mate in 1 if it is easy?
Because every longer mate ends in one. If you know the final position at a glance, you can aim for it from two or three moves away.