Hook mate puzzles
A rook, a knight and a pawn work together, with an enemy pawn limiting the king's escape.
About hook mate puzzles
A rook, a knight and a pawn work together, with an enemy pawn limiting the king's escape. The knight is the hook that stops the king from moving.
How to spot it
- A rook checks on the rank beside the king, protected by a knight.
- The knight in turn is protected by a pawn.
- An enemy pawn blocks the king's last escape.
A common mistake
Leaving the knight unprotected, so the king can take it.
A worked example
K
N
B
K
R
RBlack to move. White has just played g4. Find the best move.
Solution: 27... Rd1+ 28. Kg2 Rg1#
Rd1+ checks the king, 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, a knight and a pawn work together, with an enemy pawn limiting the king's escape.
The highlighted squares show White's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (1027 rating).
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Questions
What does the hook refer to?
The knight, which hooks the king's escape square, working with a rook and a pawn.
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.