Expert checkmate · 7 of 9
Mate in 5
You force checkmate in five moves, whatever your opponent plays in between.
- 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 5 puzzles, from easy to very hard.0 of 80 solvedGo to the puzzlesGo to the puzzles
Three ways to mate in 5
Each one is a run of checks. The king never gets a free move, so five moves deep is less to work out than it sounds.
A queen hunt
The queen takes on f7 with check, then chases the king along the back rank to e7.
Two rook sacrifices
The rook checks on h8 and is taken. The second rook does the same, and the queen reaches the h-file with check.
A smothered mate
The queen check starts five moves that end with a knight mating a king walled in by his own pieces.
Mates in 5 in numbers
Counted from the 252 mates in 5 in our puzzle library, all taken from real games- 1 in 1100
of our puzzles ends with a mate in 5.
- 36%
of them start with a rook move.
- 50%
of them come in the middlegame.
Which piece makes the first move
- Rook36%
- Queen34%
- Knight9%
- Pawn9%
- Bishop6%
How many moves the mate takes
- Mate in 5+100%
Good to know
Mates in 5: common questions
What is a mate in 5 in chess?
A mate in 5 is a position where you can force checkmate in five of your own moves. Your opponent gets four replies, and none of them can stop it.
How do I find a mate in 5?
Look at checks first. Most long mates are a chain of checks that leave the king only one or two replies each time, so there are far fewer lines to work out than five moves suggests. Follow each check to the end before you play the first one.
Do the puzzles always take exactly five moves?
Most do. The puzzle library files every forced mate of five moves or longer under this heading, so a few run to six or seven.
Are there patterns that make long mates easier?
Yes. A long mate is usually a short mate you already know with a few forcing moves in front of it. The second example in the lesson ends in Damiano's mate and the third in a smothered mate.