Arabian mate puzzles
A rook and a knight trap the king in the corner.
About arabian mate puzzles
A rook and a knight trap the king in the corner. The knight guards the rook and covers the king's flight squares.
How to spot it
- The enemy king sits in the corner. Put a rook next to it, with a knight two steps away guarding the rook.
- The king cannot capture the rook because the knight protects it.
- Look for ways to chase the king into the corner first.
A common mistake
Putting the rook next to the king without the knight protecting it.
A worked example
R
B
K
R
N
B
KWhite to move. Black has just played g6. Find the best move.
Solution: 30. Nf6+ Kh8 31. Rxh7#
Nf6+ checks the king and also attacks the pawn on h7 and the bishop on e4, so your opponent has to answer the check. The last move is checkmate: the king has no safe square and nothing can block or capture. The idea: A rook and a knight trap the king in the corner.
The highlighted squares show Black's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (942 rating).
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Questions
Why is it called Arabian mate?
The name is traditional. It is one of the long-known mating patterns, so you will see it in old and new chess books alike.
Where do these puzzles come from?
They are real puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database, which is free to use under the CC0 license. Each one was built from a real game and tested by many players. We picked well-rated ones with good popularity scores.
Are the puzzles free?
Yes. There is no signup, no limit and no ads on the puzzles. Your progress on this page is not saved after you leave.
What do the difficulty levels mean?
Beginner puzzles are rated under 1250, intermediate 1250 to 1749 and advanced 1750 and up, using the rating Lichess players earned on each puzzle.